Personal branding is the buzz word in leadership circles now. Not everyone realises that they already have a personal brand at work.
Your colleagues, managers, and senior leaders already have a perception of you. They’ve made judgements about you based on a wide variety of criteria, from how your dress and communicate, to how you collaborate and deliver results.
They’ll also have identified what they assume to be your key strengths and weakness: your talent niche and your Achilles heel.
These judgements play into your overall personal brand: the thing people think about when they see you or hear your name. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says that ‘Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.’ It might be good. It might be negative. It might be a bit of both.
Daunting, isn’t it.
But don’t worry. Lots of us are viewed rather differently at work than we’d like to be, but you can absolutely change that for the better by putting some work into your personal brand.
After all, if people are going to judge, why not be in control and take charge of your personal brand- so you are judged on what you want to be judged!
How to build your brand:
1. Figure out what your personal brand at work is now.
Ask around for honest feedback about what others think your strengths and weaknesses are. Whatever you do, don’t react poorly to the feedback or you’ll only damage your personal brand.
2. Nail down what you want your personal brand to be.
What will you need to work on to get known as an expert in your target niche? How will you up-skill or grow your reputation? Carefully plan your approach in stages.
3. Start controlling your physical image more.
Up level your dress for work, and get a professional headshot taken for your company bio/LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter profiles. Work on your posture and body language to make a more positive impression.
4. Master your social media presence.
The first step is to delete any content online that diminishes your professional image. From those wild party photos on your facebook page to a dubious joke on Twitter, it’s time to clean house.
The second step is to curate your social media posts more carefully. You should be posting regularly, with content that is engaging and totally backing up your personal brand.
Finally, get blogging and posting on industry forums so that people get to know your name as an expert in your field. You can post content on LinkedIn pulse and cement your place as an expert in your niche.
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5. Get networking.
There are multiple channels to leverage online, and nothing beats meeting people face to face for building real rapport. Attend conferences, seminars, in your field of expertise as well as skill based training events.
If you can show that you’re a good listener and an interesting conversationalist with expertise in your field, your personal brand will grow rapidly.
6. Keep on message.
Always consider whether your everyday actions are in line with the personal brand you’re aiming for. If you want to be professional but you’re still engaging in regular anti-boss gossip with the team, your personal branding mission will inevitably suffer.
The same goes for social media posts- it might be that throwaway joke rushed out on Twitter, but does it tally with the personal brand you’re working so hard to cultivate?
Think first, post later. It might help to think of a mentor who has a great personal brand that’s like your own. What do you think they’d do? Speaking of which- find a mentor.
7. Make sure your personal brand is something you truly believe in.
Many people get stuck in roles or projects that they’re naturally good at, but don’t truly love. You may have the reputation as being the IT whizz on the team, but if you can’t bear the idea of doing that forever, then don’t hang your personal brand on it.
Be strategic over the long term- and don’t be scared to leave the niche you’ve already carved for yourself and strike out in a new direction with a new personal brand.
Embarking on building your personal brand is extremely exciting, and puts the power over your professional reputation back in your hands: exactly where it should be.
Until next time,
Julia[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
