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An hour ago, I had a quick meet-up with my friend Barb at downtown Grumpys to discuss things like branding yourself, social media and just keeping up with each other.

Some big-brands have done a great job with social media including 3M, Doritos, Kraft (DiGiorno pizzas) and others. How about a sole proprietor who specializes in something other than search marketing or social media?

Barb fits this bill as I do many projects with her. She’s the owner of Snap Communications who specializes in copywriting, Web content and concepts. I’ve always known she’s a great writer yet it didn’t click why until a few days ago.

I’m currently in the middle of a three-part article series for Search Engine Guide. I crafted the first part to what I thought was really good and asked her to edit it. A half hour later, it was basically re-written to where I was simply amazed! She is now my paid editor for all future Search Engine Guide posts.

So, how does a sole proprietor brand themselves on social media? There are probably hundreds of answers, but here’s what we came up with:

LinkedIn – This has been around for a few years but has gained recent popularity due to the economy. Both mainstream media and high-level contract recruiters are on this constantly. It’s a great idea to update your profile, give honest recommendations to people and join groups that are relevant to your interests.

Facebook – Many may disagree. Big brands have great public pages. I normally visit Facebook for its original purpose – keeping in touch with current friends back to high school friends. Outside of having a public profile, do you really want to bug your ol’ high school friends about your company?

Twitter – We joked about this quite a bit. Let’s just say that quality trumps quantity.

MySpace – It’s not normally a means to market yourself in 2009. But, it turns out that Barb also writes and sings music. She’s very good. Check it out for yourself! She has a new CD coming out soon and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

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