Your resume may get you attention but your personal brand gets you the job. Personal branding is not a buzzword anymore but rather the secret weapon that helps outstanding professionals stand out of the crowd.
Just pretend that personal branding is the professional reputation on steroids. It is the special mix of abilities, experiences and personality that you want the world to know. When it is done properly, it opens gates to opportunities you never imagined. Neglected, it puts your career path in the mercy of the fates.
This guide will teach you how to create, cultivate and utilize your personal brand to fast track your career. You will get to know effective tips to establish your professional identity, showcase your expertise and develop long term relationships that drive your success.
What Is Personal Branding And Why You Need It
Personal branding is the promotion of one and their career as a brand. It is about establishing your identity, what you believe in and what sets you apart with the rest of the people in the same profession.
Personal branding does not list your qualifications as is the case with the traditional resumes; it tells your story. It conveys your values, portrays your personality, and displays your own way of problem solving.
The Career Impact of Strong Personal Branding
Strong personal brands come with a number of benefits to the professionals:
More Visibility: The more you write and share helpful information and demonstrate your expertise the more you will be visible to prospective employers, clients, and partners.
More Opportunities: You will be in a position to have more opportunities when you have a clear personal brand that will match your goals and values. One does not go in pursuit of each job opening but instead the right ones find you.
Higher earning power: The professionals have the ability to earn more as salaries and fees. Your brand is what will make you a premium that customers and employers will pay.
Professional Credibility: A good personal brand also makes you an industry thought leader and thus increases the chances of others trusting your knowledge and consulting you on matters.
Network Growth: A clear personal brand will attract other professionals of the same values and you will organically grow your network.
Building Your Personal Brand Foundation
Identify Your Unique Value Proposition
Unique value proposition is what makes you different to all the other people in your field. The combination of your talents, experiences and character traits are what make something unique.
The best thing that you can do in identifying your unique value proposition is by asking yourself the following questions:
- What can I solve better than anybody else?
- What are my shaping experiences?
- What do my co-workers and clients rave about me all the time?
- Which are my rare skills that I can combine in my industry?
Define Your Target Audience
The best personal brands address a certain audience.
- The consumers that require your services
- People who are of the same profession as you are
- Innovators and movers and shakers in the industry
Knowing your target audience will assist you to customise your message and select the appropriate platforms to share your message.
Craft Your Personal Brand Statement
Personal brand statement is a short description of what you are all about. It must be memorable, specific and in line with what you want to do in your career.
A strong personal brand statement typically includes:
- Your area of expertise
- Your unique approach or perspective
- The value you provide
- Your target audience
For example: I help technology startups to develop scalable marketing plans that will offer sustainable growth using the assistance of data-driven content and authentic stories.
Establishing Your Online Presence
Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
Professional personal branding revolves around LinkedIn. Your resume must be an exciting account of your profession and experience.
Professional Headline Use your headline to say what you are known to deliver and your value proposition.
Summary Section: Write a conversational summary that talks about what you have accomplished, your story and keywords related to your industry.
Experience Descriptions: The job descriptions are not to be written but achievements and results should be written. Measure your impact where possible in terms of metrics.
Skills & Recommendations: Demonstrate your skills, let your colleagues & customers vouch for you.
Create Valuable Content
The creation of content is one of the most powerful options to build your personal brand. It shows your expertise and adds value to your audience and makes you top-of-mind.
Choose your Content Types: Articles, posts, videos, podcasts or infographics, choose the contents that you are most comfortable with and the ones that your audience are comfortable with.
Share Industry Insights: Write up on trends and provide your view on industry news and provide a solution to the overall issues.
Tell Your Story: What have you learned and what are some of your career pivots and what is it like behind-the-scenes of your professional life?
Be Real: Comment back, hold discussions and motivate others in your network.
Maintain Consistency Across Platforms
Your individual brand must be the same everywhere that you have a professional presence. This includes:
- On the same note, professional headshot
- Incorporation of your competency and values on a consistent basis
- Repackaging of subject contents of your material on different websites
- Harmony of your tone and voice of messages
Leveraging Your Personal Brand for Career Growth
Networking with Purpose
Personal branding can make networking more effective because it will attract the right people and provide you with conversation starters.
Go to Industry Events: Conferences, workshops and meetups are the places where you may meet people of the same interests and demonstrate your knowledge.
Become a member of Professional Communities: Groups, associations and forums online give you the opportunity to share knowledge and develop contacts.
Donate the First Gift of Value: Don not request favors, but what you can offer to help. This is a better way of creating stronger and more genuine relationships.
Thought Leadership Development
Becoming a thought leader enhances your personal brand and gets you access to speaking engagements, media interviews and consulting opportunities.
Contribute Your Own Ideas: Do not be a parrot to what others say. Provide new solutions and ideas.
Write Industry Publications: Write guest articles in trade publication, industry blogs or professional magazines.
Speak at events: Start with smaller events and webinars and then you can proceed to larger events as your reputation grows.
Attend Panels: Panels in an industry are a great way to demonstrate your knowledge with other industry leaders.
Personal Brand Measurement
Any personal branding activity has to be monitored to understand what is actually working and what needs to be altered.
Track Your Online Presence: Set up Google Alerts to monitor your name, and what shows up when someone searches on your name.
Track Engagement Metrics: Track the likes, shares, comments and followers on your social media.
Track Professional Opportunities: Track speaking invitations, job opportunities, consulting opportunities and media opportunities.
Speak with close associates and mentors and request them to give you feedback on your personal brand and professional reputation.
Common Personal Branding Mistakes to Avoid
Being Too Generic
The desire to have an outreach to all people is among the biggest mistakes. Generic personal brands are drowned in the noise. Rather, talk about what is unique about you and address your target audience.
Inconsistent Messaging
Conflicting messages, as well as confusing your audience, water down your brand. Make sure that your personal brand narrative is the same at every point of contact.
Neglecting Authenticity
It will be counterproductive to attempt to be a person you are not. Authentic personal brands are easier to remember and easier to trust than false personalities.
Focusing Only on Self-Promotion
Personal branding is not only self-promotion. It is not about giving to others but about building up real relationships.
Ignoring Your Offline Presence
Your personal brand does not exist online only. The way you present yourself in meetings, events, and day to day dealings all build your professional image.
Transform Your Career Through Strategic Personal Branding
Personal branding does not mean to develop a false identity and become a social media celebrity. It is a question of conveying your real professional value to the appropriate individuals in a tactically successful way.
Professionals who succeed are those who control their story. They do not leave their reputation to chance, they are proactive in how people perceive their expertise, values and potential.
Start building your own brand today by figuring out what makes you unique and take one action, it could be optimizing your LinkedIn profile, publishing your first article, or attending an industry event. The future career opportunities depend on the personal brand that you will develop today.
Just keep in mind that personal branding is an investment into your career. What you do today will compound over time, and end up being a powerful asset that opens doors and speeds your professional development over the years.
