Using FourSquare To Manage Your Personal Brand

So we’ve all now heard about personal branding.  And there are some very smart people out there talking about it including Dan Schawbel, Meg Guiseppi, Ryan Rancatore, Pete Kistler and others.

But I think in some ways a personal brand can be a hard thing to manage and track.  Of course you can do a Google search to understand your personal brand as Ryan Rancatore suggests.  You can do a quick review of all the Twitter lists where you’ve been added to see how you get categorized.  And in these cases you are relying upon the internet and social community to decide your fate.

But what if you could manage it more directly through a new and fast growing social media tool.  Would you do that?

Because foursquare has the potential to be that tool.  And it’s fun.  Kind of like an adult version of girl or cub scouts.  Because you can earn badges by “checking-in” at various places around town.  To update your friends as to your location.  To provide tips as to the best place to get a steak in Chicago.

And I have to tell you that I love reading the “check-ins” from everyone.  It doesn’t feel like spam when the little notice pops up on my iPhone.  It goes away quickly (on its own) and each one is different.

So if you are fully aware of your personal brand (important if you want to manage it), you can use a tool like foursquare to reinforce that brand with your real friends and the new friends you meet online.

For the sake of this example, let’s say your personal brand looks like this:

“Progressive marketing leader with a passion for launching new, natural food products.”

Here are the ways foursquare can help or hurt your personal brand:

To HELP, check-in at:

• Whole Foods and share a great new product discovery
• The Natural Food Show
• The gym.  At least three days a week
• New restaurants with a healthy menu and write a quick review
• A movie theater that plays independent films

To HURT, check-in at:

• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and rave about the plain glazed
• Your favorite used book store (reading Hamlet)
• A traditional grocery store (Kroger, Ralph’s)
• Ye-Olde Vitamin Store
• Bob’s Discount Appliances

Now you could argue that there is something deceptive or forced about “checking-in with a purpose” but the reality is that people are watching.  And that could be a good thing.  A way to stay on a life plan, an exercise plan or a healthy eating plan.  Just ask the contestants on “The Biggest Loser”.

Yes, people will judge you if you check in at Krispy Kreme twice a day.  Especially if your personal brand says you shouldn’t.

If you’d like to see how I’m doing managing my personal brand on this platform . . . friend Tim’s Strategy on foursquare.

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