The concept of building a "professional" brand is not a new to me. In fact, whether we are conscious of it or not, our brand is being built. The choices and decisions we make with friends, family, co-workers, and supervisors are the ingredients that make up our reputation. Ironically, when I was growing up in southern California in the late 80's/early 90's, it was your "rep" that got all the attention. Some people wanted to be the tough guy, some wanted to be the athlete, etc, etc. People acted certain ways to influence the perception their peers (and others) had of them. It was more of a local kind of thing. While I expected people in my neighborhood to know my reputation, it was uncommon for that to extent to other cities.

     Fast forward to 2014 and the idea of a personal or professional brand seems like a logical extension of the 20th century reputation. My personal and professional brand is on display via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. These (and other) forms of social media bring additional layers of extra exposure. It is a responsibility to build, promote, and protect my brand as there can be real world implications. There are several examples online (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-firing-teacher-loses-job-commenting-students-parents/story?id=11437248 is just one example) of educators being disciplined or even fired for unprofessional comments made over social media.

     Meghan Biro hits the nail on the head when she states, "Your brand is you - heart, soul, and head...Make it the foundation of all that follows your career and leadership skills. Ultimately, I want my brand to represent the passion I have for my profession and the love I have for my peers and students. That won't be done by the quantity of connections or number of followers. It will be done via collaboration, leading by example, and the personal investment of time and energy into my craft.

     Taking a look at building level, I see many similarities. The tools I will use to promote the brand name of my school are the same social media sites for personal use. The target audience will be my key stakeholders (parents, local industry, students, staff, alumni) and the goal will be transparent communication. I will use these tools to share relevant information in real time. My hope is it will contribute to a sense of community and create buy in from parents.