Building your Personal Brand

One of the things I did not do in year one of this blog was utilize guest bloggers.  I made this decision so that I could better develop my own voice (for your benefit and for mine).  Now, with a year under my belt, I’d like to begin sharing a few other voices.

Today’s guest post is from Kevin Liebl.  A high tech marketing expert here in Southern California and a blogger, Kevin writes a blog called The Marketing Evolution.  This guest post is one that should be near and dear to the hearts of all readers whether you are working, actively or passively looking for your next great role.

Building Your Personal Brand

The past couple of weeks I have written about how corporate roles have changed and how we all must prepare ourselves for this new corporate world.
Today, I want to discuss the topic of personal branding. With respect
to the job market and your career, personal branding is a means of
defining and promoting your skills, strengths and interests in an
effort to raise yourself above the white noise.

Define your Objective – Before you do anything, sit
down and determine what you are trying to accomplish. People create a
personal brand for many reasons, but in this case, let’s assume you are
trying to create a professional brand that will establish you as a
leader in your chosen field. This seems simple, but remember that
people are successful if they have both the ability and the passion
to succeed. Make sure that the brand you want to promote is both of
these. Be as specific as possible (e.g., public relations manager for
small to medium sized technology firms). Think about what defines you
and separates you from the pack. How do you want people to see you?

Discover your Current Brand – Next you need to
understand what brand you have today. Remember that everyone has a
brand. If you ask your colleagues to describe you, what would they say?
I firmly believe that none of us “own” our own brand.
The market owns the brand. The market determines what our brand is. I
can say that my brand is that of a “Business Management, Marketing,
Leadership and Social Media Expert”. The truth is that you, the reader
of this blog will decide what my brand is after you read this (and
hopefully other ) articles. All I can do is promote, and hopefully
influence, your perception of my brand.

Define your Messaging – Once you know what your
current brand is (e.g., mid-level marketing manager) and what you want
it to be (e.g., social media expert), then you can begin to define your
messaging. What will you do to change the market perception of you from
your “current” to your “target” brand? What will you communicate to the
marketplace to define your brand? Will you promote your skills in a
specific area? Will you give examples of your knowledge? Will you
position yourself as a resource to others?

Choose your Tools – There are an overwhelming
number of tools at your disposal to begin to brand yourself. My advice
is to choose carefully because each tool has a unique value. Talk to
others who have used them and determine what value they provide and how
much effort is necessary. Remember that some of them can be a huge
resource drain. In my opinion, some of the best tools for building a
personal business brand are as follows:

Social Media

• LinkedIn – This is the single best tool at your disposal to define your business brand. Fully build your profile and keep it current.
• Facebook – Determine quickly if you are going to
  separate your business brand from your personal brand. If you don’t
  want business associates seeing your college photos in Mexico, then
  secure your Facebook page or keep it professional.
• Twitter – The power of Twitter is only beginning to be defined. Create a Twitter feed and use it to define your brand and cross-link back to your other online sites.
• Blog – Your blog becomes your online profile. Make sure you cross-link between your blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other online sites.
• VisualCV – This is a powerful tool to create an online resume, separate from your LinkedIn profile.
• Email Signature – This is often overlooked. Create
  an email signature with hyperlinks to your LinkedIn profile, Twitter
  feed, VisualCV, and blog.

Physical

• Resume, Biography, Transition document – These are all useful
  documents for different audiences. The transition document should be a
  single page targeted at people you will network with who may be able to
  help your career.
• Business Cards – Create a separate business card from your
  full-time job that defines your brand. Include all your social media
  contacts (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, Blog, etc.)

Face-To-Face

• Never forget the importance of face-to-face communications. We sell
  ourselves best in person, not online or on the phone. Make sure that
  you attend networking events, find opportunities to speak on panels,
  and simply meet with colleagues 1-on-1 from time to time.

Implement your Plan – Now that you have defined
your objective, messaging and tools, it is time to implement. My advice
is to set realistic goals for yourself. It is easy to get overwhelmed.
Start simple and build from there. Once you begin, listen to the
feedback. Is your LinkedIn profile getting traffic? Are your blog
postings resonating and getting comments? Learn from the feedback –
both positive and negative. Create a two-way dialog with your target
audience. Make sure you respond to people who take the time to comment
on your blog. Always be sincere and helpful. You will make mistakes,
but if you are sincere and helpful to your network, you should be fine.
Finally, be consistent. The effort you put into building a brand will
fade quickly if you do not continue the effort. By setting realistic
goals, you should be able to continue your branding effort regardless
of your workload. It simply becomes a part of your normal career.

Remember, your network and your personal brand are the two things
you carry with you from job to job. With a little planning and effort,
they will pay huge dividends. Good luck, and let me know how I can help…

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