7 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand - Part II

Part I discussed 3 steps to building a personal brand, and Part II will cover the remaining ones. So, keep reading for more.

7 steps for building a personal brand

4. Embody Your Personal Brand

Every social interaction can either move your personal brand closer or farther from your desired outcome. People form impressions of you in casual conversations, at parties, and during job interviews whether you like it or not, as you express yourself consciously or unconsciously.

Therefore, it is important to be conscious of the messages you send. Consider how you would respond to a coworker you see in the break room if they asked you a simple question like “How are you?” Responding, “I'm tired, work is stressful, and traffic is terrible,” communicates negativity and obstructs the opportunity to showcase your personal brand's positive aspects. Alternatively, you can say, “Traffic wasn't great this morning, so I used the extra time to listen to an interesting podcast about creativity that I’ll share with the product launch team.” This way, you indicate your positivity, productivity, and willingness to learn.

You don’t need to manage your brand in every interaction with colleagues and friends who know you well, as they already have a positive impression of you. However, it's critical to present yourself in the best light when dealing with people who don’t know you or whose perceptions of you may be incorrect. This doesn’t mean you should always be cheerful and boastful. It’s more about understanding others' needs and what you can offer them before presenting your personal value proposition convincingly.

Additionally, you should learn how to creatively share your personal stories during initial meetings, informal small talk, and formal professional conversations. Ask yourself: “What do I want to share about myself, and what is the best story to illustrate that?” Then look for opportunities.

5. Convey Your Brand Story

The next step is to create a "media plan" that outlines the channels through which you will officially introduce your brand to the public. Consider how to use owned, earned, and paid media to share your stories. The goal is to improve discoverability, awareness, and understanding with your audience, just like in product or service marketing.

Initially, this may feel uncomfortable. Braggarts and self-promoters are generally not well-liked. However, the key to your success is identifying what makes you valuable and giving people easy access to your offerings.

Owned media includes social media accounts,  professional and personal websites, and any organic audiences you've gained from any content you produce —podcasts, videos, books, speeches, published articles, etc.

Earned media includes mentions in the mainstream press, recommendations and reviews of your work on LinkedIn and other platforms, retweets, likes, comments on your social content, introductions, referrals, and references provided by others on your behalf.

Paid media includes all the ways you increase your visibility by paying others to help you, such as hiring executive search consultants who can present your personal brand to potential employers, contracting with speaker bureaus or agents to find audiences eager to hear your stories at conferences, purchasing social media ads to promote your content, paying influencers to promote you and your work, and engaging in paid speaking or publishing opportunities.

Consider the mix of media you want to use and the best ways to leverage different platforms. Always remember to customize your strategies to fit your target audience and how those people interact with these media. For example, if you want to become an aviation consultant for Fortune 500 companies, it would be more effective to ask an aviation influencer to share an article you wrote for a trade magazine on LinkedIn rather than posting a Facebook post about your visit to an aviation museum.

6. Socialize Your Brand

Personal branding is not a solo endeavor, as you need others to share your stories to build your credibility and expand your audience. Therefore, carefully choose decision-makers, influencers, promoters, and communities that can help you along the way.

Decision-makers are those who hold your success keys, and it might be challenging to accomplish your goals without them. They could be responsible for admissions to the school of your choice, judges for an important award you aspire to, or members of the search committee for the position you desire. The press often plays a significant role in decision-making, as editors and journalists choose whom to feature or highlight in their content.

Influencers are people with specialized expertise, authority, social standing, or personal connections that enable them to influence others. They can offer you more platforms for your stories as they have engaged and active followers. Their recommendations or assessments give you more credibility. Moreover, you benefit simply from being associated with them even without their explicit support.

Promoters actively invest in your success and help promote your personal brand. These include professional mentors, recruiters, managers, friends who provide you access to their networks, and acquaintances who arrange interviews for you.

Personal branding communities are groups, clubs, or online/offline markets where you can find people who share your message and specific interests or who are looking for the value you can provide. Examples include business groups, job sites, and alumni clubs.

Consider how you can find allies in each of these categories. Once you connect with them, explain your goals and ask for a small favor, such as inviting you to speak at an alumni club seminar or suggesting your name for consideration when forming a relevant committee. These direct requests are often appreciated because your allies want to help you but frequently don’t know how to start.

7. Reassess and Adjust Your Brand

Personal branding is a constant process. Therefore, you will need to regularly evaluate how well your storytelling and value proposition fit into your existing professional and personal circumstances and how well they are received, then adjust accordingly.

It is recommended to conduct an annual audit to identify areas for improvement and strengths to enhance. You should perform an objective self-assessment and reconnect with trusted people to discover others' perceptions of you and ensure they align with your goals. For example, if you are applying for a managerial position but are aware that not everyone thinks highly of your leadership abilities, you could sign up for a leadership course, offer to lead a brand-new project or team or take on relevant personal responsibilities like joining a nonprofit board.

One new client, a Chief Marketing Officer, was interested in securing a seat on the company’s board. However, lacking current board experience posed significant challenges. Therefore, he joined a nonprofit board and worked on the audit committee, collaborating with external auditors and leading the development of an enterprise risk management dashboard. This improved his personal value proposition: “Having worked as an executive marketer for 20 years and managed audit and enterprise risk activities for a nonprofit board, I have the strategic experience and financial acumen required to provide governance oversight and can be a creative partner to the executive team among all other potential directors.” He can now narrate specific stories about his work that highlight his analytical capabilities, strategic perspective, and skill in handling corporate financial data.

In Conclusion

The personal branding process requires effort and time, but it gives you more control over your professional and personal image, leading to success and creating the desired impact in the world.