Building your personal brand is the easiest and most effective way to control how you are perceived in the online space. In my earlier article, I had written about why personal branding is important. In this article, I will share with you how to build your personal brand in 10 simple steps.
What is a Personal Brand?
A personal brand is a widely-accepted perception about you based on your experience, expertise, competency, actions, and achievements. It is about what other people perceive you to be.
Google (Search) Yourself
Google yourself or use any search engine that is popular in your country to find out what is being said about you and what information comes up first in the search engines when you search for your name.
Don’t Like What You See-Fix It
If you don’t like what you see online about yourself, you might want to fix it. This is easier said than done.
Search results are of 2 types.
- Results in assets that you control. Results on your social media networks, your personal website, etc. These can be fixed by optimizing, updating, and consolidating.
- Results in assets that you do not control. These can or cannot be fixed, and different approaches can be used to mitigate them.
Capture and Consolidate Your Digital Assets
Create your own personal website that lists all of your social networks. Unless you capture and consolidate your digital assets, the search engine will continue to display third-party results which may or may not be to your liking.
Claim and Secure Your Social Media Profiles
Do you have an updated and active profile on all important social media networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest? This is the place where strangers will begin to get to know you. This is their first impression about you. Optimize your personal profile/social presence to convey your voice and brand.
Buy Your Own Domain Name (www.yourname.com) Even if You Are Not Using It Yet
Do you own the URL of your name or blog name? If not, you should buy one. This gives you absolute control on the narratives about you in search engine results.
Set up Google Alerts for Your Name
It is very important that you are aware about what is being said about you in the online space. Create an alert. When you create alerts, make sure you put your name with and without quotation marks. Also, include different variations of your name.
Start Your own Blog
A blog is a great way to build and demonstrate your personal brand. You take control of how you want to be seen. It helps you to grow your network beyond your colleagues and social circles; it helps you position yourself as an expert in your domain. It is the biggest demonstration that you know how to write and communicate (skills your employers place great value on).
What Do You Want to Be Known For?
How would you like to be viewed by your colleagues, friends, family, and your audience in general? What skillsets would you like to showcase? What is that you want to be known for? All posts, communications, media that you share in the online space should meet this objective.
Create Your Elevator Pitch
Who are you, why are you unique and different, what are your core competencies? The LinkedIn summary section or your bio page on your blog is a great place to have your elevator pitch. It should sum up your personal brand in a short, concise and compelling way.
Solicit Honest Feedback from People You Respect and Trust
As you gain more work and life experience, your personal brand will evolve to reflect this. It is important that you build a feedback loop of friends, family, colleagues, and others you trust to refine you and your personal brand.
Your Personal Brand is More Than Just Your Job, it is Your Career and A Lot More
Do you know what people are saying about your personal brand online and off? Are you taking steps to build, polish, and refine it? Do you control how you are perceived?
What steps would you add to this list of steps to build your personal brand? Let us know in the comment section below.
