Interested In Building Your Personal Brand? Here Are 3 Ways To Get Started
As workers reevaluate their career paths and future goals, they’re becoming increasingly interested in what it takes to develop a personal brand. A common misconception people have is that building a personal brand only matters if they’re entrepreneurs, celebrities, or in a high-ranking position. Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal brand. It’s everything you share across social media, what shows up when someone Googles you, and what people are saying about you when you’re not in the room.
If you’re taking advantage of the current job market, you’ve most likely experienced fierce competition for open positions. According to Prudential, 20% of workers changed careers during the pandemic, and 26% plan to look for a job when things stabilize. While the pandemic has undoubtedly upended the world of work, one thing remains the same — building connections is more likely to help you land a job than your credentials alone. Regardless of where you’re at in your career, it’s important that you take control of your online reputation to cultivate a personal brand that helps you stand out in an ever-evolving job market.
There are a variety of benefits when it comes to creating your personal brand such as
- establishing a reputation
- showcasing your abilities and personality
- highlighting your strengths
- building trust, credibility, and relationships within your industry
- attracting opportunities that are aligned with your values and goals
- setting yourself apart from the competition
- increasing your confidence, and more
Here are three ways you can begin to build your personal brand.
Be Authentic
Your personal brand is more than your job title and description of your duties. It’s a representation of what you stand for, what you want to be known for, as well as your core values and expertise. When you lack authenticity and aren’t true to yourself, people can tell which then harms your credibility and reputation. The more authentic you are, the more you’ll repel the wrong opportunities and individuals and attract the right ones.
Mike Ashie, leadership consultant, explained, “your personal brand starts with your personal reputation with those around you. Once you know and understand who you are and what you represent then your brand will start to grow.” Marietta Gentles Crawford, speaker, personal brand strategist, and founder of MGC Ink, added, “the key is to be intentional in how you show up so there’s an alignment with the authentic person you are offline and your career goals.” She explained, “it’s often your quirks and unique personality that make you stand out to others. As such, the best way to start building your personal brand is by understanding what makes you different and what others are saying about you.” To do this, you can evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and seek feedback from friends and colleagues. From there, you can utilize that information to begin shifting your personal brand in a more positive direction and capitalizing on your strong points.
Produce Content
Your digital footprint is an important part of your personal brand. This includes how you communicate, the language you use, how you engage with others, and the ways you showcase your personality. There is an abundance of tools and resources at our disposal to produce content and get our name out there. Some examples include TikTok, having a YouTube Channel, podcasting, Facebook Lives, email newsletters, LinkedIn posts, Instagram posts and reels, and more. To maximize the effectiveness of your personal brand, you’ll want to make sure your platforms don’t contradict themselves and be mindful of how you interact with others as well as the content you re-post and share. It’s not uncommon for employers to look at someone’s social media, especially if it’s public, to see if what you’re posting will harm the company’s image or reputation. As such, you’ll want to be intentional with the content you share to ensure it aligns with your core values and remains professional.
Start by doing an audit of your current personal brand by Googling yourself and reviewing all of your public posts. If the results don’t align with what you want your personal brand to be then it’s time to start deleting posts. Next, you’ll want to pick a platform that feels most comfortable for you to share content, network, and engage with others. For me, that’s LinkedIn. If you’re not already a LinkedIn member, I strongly encourage you to consider it as there are 810 million members with over 57 million companies active on the platform in which you can network and connect.
The goal is to demonstrate your expertise while engaging with others in a thoughtful and respectful way. More importantly, consistency is key. Eventually, your network will begin to expand. Years ago, when I first started focusing on building my personal brand, I only had a handful of followers. Despite the lack of engagement, I persisted. Over the years, my following has grown and continues to increase.
Some types of content you can share are:
- New skills you’re learning and/or how you’re upskilling
- Events you’re attending or have attended
- Articles you’ve read along with your perspective about them
- Courses you’ve taken
- Tips you can share
- Learning lessons
- Articles you’ve written
Network With Others
Having a strong network is more than finding a job or trading business cards. It’s about creating a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. Kevin Miller, cofounder and CEO of GR0, shared, “fostering strong network connections has helped me to establish my personal brand and succeed in my professional world.”
In fact, there are a few types of networks you can cultivate and use such as
- Personal network — connections you’ve made through activities, being involved in your community, friends, etc. that can provide support by connecting you with their network.
- Professional network — those that can help with professional development or getting a job.
- Strategic network — individuals you can reach out to when planning a personal or professional event to assist with specific functions such as donating prizes to raffle or auction off, getting a reservation at a booked out venue, caterers, entertainment, etc.
- Operational network — made up of coworkers you’ve built relationships with from various departments who can help you to complete projects and tasks.
Volunteering is another great way to network and connect with others. In fact, serving on the board of a non-profit organization will help you to gain invaluable leadership experience. Not only does this look good when applying for jobs, but it also connects you to key individuals within the community who can help put you in front of other opportunities. Likewise, volunteering will make you stand out from other candidates, and gain new skills and experiences. As a domestic violence survivor, I volunteer for a few domestic violence organizations. If volunteering interests you, take some time to think about causes that are important to you then research local organizations before reaching out to them to inquire about volunteer opportunities. It truly is a rewarding experience.