Editor’s Note
By Peter Sterlacci
The Power of Communities and Tribes
I often talk about the importance of building and nurturing a brand community. Your community is a critical component of the personal branding process. It reinforces your unique promise of value and gives you a sounding board to ensure you stay on-brand.
In June I hosted a ‘blogathon’ on my blog where I featured 30 thought leaders from around the world. Each day I shared a post from a different person – 30 posts in all. The response was incredible and the community formed out of this project continues to thrive.
What really amazed me was the power of social media to pull this community together. In early May I sent out a few tweets asking for people to join this effort. One person signed-on and then like a snowball effect I had 30 people on-board within just three days. I was inspired by the desire for people to share content and join this community, my “Tribe of 30″
In his bestselling book, Tribes, Seth Godin explains it is human nature to seek out and be part of a tribe. People have been doing it for centuries. Today the traditional barriers of forming a community have been eliminated and countless new tribes are springing up each and every day. My blogathon tribe is a testament to this as I watched it form before my eyes in really no time.
Life Coach, John Falchetto wrote a great post where he reminds us that online it is also very easy to step into the wrong tribe. We need to begin by knowing who we – aligning our own goals, strengths, and values with the tribe and its leader. If a powerful tribe is moving in the same direction we want to go in, then we feel compelled to join it. Perhaps that is what happened back in May when 30 people were driven by the same goals, strengths, and values to join my blogathon tribe!
I see YOUnique as a powerful tribe of like-minded members moving in the same direction. We are part of this tribe because we value personal branding and the power it gives people to be more successful in their careers and lives. As the Editor-in-Chief of YOUnique I value each and every member of this community. You are the sounding board to ensure that the goals, strengths, and values of YOUnique are aligned with you. Keep us on track and let me know if we ever go off-brand!
On a final note, this month we unfortunately will not have our usual Book Review column but it will return from August with a review of Mika Brzezinski’s Knowing Your Value. Stay tuned.
Peter Sterlacci, founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand
Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.