Personal branding via social media is a way to express yourself online to share with others. Since it is up to you who your audience is, (for example: friends and family versus potential employers) the direction of a personal brand is entirely up to you. Discovering and creating your personal brand should be based on how you want others to perceive you. According to the article, "Personal Branding 101" by Dan Schawbel, when deciding on your personal brand, your goal should be to set yourself apart by fulfilling a niche which has yet to be filled.
Making yourself stand apart from others can be difficult, but no one knows you better than yourself. With any brand, you need to establish consistencies. For example, anything you produce like a blog, business card, etc should follow the same design elements and focuses. In addition, wherever there is an opportunity for you to share your brand, use it. Don't ever leave an "about me" or "bio" section blank. Think up of a short blurb consisting of no more than two sentences which sums up you and what you want your brand to convey. Just because many social media outlets have character limits does not mean you need to sacrifice creativity for word count.
Similarly, in order for you to obtain fans/friends/followers/etc you need to make the first move and put your brand out there. By engaging via social media with others that have value to your brand showcases that you are interested in expanding and encourages others to engage with you as well.
http://mashable.com/2009/02/05/personal-branding-101/
