Building your Personal Brand

Traditionally a ‘brand’ is a term that is linked with a company, product or service, however personal branding is about promoting you as the concept, product or service.

Before you start to build your personal brand it can be useful to create an Elevator Pitch. What makes you different from everyone else? It is this message you need to consider when developing your brand further either online or when networking.

Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is an introductory summary about you, your background and your goals. It is one of the most effective methods to create a positive first impression and promote your personal brand.

You need to deliver your message clearly, often to someone who doesn’t even know you, usually a good elevator pitch consists of:

• Who you are
• What you do
• Why you are unique

Once you have developed your ‘pitch’ you need to consider a proactive approach towards managing your online reputation.

Google yourself

What appears about you online? Is it professional? Is it comprehensive and detailed enough? Does it reflect what you want to be seen as? Employers are increasingly ‘Googling’ individuals to gain an idea of who you are. Googling yourself frequently is a good way to monitor your online reputation. If you find someone who has the same name as you, it is important to differentiate your brand from theirs.

Online Branding

Online branding through social media plays a key part in what makes up your “Personal Brand’. How you ‘advertise’, yourself through social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, will play a pivotal role in developing your personal brand online and how you want to be perceived.

There are a number of ways you can create an online brand, here are some considerations to managing it effectively:

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn – Creating a profile is a start but it is important that your profile is fully complete and actively managed. Ensure that it contains relevant and up to date information.
• LinkedIn recommendations – Get enough good recommendations from the right people and they can hold as much value as a handwritten reference or personal recommendation.

• Join specialist groups on LinkedIn relating to your industry or field. Actively contribute to relevant discussions, giving you a chance to demonstrate your knowledge to those who matter.

Twitter

• Twitter allows you to follow people and companies and also gain a community of Twitter followers. Who you follow on Twitter or the Tweets that you share, reflect you and what you want to be seen as. If you currently use Twitter for hobbies and interests you may want to set up a separate account to keep both platforms separate.
• Tweet regularly about your specialist topic. Involve yourself in relevant conversations that focus on your industry – again further demonstrating your knowledge.

Facebook

• Keep your personal Facebook profile private. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t be happy for employers or colleagues to see. For those colleagues (current and past) you are connected to, make sure your updates and photos reinforce your online brand.

Blog/Vlog

• Write book reviews, publish articles or post videos online. You can also start your own free or low cost blogs on sites such as Blogger or Live Journal. You need to ensure that you are managing this effectively and regularly contributing – it is important to not leave any channels dormant.

Your online profile may be viewed through more than one form of social media.  It is important to ensure the message you are portraying is consistent across all sites as any inconsistency can impact the professional brand you have created.

Renovo is one of the UK’s leading providers of outplacement and career transition support. We work with both organisations and individuals to support all their career transition requirements. If you would like to understand how Renovo can help you please call 0800 612 2011 or email info@renovo.co.uk