by Catherine-Gail Reinhard

Catherine-Gail Reinhard is creative director at Videasa, an agency that focuses on creating video infotainment for the web and emerging media platforms. You can follow her on Twitter.

As YouTube () has grown into the preeminent video sharing service online, marketers have tried, with limited success, to broadcast themselves and to reach audiences with their messaging. And while individuals have used YouTube as a platform to step into the spotlight, most brands have been left behind in the shadows. Save for the occasional media-supported viral video blitz, or user generated contest, commercial success on YouTube has been elusive to the many brands that have tried to reach for that brass ring.

This is not to say that brands will ever reach the heights of popularity on YouTube that individuals have achieved, and it would be naive to start a Sponsored Channel with the expectation that millions of viewers will tune in right away. However, YouTube does represent a great opportunity for marketers to reach consumers who are searching for information about a brand or related products and services. YouTube can also be a powerful direct marketing tool, provided that it is considered as part of the marketing mix rather than a tactic in a vacuum.

One thing is becoming apparent: The brands that achieve long-term success on YouTube are the ones that consistently and frequently publish refreshing content that has intrinsic value for audiences online. Here are some of the standout brands that have created a strong position on YouTube by understanding the zeitgeist of collective content generation and some of the clever marketing tactics they are using to build their presence on the site.

Some brands are missing the boat

I have also specifically excluded some very large brands from this post that have created one or more viral “one-hit wonders” but continue to use their branded YouTube channel to only post their television commercials online. These global brands tend to generate buzz for their one “viral” video but these efforts prove to be largely campaign-centric and media supported. Many of these brands still neglect to publish content on an ongoing basis.

Additionally, I have not included brands on this list that professionally create content as their primary product or service (i.e. newspapers, magazines, TV shows, Internet TV, entertainment companies, music industry, movies).

5 YouTube case studies

1. Quiksilver & Roxy

The fantastic aesthetic of wicked waves and big beautiful swells help make Quiksilver and Roxy’s content hypnotically captivating. Companies that market products with an exciting angle or naturally beautiful aesthetic have an easier time creating content, to be sure, but Quiksilver and Roxy’s webisodes and mini-documentaries go beyond cool surf footage and give consumers inside access to what goes on behind the scenes on the professional surfing, skating and snowboarding tour circuits. The video selection also features vlogs by the pros, lifestyle profiles of up and coming musicians and a potpourri of other content.

The marketers at Quiksilver Inc. are bringing consumers value by offering them a look behind the scenes and giving them access to free content that, in the past, might not have been available at all or would only be available by purchasing surfing or skating DVDs. At the same time they are also extending the value of their sponsored Surf, Skate and Snowboarding event marketing dollars by using these events as opportunities for filming exciting videos.

Quiksilver posts a new video about once a week (Roxy posts slightly more frequently), which helps them both maintain a consistently fresh presence. Eventually, these brands might benefit from producing shorter videos on a more frequent basis. For a relatively niche apparel company, posting almost 200 videos in 2 years is no small achievement and the marketing teams at Quiksilver Inc. deserve recognition for their forward-looking efforts.

2. Ford Models

Let me start out by saying this; it’s really not fair to include Ford Models in this list. They have access to the most beautiful women in the world, are a part of what is perceived as an ultra-glamorous industry and have resources that the average brand marketer can only dream of. Unfair advantage? Sure. But there are plenty of other brands that spend huge dollars on YouTube without realizing a fraction of the results of Ford Models. Even without all the in-house resources, the marketers at Ford Models deserve a hand because they are doing a lot of things right:

1. Publishing multi-lingual content: Broadens their potential audience to include an international contingent. Also, by widening their appeal, they are working the system and increasing their chances of appearing on the lists of “Most Viewed” Channels on YouTube.

2. Offering a wide range of practical infotainment: From vlogs of models traveling to exotic locations, to tips from pro stylists, to behind the scenes videos of photo shoots and fashion shows, the content on the Ford Models YouTube page provide valuable information to their target audience.

3. Patience is a virtue: Since 2006, Ford Models has uploaded over 554 videos. With so many videos produced, Ford Models has learned what works for their brand and what doesn’t. By constantly producing and uploading videos, they have learned to tailor their messaging and have also created a large archive of searchable content that continues to accumulate views.

Online video is a relatively new medium and brands need to understand that their video content, like their websites, will continually be refined and will evolve to the needs and expectations of audiences. The smart tactics employed by Ford Models have led to the slow and steady growth of their large subscriber base but they have invested a significant amount of effort to get to this point. Brands that want instant results should expect to spend a great deal of money on media.

3. University of Phoenix Online

As broadband has become widely available, the dream of attending college online has come to fruition. Private online education programs have become so popular that even the old guard Ivy League Universities have begun to offer classes or access to lectures online. But when it comes to marketing its online classes via video, University of Phoenix Online leads the charge. On YouTube, University of Phoenix has hundreds of video testimonials, reviews, mini-documentaries and webisodes.

It’s not that their videos have huge numbers of views, or that their channel has that many subscribers (some have only a few hundred views); In this case, building a subscriber base is not important in terms of University of Phoenix Online’s marketing objectives. What is important is that they have at least one video to connect with each prospective student that searches for an online school or visits their channel.

Where University of Phoenix Online’s video marketing excels is in having a large number of videos, which increase the odds that the prospect will find a video featuring a real, relatable student with whom they can identify. Among the most watched videos on the channel are a compelling testimonial by MSNBC Anchor and graduate, Christina Brown, and a mini-documentary series featuring a diverse cast of graduates with inspirational stories about their life experience.

By being the first in their category to create a sponsored channel on YouTube, University of Phoenix Online automatically falls at the top of any search on YouTube for online schools—even if a user searches for a competitor. Using compelling, emotionally charged content, University of Phoenix Online has turned their YouTube channel into a virtual recruitment machine to convert prospects into enrolled students.

4. The Home Depot

The Home Depot stands out in their category because they publish content about subject matter that is relevant to their brand without being over-the-top in promoting the specific products that they sell. The smart marketers at Home Depot know that bringing value to consumers in the form of free educational content does three important things:

1. Establishes Home Depot as a trusted expert resource for Home repairs and renovation projects

2. Promotes the products and tools that they sell by using “product placement” instead of outright commercial-style pitches.

3. Humanizes a faceless corporation: Home Depot has a long history of featuring employees in its advertising campaigns: The tutorials online are hosted by the same straight-talking, orange-apron-wearing folks who work in their stores.

From simple repairs around the house (like replacing a toilet) to more complicated home-renovation projects (like re-tiling the bathroom), the free content offers practical knowledge and money-saving tips. One key point of distinction between The Home Depot and other players in their category is that they have not over-designed their YouTube page and have opted for the standard layout with a custom background image. The overall production values of the videos are not slick and overdone–they feel native to the Internet instead of “made for TV.”

5. Nikefootball

Few companies can even dream of having the marketing resources of a brand like Nike. Nike has lots of marketing dollars and yes, they hire big celebrities like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, but that success on YouTube isn’t necessarily only about hiring big names–it’s about being in concord with their brand.

The takeaway here for marketers is this: To thine own brand be true. Nike as a brand is well known for celebrity sports endorsement deals. Starting when Nike was but a nascent brand with Ilie Nastase, up to the present day, Nike has made its name by associating itself with sports stars. Not that the strategy hasn’t had its share of pitfalls (Nike Air Vick III), but it would be off-strategy and off-brand for Nike to suddenly start releasing a string of poorly-produced, low-budget videos just because the videos live on YouTube.

That being said, some of Nikefootball’s most-viewed videos (mostly from a specifically urban-targeted campaign) are filmed with a mashup of unconventional production equipment like Closed Circuit Security Cameras, Webcams, and Cellphones. But I want to draw a distinction here that there is a difference between cool videos created using experimental filmmaking techniques and just plain garbage.

The Nikefootball channel is targeted to the UK but Nike cleverly maintains Nikefutebol, an additional Portugese language channel to cater to the fierce Brazilian soccer contingent. Indeed, of all the sponsors on YouTube, Nike probably maintains the greatest number of channels (Nike, Nikefootball, Nikefutebol, NikeBasketball, NikeSoccer, NikeGridiron, NikePlusTV, LeBron, insidenikerunning, NikeWomen, NikeWomenUK, nikecorre, nikecorresp, etc…). While not every brand has the resources to maintain so many channels, it is notable that Nike has opted to create a variety of branded and lightly branded channels that cater to the different audiences for each of their product lines instead of trying to silo all their content inside a single Nike channel. This makes it easier for consumers to find content that is relevant to their needs without having to sift through hundreds of extraneous videos.

Catherine-Gail Reinhard is Creative Director at Videasa, an agency that focuses on creating video infotainment for the web and emerging media platforms. Recently, Catherine completed an extensive research study of marketers about online video. Contact her on Twitter () @catherine_gail for more information about the study.

March 24th, 2009 | by Paul Worthington

Paul Worthington is head of Strategy for Wolff Olins New York. You can follow his updates on Wolff Olins’ TumblrTumblr reviews and TwitterTwitter reviews.

Losing control is a primary reason stated by brands who are unwilling to open themselves up to the conversation – and a major reason why most continue to use social media as little more than a brochure on the web. And yet the illusion of control is just that – an illusion. By not involving yourself you actually do more to remove control than if you did.

The illusion of control

In traditional marketing and brand management you set out the position you want to take, the message you want to get through and then you put it out there. You feel in control because you’ve lined up your one-way communications and in a vacuum everything appears to line up.

Combine this with your brand tracking research, which abstracts the consumer response, and you create a feedback loop where your marketing activities and your market research self-reinforce the illusion. And yet under these circumstances you have, and have always had, precisely zero control over what people think and how they will respond to you.

The reality is that great branding has always been about influence and not control – influencing consumer choices and desires in a manner conducive to your goals and their satisfaction.

In today’s world, the way to achieve this is not through bigger advertising budgets or better creative, but through involvement – first by observing the conversation and then by involving yourself in it. As a result, it’s likely that those brands with the most effective influence strategies rather than the most effective control strategies will be the most successful.

Being a good influencer

Clearly, this represents a major shift in how you think. Below are three principles that good influencers appear to demonstrate, and which anyone considering an influence strategy should keep in mind:

1. Listen then respond. Brands are not generally good listeners, mostly because they’ve never had to be. Before engaging with the conversation it’s important to first listen to it, see what is being said and interpret what this means. Once you engage with the conversation it’s important to be honest and to have real sense of empathy in what you say – if people are excited and interested in your brand you must be supportive. If people have issues or problems with your brand you must seek means of genuinely helping them.

When Hulu pulled FX’s “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” without notice, fans were in an uproar. Days later Hulu CEO Jason Kilar apologized for the event in blog post titled Customer Trust is Hard Won, Easily Lost, during which he admitted “We handled this in precisely the opposite way that we should have.” The post was lauded for its honesty and transparency and was a major step toward repairing the damage done. The two-way nature of influence rather than the one-way nature of control was crucial here.

2. Be comfortable with ambiguity. Conversation is messy, real time, and often capricious. At first what you see will appear chaotic, unmanageable and intimidating. The reality is that it isn’t your job to manage or control it – but to respond to it. Here you must learn to filter what you see and think in order to respond and take part. In an extreme case, Wachovia continues to use Twitter to engage even after the banking crisis and their subsequent takeover by Wells Fargo. Calmly helping people deal with everything from debit card activation, to how long it will take for the Wells Fargo sign to appear above the door.

3. Filter through your purpose. If you’re a great listener, and you’ve become comfortable with ambiguity, you still risk being overwhelmed by the conversation pulling you in multiple directions. Here, having a strong brand purpose is a crucial tool – it becomes the tangible filter through which you listen and respond. It defines the nature of your brand’s conversational voice, and is fundamental to the influence that you seek.

Social media brand to watch: The Flying Dog Brewery

The Flying Dog Brewery is a perfect brand for social media engagement. Their “Way of the Dog” is about delivering “purposeful, provocative irreverence” and this entirely defines how they engage and what they do. Here’s a brewery that encourages customers to write haiku about their beer on Twitter, engages in snap polls about favorite brews on FacebookFacebook reviews, uses their blog to invite everyone down to the bar for a beer and then FlickrFlickr reviews to show everyone who couldn’t make it what ensued. (And not only that, the beer is pretty damn good too.)

And yet, for every good example, there are thousands of brands large and small who are struggling to figure this all out.

Perhaps the place to start is to think through what kind of influence you want to achieve, and then think about how you might engage in order to achieve it. If you listen first, you will see what is being said about you and this will identify useful and helpful ways in which to insert yourself into the conversation.

Who knows? You might even find that losing the illusion of control isn’t so bad after all, and you might just strike up a whole new obsession with influence.

Lon S. Cohen is a writer and social media strategist. He is @obilon on Twitter.

A Mashable article by Dr. Mark Drapeau was passed around on Twitter this Friday, calling for a ban on brands on Twitter. I respectfully disagree.

1. Twitter is Opt-In

Drapeau said that Twitter was for people to talk to people and not brands to project their message. Particularly distasteful to Drapeau was a humanless brand dumping useless information or worse, some SEO company marketing in a company’s Twitter account.

Fundamentally, I agree with what Drapeau says about the spammy Twitter accounts that are used just to get one more silly site link out there by an SEO company or brands that totally misunderstand and therefore misuse Twitter. It undermines Twitter’s usefulness in a small part. But since, as the author himself points out, Twitter is an opt-in service (meaning I can follow who I want and not follow advertisers) the impact is minimal.

2. Twitter is the New Phone Company

The debate did not rage on Twitter so much a simmer, mostly with brands themselves coming to their own defense. This is by no means the only debate out there on the usefulness of Twitter either as a form of communication or as a marketing tool. Many purists will probably cringe to hear me mention Twitter as a “marketing tool” and I sympathize with them.

Look, I am a centrist. Sorry to sound so wishy-washy about it but I believe that there is room for both brands and for person-to-person communication on Twitter. In fact, that is what I would argue the thing that makes Twitter so great. I believe it was Chris Brogan who recently Tweeted that he follows so many people because he thinks of Twitter as the new phone company. It is certainly a useful utility that might even grow up to be even too useful and powerful to ever be meaningfully monetized. Not that it can’t happen but Twitter has become such an extremely dynamic form of communication that it may transcend that simplistic, “where is your business model” mentality.

3. Brands Can Have Personalities Too

Like snowflakes, no two Tweeple (as some call Twitter users) are alike. It’s like a geek version of the Breakfast Club: there’s the shy lurker follower that follows everyone but rarely Tweets. The social butterfly who just @ replies to everyone all day. The loudmouthed soapboxer who just likes to talk about what is best for other people. The intellectual sharer who provides useful links and retweets. The big mouth that just goes around starting trouble with random Tweeple. Or the egoist Twitterer who can only talk about themselves or their newest, greatest vidcast.

In the end, we follow who we follow for our own reasons. On the TWIT podcast someone said that we shape our own stream on Twitter. Nothing could be truer. My personal strategy is to keep the people I follow to around 100 people or under. For that, I must be selective. I have people I just like. People who are big time influencers. Others are loudmouths that entertain me with their Tweets. And others whom I respect their intellectualism. In there are some brands. I actually have a lot of respect for people who Tweet under a brand. Brands can have personalities too.

Twitter Tips for Brands in 140 Characters

So what’s a brand to do? My tips, in 140 characters or less:

Brands have to be more than just faceless organizations online. They need to offer value added content about their brand/industry/sector.

I hope that we contribute to the Twitter conversation by bringing news and info not only about our cause but related topics as well.

Each brand can represent more than its product or service. It represents a whole industry and related content attached to that industry.

You don’t have to talk about your competitors but you should talk about what your customers come to you for.

Creative Ideas for Brands on Twitter

I would also add that a brand has to use every marketing tool according to the players already in the game. Don’t come to Twitter as a new brand and expect people to follow you just because you are well known. You need to offer more. I believe every brand can offer more, especially on Twitter because of the nature of the conversations that go on, not in spite of it. I would love to hear from some of my beloved brands like Coca Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Sam Adams, and on and on.

P&G

P&G can tell about the old days of sponsoring Soap Operas and how that went. Or they could talk about some of the staple food items in a historical context. I was fascinated by a show on TV once that traced the history of ketchup of all things. Can’t P&G or Heinz give me that for free on twitter? Intersperse Tweets with links and Twitpics and blog posts that craft a whole story. Speaking of craft, Kraft could talk about cheese all day long and you CAN make it interesting.

Coca Cola

Coca Cola has millions of ways to go with this, from showing old ads, to trivia to history and answering questions about the product. I see many ways that staple brands—ones that people would think would be boring online—can be exciting. Not all brands need to reinvent the wheel with their own Social Networking sites. Some of the best tools like Twitter are out there for free to let people know all this great stuff about you.

Sam Adams

Getting back to it, Sam Adams or any other wine or beer company can hire a great writer to craft a campaign where they tell the story of their brand across multiple platforms over time. Twitter is a great place to start. I love beer. I can think of many ways of using Twitter alone to really engage an audience online just with Twitter, a blog, an RSS feed and a few well-placed Social Networking groups. The brand brings the recognition and the power to Twitter, not the other way around. Brands need to learn to use it wisely by supplying people (Tweeple are people too, you know) with content that engages and informs.

Brands on Twitter? Absolutely Yes!

It’s funny but every time a new technology comes around like Twitter, people scrabble to figure out how their brand can market to it. But, in reality the people who are using it every day already know how. In a new media space, new media rules still apply. What I mean is don’t revert back to the tried and true methods to market whenever a new media technology comes along. Brands should watch the space and learn how others are effectively using it on a personal level and then just play along. It is quote simply, watch and learn.

The group will take care of the spammers and insincere brands on Twitter. Nobody will follow them back. They will get reported. They will be ridiculed into submission, eventually. There is no reason to call for a wholesale ban of brands on Twitter. I for one, want to hear what they have to say.

My last Tweet on the subject:

Of course we belong on twitter. End of story…

Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, April 09), a Social Media Specialist at EMC Corporation, and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.

Instead of scaring you with the harsh reality of the economy, I would much rather give you hope and advice on how to tackle it head on! The solution I’m proposing is “personal branding,” which is the process by which we market ourselves to others.

As a Mashable reader and social media connoisseur, realize that the difference between the branding of the past, and that of the present, is that social media has handed you the keys and a microphone to your future success. What I mean is that you are empowered, and are given the opportunity to let your voice be heard, at the cost of your time. OK, now for the tips:

1. Become an invaluable asset to your colleagues, professional network & clients

The first people who get laid off are the ones that are not needed for business to be conducted. If the business depends on your services and expertise, then you will, more than likely, remain in your current position, despite the economic climate.

As a social networker, you need to keep in touch with your friends, family and business contacts and provide them with any resources or help possible. As a business owner, it’s your job to convince your clients that they are benefiting from your services and are getting good ROI. The best way to keep in touch with your network is to import your contacts into LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, so you can provide them with valuable information over time.

2. Position yourself as the go-to-person for a specific skill

When it comes to branding, you want to own a word or phrase in the minds of others. It’s also beneficial to be someone that gets called upon when a specific need arises. A lot of young adults are branded as technically proficient, partially due to being raised in a sea of computer wires. Have you ever been asked to help someone in the office with a computer program?

Start letting people know what you’re good at and you will increase your value, which will increase the chance you survive the recession. Use a blog to position yourself as an expert in your field and people will be magnetically attracted to the information that is flowing out of each post you write.

3. Gain self-confidence and rise to the occasion

The worst thing you can do during a recession is lose faith, be uncertain and show it emotionally on the outside. An individual’s success or failure lies in their mental state. Those who are confident in their own abilities, skills, internal network and the future, will survive and thrive during a period of economic struggle. If you see an opportunity, go and grab it.

You need to be branded as a go-getter so people trust you with more work and are assured of the outcome. It’s in your best interests not to post negative status messages on your social networks. The web is public, and many people are connected to management, so attracting the wrong attention won’t work in your favor.

4. Focus on social equity, not just monetary equity

During a recession, many people choose to focus on every penny they have. They save money, instead of spending it (of course). The issue is that you come off as “cheap,” which will hurt your brand image. Also, people divest or don’t put much energy into building social equity (relationships/strong network), but rather monetary equity. This is a problem because money can’t really get you another job if you’re laid off, but your network can.

On the web, social equity is viewable through the amount of content you produce on your blog, or the amount of engagement you have on social networks. Over time, this equity begins to become a valuable asset to your career.

5. Build contact lists before you need them

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “build a network before you need it.” Well, today I’m offering you a social media strategy if you ever need to recover from being laid off. If you create a blog, join social networks, create a database of your network and possibly start an email newsletter; you are in effect establishing lists.

I speak with a lot of people who get jobs by notifying these “lists” that they just got laid off and are interested in a specific position. The key here is to build these lists out (RSS subscribers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends) before you need them. Then, you have a whole pool of people that can help you out. All it takes is one person from that list to get you back in the game!

6. Go on a branding spree by advertising it everywhere

Your brand needs to be where people are searching, especially where your unique audience is searching. I don’t think it’s revolutionary that you brand yourself on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, but I would like to offer you a few other sites that may connect you with other passionate and ambitious brands, such as VisualCV.com and Jobfox.com.

I think it’s imperative that you advertise your brand on the “old skool” job boards as well, including Monster, Careerbuilder and Yahoo! Hotjobs.

7. Make your brand so visible that people can’t avoid seeing you

When you admire some of the most successful personal branders on the Internet, like a Robert Scoble and a Pete Cashmore, one thing remains consistent: they are everywhere! This works in their favor because people remember them. If they were everywhere, but didn’t have credibility, a reputation or strong backing, then it might not have a great impact on you.

You need to not only advertise your brand on social networks, but comment on blogs, join forums and Facebook pages, as well as write articles for other blogs. If you aren’t already famous, then use the same avatar on all your social networking sites and keep your bio consistent, to the point and with links to your other sites. Make your name and face travel and see some great results.

8. Become so remarkable that complete strangers talk about you

When you were growing up, and maybe even right now, people talked about you behind your back. These were typically people who you knew and maybe didn’t like. Well, in the age of web 2.0, you can visualize and track these conversations, from blog to blog and profile to profile. If you have a loud enough voice and take a stand on a topic, you can be a brand that is spoken about by people you may not even know. These individuals might actually be able to pull you into a new opportunity at some point.

9. Be a content producer, not just a consumer

It’s really easy to brand yourself an innocent observer. The problem is that consumers aren’t sharing any value with the world, while producers are building value in themselves and getting their ideas noticed. Try and start a podcast series or write a blog about what you love. Something you’re really passionate about, whether it be work or play. People will begin to notice and be drawn to your brand. Being a producer is much more rewarding, and it causes your network to flourish, thus positioning your brand for career success.

10. Have an “endorsement mindset”

Last but not least, and possibly one of the most important things to keep in mind, is the power of positive endorsements. Collect endorsements throughout your life like you would collect baseball cards. You are the chief marketing officer for the brand called you, but what others say about your brand is more impactful than what you say about yourself.

On LinkedIn, give other people endorsements and you will notice that many will return the favor. If you’ve had blog commenters or people write about you, ask them to use their comments on your blog. Endorsements will prove your worth, allow you to market yourself into a new job or rise in the ranks in your current job.

Imagery courtesy of iStockPhoto, hidesy, MiquelMunill, Sveta

Effectively organizing, curating, showcasing, and managing a strategically crafted online personal, professional, and corporate brand is critical to how our peers, those we already know and the others we have yet to meet, perceive us in the real world.

Everything we share online, the comments we leave, the posts we publish, the pictures and videos we upload, the updates we tweet, the statuses we broadcast in social networks and lifestreams, contribute to disparate digital recreations of how people perceive us – as an individual, representative of a company, or the corporate brand we manage. While we can’t control the filters of how people ultimately assemble these pieces and assess our personality, reputation, value proposition, and expertise, we can shape and steer perception by sharing tactical and complimentary content that contributes to the brand we wish to portray and represent.

We are all, at some level, becoming brand managers.

The Social Web is a vast universe.

But don’t let its expansiveness deter your goals for creating and cultivating a strategic presence. Whether you’re new to Social Media or an experienced veteran, we are collectively tied to the evolution of the social Web simply by who we know or want to know. To stay connected with friends, family, customers, and professional peers, we join the digital communities that facilitate meaningful and relevant conversations. Evolution is natural and our existing and future relationships will dictate in which communities we remain and those we will eventually embrace.

But how do you know where to establish your online presence and secure your associated brand before it’s either spoken for or hijacked?

A good place to start is by analyzing the Conversation Prism. It provides a visual map that will guide you through the process of identifying communities and conversations related to the brand you represent.

In the era of the socialized Web, we are all brand managers now. We are responsible for our personal brand as well as the corporate brand we represent. Securing that online brand is critical to establishing and maintaining a consistent and complementary presence from network to network.

There is a helpful dashboard now available for brand managers to streamline the process of obtaining and creating online identities.

UserNameCheck cross references every major social network for the availability of your desired username. The results are displayed in one master dashboard, providing you with the ability to determine which networks require your attention and also a direct link to secure the username.

Whether you’re a corporate brand manager or focusing on your personal brand, securing your identity and increasing your visibility in the online communities that are important to your world is constant.

Congratulations, you are now hired as the brand manager for the brand YOU and the corporate brand you may represent. Care for them well and they will pay dividends in the form of more fruitful, valuable, rewarding , and possibly monetizable, relationships online and in the real world.

For a deeper look at the Social Web and its impact on your online persona, please read:

The Socialization of Your Personal Brand- Part I
The Socialization of Your Personal Brand- Part II
The Socialization of Your Personal Brand- Part III