With a few clicks of your mouse, most Internet users can become viral in minutes, promoting themselves and their businesses to tens, hundreds and even thousands of people. We see this everyday on Facebook, You-Tube, Twitter and the list goes on and on.

My observation is that many of these “promotions” are actually “demotions.” Some are hurting themselves and wrecking their personal brand. Here are a few examples that come to mind.

1. The Copycats… see people posting opportunities and then copy and re-post the same content themselves. How original, like they don’t share many of the same friends who already saw the same posting minutes earlier. If you’re trying to promote yourself as a leader, this could be a problem, because you clearly are a follower.

2. The Dead-Horse Beaters… feel they have to remind people 2-3 times a week why their products/services are the best. With every post, expect to lose “friends” and “followers”