Magic won’t bring your personal brand to life, but managing it will
It’s mystifying how we can be so organised in many parts of our life – exercising regularly, managing our workload, or researching the best whitegoods to buy – yet we expect our personal brand to develop magically without any effort.
Even worse, there are those who don’t think about personal brand at all. I’ve had sceptical executives sit in front of me and say: “I’m OK. I’ve been successful at work without needing to think about my personal brand, so I don’t need to worry about that stuff now.”
I can understand this thinking if you want to disconnect and disappear or you work for a spy agency. But, if you’re pursuing something that really matters to you, whether it be a career goal or a passion project, your personal brand matters in this digital world.
Like it or not, people are looking you up online and forming an opinion of who you are and what you stand for, even before they’ve met you. It means the tone and substance of your online presence is more important than ever before.
If you’re invisible in our connected world, it gets worse. If others search for you online and can’t find anything about you, then they control your narrative. Not you.
If you accept that magic won’t bring your personal brand to life, here are ways you can take control and build your impact and influence online:
Stay in your lane – Stick to sharing insights, opinion and advice related to your subject matter. The things that you think are common-sense, based on what you know, may be a revelation to someone who knows less about your subject matter than you do. Resist engaging in things you know nothing about.
Show up regularly – Choose a social media platform based on where your audience is hanging out and turn up there on a regular basis. One executive I’ve coached comments on posts in his LinkedIn feed for 10 minutes every day. Find an operating rhythm that works for you and join the conversation.
Share in an engaging way – Consider the best format to showcase your expertise and content. If you’re going to blog, then write the way you speak and avoid sounding like a textbook. Interviewing someone? A video or a podcast will work. Found someone else’s content insightful? Don’t just ‘like’ their post. It’s much more engaging to share your thoughts in a comment and even draw others in to the conversation.
Behave like a decent human being – Although it’s in an online world, engaging in social media is about people dealing with people. Be open and generous in sharing what you know to help others. Don’t be aggressive. Have empathy for others, but don’t hug your trolls. Save your energy and let them be.
Just like anything else in life, building our personal brand takes planning, work and time. If you’ve been waiting for magical intervention, stop it immediately and get moving.
If you’re absent from social media or your profile is unprofessional, how does this reflect on your value proposition and personal brand? If you’d like to build your credibility as a socially engaged leader, get in touch.
