Many people recognize that a personal online brand could be as important (possibly more so) than a company brand when looking to win a new client, get a conference speaking pitch approved or be asked for expert opinions from the media.

He then goes on to talk about ways to extend your personal brand:

• Blogging
• Guest blogging
• Twitter
• Business social media networking (like LinkedIn)
• Online presentations
• Online video
• Social media networking

Kevin’s post is totally spot-on. I left SEOmoz after 3 1/2 years to pursue other interests, and when I sent out an email to some of my closest friends and contacts in the Internet marketing industry, I expected to get a few responses and leads. The email thread is at 99 responses and is still growing. I’ve been running to and from lunch meetings, fielding phone calls, responding to emails, and answering smoke signals (well, maybe not the last one) nonstop for the past week, and I gotta chalk it up to the fact that I have a recognizable and fairly strong personal brand in this industry.

How did I do it? Well, aside from spraying pheromones skunk-style on people wherever I go, I pretty much followed Kevin’s advice in his article:

1. I got my start blogging on SEOmoz and developing a distinct voice and perspective. Lots of people seemed to respond positively to my stupid ramblings, which is good for me but is likely bad for their long-term mental health. :P
2. I had guest blogged in the past for Shoemoney, Sugarrae, SEO Chicks, and Search Engine Land. I haven’t guest blogged lately because I had gotten really busy at SEOmoz, but I’ll likely pick up on the guest blogging now that I have more freedom to infect other blogs with my snark.
3. I’ve networked like a mad fiend, having attended numerous conferences over the past few years. I’ve also visited and commented on a lot of Internet marketing blogs and contributed to various online conversations.
4. The networking and relationships built/contacts established enabled me to build up a pretty good following on Twitter and grow my list of contacts on LinkedIn.
5. I haven’t done any online presentations, but I have presented at various conferences and have built relationships and friendships with people who have seen me speak.
6. I’ve done a couple dorky Whiteboard Friday videos for SEOmoz and have participated in the occasional WebProNews videos and interviews.
7. And, of course, I’m a social media geek. :)

Combine the above with the fact that I’m well-liked by about 85% of the people I meet (the other 15% are buttwads who kick puppies and love the smell of their own farts) and you’ve got a girl who’s fielding various job opportunities. It pays to network and to work on your personal brand, and not just for the Internet marketing industry. In this day and age any prospective employer can search for your name and see either nothing relevant pop up (the Internet version of crickets chirping), bad shit pop up (like a picture of you passed out drunk on the floor with a penis Sharpied onto the side of your face), or your LinkedIn profile, a couple blogs that you write for, etc.

Use your brand to your advantage. I haven’t had to update my resume in nearly four years, so when someone asked me for a copy I had to pretty much start from scratch. The last time I tinkered with my resume, my college degree was listed as “in progress;” now I’ve got my Twitter profile and LinkedIn profile listed and used my blog posts at SEOmoz and here as a portfolio of sorts. You can be proactive about your personal brand–when you have better control over it, it can lead to great opportunities.

I still haven’t finalized my job situation yet (maybe that should be the focus of my next post), but I know full well that the opportunities I’m being offered are 100% due to the strong network I’ve built and my personal branding efforts over the past few years. This is the kind of crap you have to be mindful of nowadays, especially when you’re looking to better your career.