CVS was both a delightful and daunting place for me to go to as a preteen because with every visit, it literally took me hours just to leave. Entranced by the hair and makeup aisle in particular, I would wander up and down the rows, returning to spots I had just been moments ago, touching the shiny plastic bottles as if the elixirs held inside contained the fix for instant beauty. Perhaps because I was a deliberate young girl (or even more likely because I was a nerd), no purchase could be made without methodically reading the labels of almost every bottle in that row just so I could know exactly what the product said it was going to do. I guess old habits are hard to break even ten years later because last week, I found myself standing in the middle of Harris Teeter at 1 AM in flip-flops and my boyfriend's sweatpants, reading the back of a Tresemme conditioner bottle.

What was funny about Tresemme's product label, was that the verbiage was divided under two headings: one reading, "OUR PHILOSOPHY" and the other, "THIS PRODUCT". Since I've spent the last decade absorbing myself in what feels like every hair product on the planet, the "THIS PRODUCT" heading was surprisingly of little interest to me because deep down, I knew the contents of most of these drugstore brands were basically the same. Intrigued to get a peak at the actual business of Tresemme (from the back of their conditioner bottle, no less) I averted my attention to the "OUR PHILOSPHY" heading.

From our origins in salons, we have always been driven by a simple truth; every woman deserves to look fabulous without spending a fortune.

I stopped there and let that sentence sink in for a second. Perhaps it was the Marketing student in me but I was impressed. Here I was at a grocery store in the middle of the night just trying to make a decision about whether or not to spend $4.99 on this huge bottle of conditioner, and Tresemme is taking the time to tell me about the one "simple truth" of their organization. Tresemme was ensuring that I thoroughly understand their brand. How many of us should be so lucky to convey our message in such a direct way?Whether you like it or not, you are a living, breathing brand. Just like Tresemme, you have a "simple truth" that speaks to your passion, what you are good at, and the contribution you'd like to give to your corner of the world. It is what you will be known for. If you want to market yourself in any way—for a job or as an entrepreneur—then you have to make sure your personal brand solidly conveys that truth. At a lost for how you can go about branding? Here are a few ways:

1. Start a Blog. I hope you knew that one was coming! Free to setup and easy to maintain, blogs might single-handedly be one of the best ways to put your personal brand online. Nowhere else can you be as useful and as visible to your community. The create think about blogs is that the don't have to take written form. Video blogging can be just as influential, as we see with the rise of Kim Love and her popular Kimmaytube on youtube.
2. Be Useful. I think this is the most overlooked advice when it comes to branding. Everyone wants to blast Twitter and Facebook with information about themselves, but no one wants to put out useful content that actually helps people. People remember people who are helpful.
3. Be Selective. Your personal brand is as much about who you are and what you do as it is who you're not and what you don't do. If you are trying to develop a clear, consistent presence online, then you need to make sure that your blogs, tweets, facebook updates, etc., relay information that makes your particular message stronger, not contradicting.
4. Get to know others with a similar message. Whether online or in person, there are plenty of people you should be meeting that can help spread the word about you and what you are about. Especially if you make it a point to be useful, as I previously pointed out.

So what's you're personal brand, your simple truth? How are you using it to make the most of your aspirations? Share your comments below.