Some people may think an online personal brand is the sum of all their social media posts and experiences.
In reality, it’s much more than that. Personal branding is a reflection of your professional persona and career. In a world where you spend most of your waking moments on the internet or staring at a phone or computer, it’s important to establish a good personal brand to boost your reputation and career growth.
Now that we’ve established the benefits of having a good online personal brand, here are 4 tips to make it happen.
Set the Tone
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Sit down and think for a moment on how you’d like yourself to be perceived in the professional world. Would you want to be remembered as an expert in the tech field? As a motivational coach or an entrepreneur who built an innovative idea and succeeded?
Once you start it’s best to put them in concise yet clear sentences so your peers and audience can understand and identify themselves with it.
Build Your Brand on Social Media
Most would wonder, ‘where do I start building my personal brand?’ The answer to that is easy- go on social media!
Each social media platform caters to different industries. For corporate career, LinkedIn should be the top choice, then Twitter next. Instagram works for creative artists and the food niche, and Facebook is good for all-around purposes.
The best thing about choosing social media as your starting point is you won’t need to spend a single cent. All you need is time, a few photos and the patience to post regularly.
Your immediate online presence is the image or website that shows up whenever you Google your name. To change this, you can invest in creating a professional LinkedIn profile so it will be the first one to show up in the search results.
Separate the Personal from the Professional
When looking to build a career, it may be best to create a clear divide between your personal life and professional life.
One way to do this is by creating a website. Also, you can set boundaries on social media by limiting what people can see. Set your Facebook account to private and set up a LinkedIn account to serve as your professional online brand.
Make sure to complete your LinkedIn profile and include a professional-looking photo. Fill up every field and spend some time posting, networking and commenting within your network and industry. You’ll want to be active any chance you get!
Create a Website
A website can be your very own digital space to promote your personal brand.
One of the best reasons on why you need a website to promote your personal brand comes from zedpro
“Because a website gives you a competitive edge to your personal brand. It allows you to choose how you are going to be perceived. To display your skills in a dynamic way that gives you the creative exposure that you lack. It helps people including recruiters to find avenues to communicate with you in a centralized and updated manner.”
It’s easy to overcome challenges in creating your own website. Hire a web designer and you can choose from themes that fit your brand perfectly.
Also, you’ll want to get a professional email address and have the domain name to be the same as your full professional name.
Achieving a strong personal brand will be hard work, but follow the tips mentioned above and you’ll be on the right path. Remember, success is not done overnight, and those who persist and maintain their professional image will find themselves experiencing career growth that exceeds expectations.