Branding YOU Better! – Susan Newman Lerer

Are you guilty of sending a photo or document to someone else and you named it with some acronym or code only you know? It happened at least twice yesterday with documents sent to me and happens almost everyday.

Let me explain.

When you have a headshot of yourself, you may name it my-headshot.jpg, but if you email that picture to me, I have to rename it with your name, because it’s your headshot, not mine. The same is true for your resume or bio. You send me a Word document named, my-resume.doc, and again I must rename it with your name.

This is the same principle I want you to realize for all of your documents, pdfs, videos and photographs. Whenever you upload new content or send it to someone else, no matter the format, please rename it so it makes sense to the world.

Now, I know what you are going to say. Word and Photoshop and other programs won’t let you name the file the length you need. I understand. Here’s how to do it. Once you have saved the file to your desktop you just highlight the name and you can rename it or make the name longer, but don’t forget to leave the extension there (.doc or .jpg) or the file won’t open. And no spaces between the words, only hyphens (Do Not:  image.jpg) >>ONLY DO: (woman-talking-to-man.jpg) See the hyphens? The web does not understand a blank space, so be sure to put hyphens in. Also, when uploading images or documents to the web or your blog, include that “alt” tag, which helps you explain the file in greater detail.

Once you do this, it’s going to make all the difference in the world for your brand visibility. Yes, now your work and YOU can be found online!

• ← Book Marketing: What Makes A Great Book Design?
• Brand Interview: Kelsey Borlan Lee, The Brand Gal at Kelsey Rae Photography →