If you don’t give the market the story
to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you. – David Brier
Focus on identifying your target
audience, communicating an authentic message that they want and need and
project yourself as an “expert” within your niche. – Kim Garst
Start by knowing what you want and who
you are, build credibility around it and deliver it online in a compelling way.
– Krista Neher
If you’re not branding yourself, you can
be sure others do it for you.
– unknown
Bernard Kelvin Clive said, “Without differentiation you have
no brand”. In this crazy social media
world, it is important that you differentiate your personal brand from everyone
else so A
stand for Advertise!
According to Wikipedia, the “World Wide Web” was created in
1989 by Tim Berners-Lee and he wrote the first web browser computer programme
in 1990. As we all know, Berners-Lee simple
creation has developed into a social media phenomenon that has us constantly checking
our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.
We watch YouTube for the latest cat or dog videos to make us laugh. Our lives are consumed by social media!
In creating a personal brand, social media is such an
important aspect because Tim Berners-Lee said it himself, “Data is a precious
thing and will last longer than the systems themselves”. When we post something anywhere, it will
forever be available for someone to find and can potential help or hurt the
personal brand that you work so hard to create.
Before you can Advertise your brand, you need to complete an
audit of your online presence. How are
people currently seeing you? What works
well with your brand and what changes should you make going forward in regards
to your brand online?
Next, determine how you want to ADVERTISE your brand.
When you are advertising yourself, you want to make sure that anything
you add to the web adds value and is purposeful. You are creating your “niche” in the industry
you want to work in or currently work in.
People will see your specialty when they search for you. Some ideas for social media include Facebook,
LinkedIn, a blog or a personal website. There
are so many options and the research you did last week will be so valuable for
you to know how people in your industry interact with other people in the
industry. Also, it is important to note
that the Nielsen Norman Group conducted a study that showed 90% of users are
lurkers, which are individuals that search the web, but never comment, “like”,
etc. So even if you do not get any
responses, people are still seeing your personal brand and seeing the value you
are making in the industry. REMEMBER that it will only take
one contact, event, etc. to change the trajectory of your life so always strive
to create a personal brand that truly exemplifies your strengths!
CHALLENGE: Take
time this week to audit your online presence.
Determine what social media will best help Advertise your personal brand and brainstorm
ideas for blog posts, articles, etc. you can write to promote yourself. Create a schedule and reminders to make sure
you continue to update your social media.
Also, review what others have said.
One bad comment can seriously hurt your brand.
It’s
important to build a personal brand because it’s the only thing you’re going to
have. Your reputation online, and in the
new business world is pretty much the game, so you’ve got to be a good
person. You can’t hide anything, and
more importantly, you’ve got to be out there at some level. – Gary Vaynerchuk
Resources
Please note that I am
including all resources that I use for the personal branding series each week
to assist the reader in the creation of the personal brand.
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