Building a Personal Brand

Adrienne RoyerYPACApril 10, 2009

Why Build a Personal Brand?

Establishes yourself as an expert or a leader in your field

Sets you apart in the job market Enables you to launch that book,

music career or business that you dream about

Proactively puts YOU in charge of your “digital footprint”

Why Should You Care?

If you’re engaged in social networking or blogging, you have an online reputation

Google is the new resume The Web is forever Information and pictures on the web can

have dire circumstances: In extreme cases, Facebook photos have

increased criminal sentencing. Insurance companies use the Web and social

media to check for fraud

Who’s Looking at You?

It’s a mistake to think that only your friends are online and Googling or Facebook/Twitter stalking you

2/3 of Facebook users are over 35Fastest growing demographic of those

on social media is the 65+ group. 45% are on a social network.

Who’s Online

How does this affect me?

Adrienne

social media fans

Friends & Family

Nonprofit Community

&Colleagues

Politics

Adrienne’s online community

How does this affect me?

Bottom line: Everything you do online aggregates into your personal brand identity

What is a brand?

Branding allows a company to differentiate themselves from the competition and, in the process, to bond with their customers to create loyalty. So a position is created in the marketplace that is much more difficult for the competition to poach. A satisfied customer may leave. But a loyal

one is much less likely to.

-MarketingVoxhttp://www.marketingvox.com/

the_definition_of_branding-011611/

What is a Personal Brand?

Personal branding is how we market ourselves to others -Dan Schwabel, www.personalbrandingblog.com

Simply put, your personal brand is you. It’s who you are. It’s your skills, the way you carry yourself, your individuality, your traits, your persona. It’s what you can do and what void you fill that no one else can. You can’t fake it. Personal brands are built on being genuine and letting people see you as you really are. -Lisa Barone, BruceClay.com

You Can Do It!

The good news -- and it is largely good news -- is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.

-Fast Company, “The Brand Called You,” Dec. 18, 2007

Elements of a Personal Brand

Relevance to the market or niche Consistency of behavior Relationship-building Loyalty to the customer is returned-Steven Van Yoder, Building a Personal Brand: The Brand

Called You

The Personal Branding Process

The personal branding process (DCCM)

1. Discover2. Create a presence online and offline3. Communicate via real world conversations and social media4. Maintain and grow as your brand/career progresses

-Dan Schabel, www.personalbrandingblog.com

The Personal Branding Process

1. Identify your strengths2. Give back—take time to get involved in

your community. Volunteer or serve on a board. Your personal brand is just as important in the real world as it is online

3. Get other people to sing your praises4. Be visible-Lisa Barone, BruceClay.com

Success Stories

While a Georgetown University undergraduate, James began using a cheap webcam in his dorm room to create video commentaries analyzing the use of YouTube in the 2008 Presidential campaign.

Within three months, he hosted Congressman Ron Paul in the first-ever dorm room interview with a Presidential candidate. He went on to interview a total of six Presidential candidates including Senator John Edwards, Senator Chris Dodd, and Governor Mike Huckabee. 

Politico.com

James Kotecki

Success Stories: Wine Library TV

Your Brand=Your Reputation

“The only way to be successful in business is by establishing a good reputation, and a brand can help you do that. Your reputation works as your strongest marketer by communicating the relationship you have with people who've done business with you, and your target market in general.”

-Steven Van Yoder, Building a Personal Brand: The Brand Called You

Your Brand=Your Reputation

Be transparent Privacy and boundaries no longer

exist Your private life is visible to your

professional life and your professional life is open to your private life

Live by the Golden Rule The Internet has turned the world

into a small town

What are people saying?

“The key to any personal branding campaign is "word-of-mouth marketing." Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing vehicle you've got; what they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand. So the big trick to building your brand is to find ways to nurture your network of colleagues -- consciously.”

-Fast Company, “The Brand Called You”

How Do I Build My Personal Brand?

Warnings: Think twice about posting Don’t use social media to vent Regularly update privacy settings

Every time Facebook changes, so do your privacy settings

Take advantage of Google Alerts Set up an alert for your own name

Strategies for Personal Branding

Engage, Engage, Engage! Follow opinion/though leaders, people you admire

and professionals in your field Tweet or talk to them. After all, they’re just

people. Set up a blog about your passion/expertise and

write away. Research other blogs and comment. Exchange links and reach out.

Build a community Create an online hub either through your blog or

Facebook. Offer to guest-blog

Strategies for Personal Branding

Develop a “style.” Focus on topics where you have something new to

say or can add to the conversation Add layers and keep it fresh Develop viral content Only participate in what you enjoy Keep learning Build your brand (skills, knowledge, etc.) not YOU. Build relationships with as many people as

possible-www.skelliwag.org

Evaluating Your Personal Brand

According to Fast Company, evaluate yourself:

1. Be a great teammate and a supportive colleague.

2. Be an exceptional expert at something that has real value.

3. You've got to be a broad-gauged visionary -- a leader, a teacher, a farsighted "imagineer."

4. You've got to be a businessperson -- you've got to be obsessed with pragmatic outcomes.

Resources

The Socialization of Your Personal Brand by Brian Solis

www.briansolis.com Personal Branding Blogwww.personalbrandingblog.com How to Start (or Start-over) Building

Your Personal Brand www.skelliwag.org