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| Image via EMU PRSSA |
Lately, “personal branding” has been touted as the most
important thing that a person can do to secure a job and be well respected.
Branding has been used as a
marketing tool for years, but now personal branding is coming to the forefront
as a necessity to anyone on social media.
Everyone has a personal brand,
whether they realize it or not. Every interaction and post on social media
immediately contributes to your brand—or what people see as your digital
footprint.
There are two options, you can
define your own brand or you can let others define it for you. The former is
more preferable because of the control you have over it. So, it is important to
make sure that all your social media has a consistent message and displays your
skills.
Forbes
puts it simply, “What do you wish for people to associate with you when they
think of your name?”
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| Image via Jay Palter |
They also speak to the importance
of strategy in building your brand: “Every tweet you send, every status update
you make, every picture you share, contributes to your personal brand. It is an
amalgamation of multiple daily actions. Once you understand how you wish your
brand to be perceived, you can start to be much more strategic about your
personal brand.”
Strong personal brands are
innovative, purposeful and strong, or as Forbes says, “a strong personal brand
is dependent on a strong narrative.” Everything you say about yourself reflects
on your brand, so you should be saying positive things that build up your
narrative.
More than ever, public relations
professionals need to build not only their clients’ brands, but also their own;
to be more credible, hirable and resourceful, a personal brand can lend help,
especially to new grads.
What are the best ways to start
building your brand?
Well, start with transparency of
both the good and the bad in your life. If you are not building your brand,
others are doing for you whether you like it or not.
Your digital footprint is forever,
so think before you post because one small mistake can haunt you for the rest
of your life.
Tim Massie, current Senior Vice
President for Public Affairs and Government Relations at HealthQuest, gave
students four steps to self-promoting when he spoke at a workshop as part of Marist
College’s Emerging Leader’s Program.
1. Define your objective:
• You
want all your actions to demonstrate ability and passion
• Ask
yourself, what defines you as a person? What sets you apart?
2. Discover your current brand:
• How
do the people around you describe you?
• You
need to promote and influence the perception of your brand.
3. Define your message:
- What do you want to be?
- You have your current brand and your target brand, what will cause a change to reach your objective?
4. Choose your tools:
- Each social media tool has its own value.
- Massie suggested that on Facebook you should determine the purpose of your page, and Twitter is a place to start conversations—not air your dirty laundry
But Massie cautioned that nothing
can help your brand more than face-to-face communication and networking in
person. The bottom line? Personal branding sets you apart from all the other
candidates out there. If you can create a strong brand, you will have the
ability to influence opinions and be a credible source to others.
Follow Massie on Twitter for
insightful information @tcmassie
