The Power of Building Your Personal Brand Online
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I just had a great conversation with James Betterson about the power of building your personal brand online. I mentioned that each time you create value-added content and contribute to meaningful conversations online in your respective niche you are building your personal brand and “Flexing your expertise”, as my friend Anthony Richardson calls it.
By flexing your expertise through social media you can expand your circle of influence, position yourself as a thought leader and build relationships that could result in potential job offers, business partnerships, additional media coverage etc.
There are many times that I have met someone that I’ve interacted with on twitter or in the blogosphere and when we met it was like we had been friends for years. This is very powerful because people often want to do business and interact with people they know and respect.
Something else I would recommend is to create an accomplishment, or achievement page on your website or blog. This is not to boast, or brag, but to establish credibility for yourself and the content you create. (Note: Don’t embellish or lie about your accomplishments. Because someone out there will expose you).
Having an accomplishment page also allows you to leverage your successes. When others can see what you’ve accomplished for yourself or other companies you’ve worked with they will be more likely to want to do business with you, hire you, or give you/your company additional coverage in the press.
Just my $.02 for the day!
12 Comments on this post
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Steven-Sanders said:
Great article.
People readily recognize a brand before they will a person. Definitely the way to go, even if your brand is only your name.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:59 pm -
BenSpark said:
David,
I had not thought about an accomplishments page, that is a great idea. I feel like I spelled all of that out in my IZEA Insiders application post. But I could see how I could refine that to be something more useful.November 6th, 2008 at 5:10 pm -
James Betterson said:
It definitely was a good conversation. I liked how you emphasized the importance of “creating value-added content and contributing to meaningful conversations online in your respective niche.”
If you have time to log onto your favorite gossip column to comment on the latest celebrity caught with their pants down, you should have time to give your educated opinion on subject matters that relate to you and the industry you work in.
Good post.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:08 pm -
Ricardo Bueno said:
I don’t necessarily see the accomplishment page as boastful. Think of it this way, when we’re engaging online, we want to gather around people with whom we share a common interest. The relationship remains relevant that way. Once it ceases to be relevant, we move on. (Does that make sense?)
November 7th, 2008 at 4:36 am -
Tina Thompson said:
I just wanted to say good work on your site, I like the look and the information was useful.
November 7th, 2008 at 4:45 am -
David Brim said:
@Steve I totally agree. Your online reputation proceeds you. Having a strong presence online gives others the ability to get to know you on their own time. This process would happen as well if you had interactions with others in person, but would take longer. You can have far more meaningful interactions online and widen your sphere of influence.
@Ben In person if you were to go around and tell everyone what you’ve done it would be very arrogant and you would look conceited. Accomplishment pages are great because someone else is interested in inquiring about your accomplishments if they click the link. Also an accomplishment page is just one aspect of your site and life they could learn about by visiting your blog.
@James good comparison with the celebrity gossip column versus posting something meaningful.
@Ricardo Good point that def makes sense. Whether in person or online successful people choose to associate with others who are also successful or upward mobile in their industry. An accomplishment page, as well as the content you create helps establish credibility for yourself, which in turn can help you connect with other respected individuals in your space. By viewing your accomplishment page and content they will be able to get a good sense of whether you’ll be wasting their time or not.
@Tina thanks I’m glad you like my blog!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting on this issue everyone!
November 7th, 2008 at 6:44 am -
Anthony Richardson said:
David, thanks for the mention here. Great post. The primary thing that I would like to add if I may, is that once you begin to connect, and build relationships with others - albeit twitter, facebook, or networking events - it is critical to cultivate those while you can, and before you need them.
I always give the example of the news reporter that you always want to know when you have a great story … or the chubby girl in high school that later turns out to be a super model. Either way, its always nice to have them remember you as the person who was genuine with them, even when there was nothing to gain.
November 11th, 2008 at 11:39 pm -
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