Kickstarting your personal brand online

Without question every one of us has an online identity?—?whether it’s the Facebook profile, a blog entry from your college times, an Amazon Wishlist, or your name in the ‘About Us’ page of your company…. In some or the other way your name comes in the online search. Maybe you have even right now googled yourself. Through interactions with websites and on mostly social media your personal brand is already out there. It’s your choice now to proactively form your brand online or let the other people and the internet manage it for you. Your personal brand is your story and if you don’t tell it, then the few posts online of you will do it for you.

The fact is you are a leader. You’re leading You!

What are you waiting for? Take it up proactively so that what people see online about you is what you WANT them to see! A brand is a promise of the value you’ll receive when using or interacting with it. Start communicating the value that you bring to the market. Personal branding allows you to establish a reputation and an identity that gives trust. We’ve learned over the years that trust is the most important currency for any brand. Your job is to know exactly, concisely and in context what you stand for. What are you bringing to the market? You are the CEO of Me.Inc (to refer to Tom Peter’s famous saying). It’s your job to be the head marketer of the brand called YOU. You’re not an “employee” of Pepsi, you’re not a “staffer” at a Pepsi store, and you’re not a “worker” at a Pepsi assembly line or a “human resource” at Pepsi Labs. You don’t “belong to” any company for life, and your chief affiliation isn’t to any particular “function”. You’re not defined by your job title and you’re not confined by your job description. The only organization that you belong to and are committed to for life is YOU. We’re far too early introduced to the importance of perception and reputation. During our childhood, school and college days we’re moulded to define ourselves by what we will become and not by who we think we are. We shouldn’t make career choices on the basis of what they do for us or which picture they are reflecting about us to the society, but because they are rewarding us of who we are. This is where values kick in.

What’s the pitch for you?

A successful and sustainable personal brand strategy starts with a clear understanding of one’s values and ability to act consistently with those values. Go on a personal brand experience journey? Find out your greatest strengths and weaknesses, define what success means for you, note down the words you would like people to use to describe you, pin down your own values and which aspects of your life have been rewarding so far for you. Review your findings and write down WHAT’S THE PITCH FOR YOU? Your audience should know what you bring to the market and what they’re getting when they’re interacting and working with you.

Get visibility. Forget about the old-fashioned word résumé. You’ve got a marketing brochure for the brand you to be created online. Instead of a static list of titles held and positions occupied, your marketing brochure brings to life the skills you’ve mastered, the projects you’ve delivered, the braggables you can take credit for. There are plenty of free platforms so get yourself out there. Social media platforms are one great part of it. Keep the golden rule in mind: More is less. Focus on one or two types of social media channels. No doubt, social media is huge but it gets too overwhelming for someone to try and do and be everything. Do less, but with great quality. Remember even which channels you choose are part of your brand strategy too. How, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages that’s all your brand strategy. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets.

The How To!

Know the why - why you do what you do? Why you do it the way you do it? Why you get up in the morning?

Own the differences - what’s your unique selling proposition (USP)

Find your tribe - Fill your life with people who will help you attain your goals, and vice versa. There are three kinds of people: The person that will pay you. The person that influences the person that pays you. And your supporter. You’ll be happier and more productive when you decide purposeful on the kinds of people you want to be a part of your personal brand.

Keep your promises - or “say what you do, do what you say.”

Be consistent - Build a consistent persona on all your social profiles: look, feel and language.

Focus - Define one to three focus areas and go deep here, not broad.
Provide value - be a content producer not consumer. Share your expertise.

Don’t be intruding - not everything posted by one of your contacts requires you to “like,” share or comment on it. It can get creepy if you become a social maniac. Save your comments for things you think your contact will really appreciate and value. Also never force contacts to share your own content. Asking friendly for a retweet is fine, but don’t become obsessive. If people appreciate what you’ve to say, they’ll share it anyways.

Engage & pay it forward— Have an endorsement mindset. Become a cheerleader for others by sharing their content. Don’t forget you get what you give.

Measure - Track your interactions & mentions, and reply within 24 hours. Helpful tools are Tweetdeck, Buffer or Hootsuite.

Stay relevant - Keep your content updated. Consistency is the key.

Don’t make negative posts -“If you wouldn’t be comfortable having it on the front page of The New York Times, it probably shouldn’t be anywhere online.” Never post when you’re angry. Golden rule here: Read it twice.

Be concise - Use short instead of long words. Avoid phrases. Take the time to review and cut unnecessary words before you post your message.

Find your voice - Create a voice that reflects you and connects with your audience. It matters what you have to say and how well you get it said. But it’s also a matter of style.

Be humble - Attitude carries too much weight.

Be yourself - The point isn’t to create an alter-ego called our “personal brand” that presents a super-human, a polished version of the real you. The point is to be authentic in who you are and intentional how to tell your story.

Conclusion

If you adhere these 15 things above you’re probably on a pretty good way to build a fantastic and consistent branding of yourself online.

There is no single path to success and there is no ONE right way to create the brand called You. Except: Start today. Keep in mind that you get what you put in. There are no shortcuts. It’s about your hard work and passion to show what you do. Simply promote what you love. It will be a win-win both on a personal and professional level. As personal branding is a long-term strategy take it serious and give it time to see results. Your ongoing dedication will show meaningful improvements in your audience. The benefit to all that hard work is that those benefits are exponential.

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