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How to Enhance Your Personal Brand

October 21, 2015 by Meredith Brandt

In today’s virtual age, making yourself visible in the job-world has risen in importance. More and more attention has to be paid to personal branding, or promoting and marketing one’s self. Management expert Tom Peters claims, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” In order to be successful at this, there are some important tips to create and enhance your personal brand.

 

Develop a unique presence.

Founder and CEO of AudienceBloom Jayson DeMers notes, “Just as so with a traditional brand, personal branding requires you to find a signature image, a unique voice, and a recognizable standard that your readers, fans, and customers can grow to recognize.” By publishing your personal work online, be it through your website or a blog or social media, you are able to selectively and intentionally shape what people see. What makes you different? Your strengths, your passions, and your ideas. It is crucial that you are presenting yourself in a positive and focused way so that people are able to see what makes you stand out.

Make your goals, purposes, and values clear and consistent.

In addition to uniqueness, consistency is key. Across all platforms, you should be emphasizing your goals, purposes, and values. In doing so, you will not confuse or ostracize your online audiences; instead, you will gain their trust. Brands fail when they attempt to push too many ideas instead of cultivating what is truly most central. Focus on what makes you you and let that be the focus of what you highlight in your personal branding.

Use every outlet and resource you can to create your brand.

Be prepared to get yourself out there. Make sure you are using social media to its fullest. Start a blog or make yourself a website. Prepare portfolios, cover letters, and resumes using online resources. You can even try making a video resume! The presentation of yourself online should be professional and neat; you must be proofreading, updating and editing constantly. You should also be attempting to connect all of your online outlets together, like linking your Facebook page to your blog posts, so that people are able to easily and fluidly access what you have. There is an ever-changing field of opportunity online for personal branding, so don’t be afraid to test out as many different outlets as possible.

Make sure to promote yourself offline, too.

It is easy to lose yourself in the ways of the world wide web and forget that “real world” branding is just as necessary. Being active in different industry groups, spearheading projects, or participating at conferences all can boost your personal brand. Making use of networks between colleagues and coworkers can immensely benefit your personal promotion. Finding a mentor or a role model with an impressive personal brand can be the most helpful thing you can do for your own brand. Interpersonal connections will lead to more opportunities to enhance a personal brand.

Building a personal brand easily can lead to better job opportunities, better clients and contacts within your job, and better industry recognition. It’s key to think of yourself as a brand, but it’s also important to remember that people want to interact with a human being rather than a self-promoting robot. If you can create a brand that captures who you are and curate that reputation in the virtual and physical world, you will have more success as a rising leader in the workforce.

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