How To Make Your Personal Brand Stand Out

Social media removes many of the access barriers we’ve traditionally faced.

As an employee, if your CEO is active on social media, you can reach them instantly. That great idea you wanted to share, or important business connection you’ve wanted to make, may have taken months of work to initiate in the past, but can now be accomplished quickly through social media.

Like it or not, social media is not a fad. It is also one of the best places to build your personal brand. The sooner you realize you can, and should, have a personal brand, the better.

The term “personal branding” was first thought to be used and discussed in a 1997 article by Tom Peters. Just as a business uses branding to create a unique name or image for a product or service, you can use branding to position yourself as a thought leader and advance your career.

The trick is getting people to pay attention to your content and to stand out amid all the digital noise. Here are a few of my personal tips, strategies, and suggestions I use when working with individuals or organizations on their social media and brand presence.

It’s as easy as remembering: Decide > Curate > Create > Engage

DECIDE

You see the value in social media and want to dedicate your time there to build your personal brand. Now what? Do you create an account on every social media platform?

A sure-fire way to fail on this social journey is to start too broadly on too many platforms. Instead, I recommend starting small and choosing one or two platforms to become proficient with before adding more. Doing social media well takes effort, and if you’re spread too thin, it can be discouraging to see people not engaging with your content right away.

Conduct some research to learn all the tips and tricks to effectively utilize the social platform of your choice. This is also the perfect time to ask yourself what, where, when, and how.

·      What does your target audience value and look for in content?

·      Where (which social media network) does your target audience naturally reside?

·      When and how do they consume content?

For example, if you’re a blogger, you might consider X as your first social media network to tackle. On the other hand, I’d recommend a photographer start with an Instagram account.

Answering some of the tough questions up front can save you some heartache later.

CURATE

You’ve conducted some research to determine the best social networks to start small with. The next step is clear: begin posting regular content to build out your social profile.

However, what’s not so clear is deciding what you want to post, but it doesn’t have to be. Curating content, defined as “the act of sorting through large amounts of content on the web and presenting the best posts in a meaningful and organized way,” is an easy strategy to start building your personal brand.

To find this great content, you can follow other thought leaders in your space or subscribe to industry blogs and newsletters.

There are vast amounts of content being created and published every day. By sharing what you find valuable and interesting with others, you can start defining your voice, building your personal brand, and showing others that you know what’s happening in your industry.

CREATE

After you have a good grasp on curated content, you might be inspired to create some original content.

Digital marketing and social media pioneer Gary Vaynerchuk has built a hugely successful empire by creating valuable content. In his best-selling book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, he says, “Creating content that allows us to share our experiences, thoughts, and ideas in real time is becoming an intrinsic part of life in the twenty-first century.”

When creating original content, determine what naturally excites you and just start. Writing is like any muscle; it needs to be worked out to be at full strength. Just remember, the key to successful content is authenticity.

ENGAGE

Finally, you’ve decided what social media network to focus on, curated content, and even started creating your own original content. Some stop here, but the real experts realize the work is done after you click “post.”

The final, and perhaps most crucial, step is to engage with your audience. If you’ve built a following, that means you have a group of people who have virtually raised their hand and said they’re interested in what you have to say. Never take that for granted; don’t let them down. After all, the first word in social media is social.

When people share your content, thank them. When they comment on your content, start a conversation with them. Today, most social media networks allow users to like a comment. Never underestimate the power of clicking that heart or like button.

There you have it, my secret sauce to social media: Decide > Curate > Create > Engage.

A robust social media presence and authentic personal brand won’t happen overnight. However, with a little persistence and a developed game plan, you too can use social media to build your personal brand and stand out from the crowd.