A well-curated Instagram grid, a stellar LinkedIn profile, a stylish website brimming with personal accolades—if you want to make strides in your career, you have to know how to build a powerful personal brand.
In this hyperconnected world, nothing is more important than the online image. That is your key to expanding your network, landing big breaks, boosting your business, and establishing your credibility. Whether you’re engaged full-time in a company, dabbling in side gigs, or managing a business, your success depends on how well you package yourself.
Building a personal brand is showcasing your skills, experiences, and accomplishments in a way that sells. Regardless of which industry you belong to, your personal branding is your main selling point. And as frightening as it sounds, your online image can make or break you.
With the abundance of social media platforms in this day and age, there’s just no excuse for you not to whip up a good name for yourself. So, here are three practical ways to create a solid personal branding in the digital age:
Carve Out a Professional Image on LinkedIn
It’s time to beef up your LinkedIn account. That is the best platform to establish your professional footing and strengthen your online branding.
Don’t be one of those people who can’t find the time to flesh out their profiles. It makes no sense to launch a LinkedIn that bares limited information about you. You have to fill your account with other data besides your name and current occupation.
Share your vast skill set, list of experiences, complete job descriptions, and professional accolades. Showcase just what you are capable of. The more compelling your LinkedIn is, the more chances for you to expand your business connections. There are 20 million companies camped out on this site, and almost 35 million people have managed to secure jobs through LinkedIn. So, if you want to wake up with opportunities knocking on your door, learn how to maximize this networking platform.
Set Up a Website to Establish Credibility
Launching a website will make you feel legit. Owning a website puts you on the map of search engines and gives you your own little space in the World Wide Web. That is a great way to establish credibility and expand your online influence because you’re just floating around in cyberspace.
When people look you up, your website will come out at the top of the list. That will be the number one source of information about you, so you have to be competent in how you present yourself. Your content must be a balance of professional and personal aspects of your life for it to be equally useful and engaging.
Inject your personality into your website by sharing personal write-ups and opinion pieces that are aligned with your brand. You can touch on interesting topics such as business management, firearm laser engraving, or meditation practices here and there. Aside from text content, you can also toss in some photos and videos to give more life to your website.
But don’t forget to showcase your professional experiences, business pursuits, detailed portfolio, and list of accomplishments on your site. Think of it as a subtle way of marketing yourself to potential clients, employers, and business partners.56% of recruiters are more drawn to candidates with impressive personal websites. However, only 7% of individuals have websites of their own. But don’t be like that 90% of people who miss on opportunities because they don’t optimize the Internet’s many riches.
Extend Your Reach by Being a Contributor
Sending in personal writings to publications is not something that is passionately carried out by today’s generation, but it’s an effective way to build credibility. If you want to create a solid personal branding, you must be able to tap into reputable publication industries. Being a “thought leader” is the perfect tool for self-promotion. You get to share your knowledge, showcase your expertise, and promote your personal branding. That is where you get to show off your guns.
Being a contributor is a stepping stone to being recognized by a larger audience. Your works will reach the shores of different markets, from regular individuals to employers to entrepreneurs. That is a cost-effective strategy to extend your influence. You don’t need to cash in on paid advertisements because you’re already riding on the enormous reach of big-league publications.
Being associated with big-time players in the industry will boost your image and reputation in more ways than one. You’ll remarkably increase your business connections and personal acquaintances just by talking about what you know.
Overall, you have to optimize the abundant resources in the World Wide Web to market yourself effectively. Remember, if you want to make a name for yourself in the digital age, branding is everything.
