Beyonce and Jay-Z recently filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect daughter Blue Ivy Carter's name--a probable first step to establishing the newborn's personal (and likely profitable) brand. While the move may seem a bit premature, web users of all ages are similarly trying to navigate social media sites to get seen, heard, and hopefully, trusted.
Even if you work within a large organization and don't have celebrity parents, it's a good idea to start thinking about your personal brand today. Not only will the resulting larger network help you keep your options open on the work front, participating across social media sites can help you to stay informed about your area of expertise so you don't fall behind.  
Yes, it's all about expertise. If you've been successful on the personal branding front, chances are that you've established yourself as an expert. Whether you blog about real estate, tweet about stocks, or pin about jewelry, social media makes it easy for anyone to shape herself or himself online.  
Aside from creating compelling content, a personal branding regimen should also include an active plan to achieve your daily goals. Consider short intervals during your regular routine when you can manage your various online accounts. That might mean jumping on social sites every couple of hours for 15 minutes at a time, or maybe more depending on how important a strong digital persona ties into your professional success.  
Once you've put aside the time to engage, there are a few key tools beyond the obvious services such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter that you should use to maintain a healthy digital presence. Here are five to help you get started and to stay on track.
1.  Namecheck - This free tool is invaluable to personal branding newbies and experts alike. With one click,...