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When was the last time you defined the essence of who you are, what drives you and fires you up?
Is it infused in your life and your online messaging?
People want to be inspired to partner with or hire YOU and they want an experience worth of sharing with their world.
Focusing on and nurturing your personal brand is an essential element in building a business and career. This presentation was customized for #LEXI14 in Seattle to share tips, trick, and truths on how to build the story of your personal brand and share it on social media platforms!
Key strategies include:
Define Your Purpose, Passions and VALUES.
Know Your Objective
Be Authentically YOU!
Serve. Amplify. Engage. GIVE!
Define Your Niche
Listen. Refine. HAVE FUN!
When was the last time you defined the essence of who you are,what drives you and fires you up? Is it infused in your life and your online messaging? People want to be inspired to partner with YOU and, even more, they want an experience worth of sharing with their world. Today I am going to share tips, tricks and truths on 5Know Your ObjectiveBe Authentically YOU!Serve. Amplify. Engage. GIVE!Define Your NicheListen. Refine. HAVE FUN!Before we dig into the KEYS – let’sstart at the beginning…NSWhat is personal brand??
What is Personal Brand? NSYOU
Simply Put - Your Personal Brand is everything about YOU. You don't need one… You HAVE one and must nurture it. NS A strong personal brand will attract people and opportunities to you like a magnet.
A strong personal brand will attract people and opportunities to you like a magnet.Now that we have defined personal brand… Where and when should you start nurturing it? NOW. Don’t wait until you’re unemployed or your projects are done to worry about your visibility and reputation within your industry. Social media platforms can help you gain visibility, create connections, and build a thriving business, so today we are going to focus focus on 5 Key Strategies to leverage the power of social media to build a positive personal brand. Remember, part of being FEARLESS is KNOWING YOURSELF… so three very important elements need to be defined before you get online!NSBefore you start boosting your personal brand ANYWHERE you need to ask yourself a few questions:
Before you start boosting your personal brand ANYWHERE you need to ask yourself a few questions: What is my purpose and passion behind doing what I do?What personally fires me up? What are my core values?CLICK FOR LINK! Once you have those pieces in order, social media is a fabulous way to build visibility and a secure a platform to inspire and influence your community… all focused on your purpose, passion and values!So, what is the first strategy?NS#1 Map it out…
Key #1: First things first. You MUST know what you want to accomplish on social media, who you want to connect with, and then focus on the platforms that will help you accomplish these missions. (Do you want to increase visibility? Find a job? Secure new gigs? Find new and old friends?) Being consistent and ROCKING a few channels that make sense is much more effective than an inconsistent presence on all of them. NSKnowing what each platform does… KEY
So many to choose from… What happens WHERE??How do you leverage each for it’s strengths?NSPlatform REVIEW
Quick Platform Overview:Facebook Profile: Build and nurture relationships with current connectionsFacebook Page: Build industry influence, create engagement with your business community, and amplify your blog/message.Twitter: Find new connections whose problems your business solves or who share passions with you LinkedIn: Strengthen influence in your industry or develop business connections and referralsGoogle+: Amplify your messages, rock SEO, and eInstagram: Photo-centric platforms allow you to share your story, products, and experience with photos. THAT is priceless.Pinterest:Your adult poster board… use it to share your community, your passions, your dreams/visions… or even plan surprise parties!About.Me - Personal Landing Page: Share your story in a concise, not business manner. (about.me, )Blog: Build and define YOUR VOICE. Remember when you do the right things online and with social media, you are building a portfolio of interactions and posts that represent YOU. Having focus, vision, and a purpose is KEY.NS#2 Be Authentically YOU
#2: Be Authentically YOUSimply put – be YOURSELF. Leveraging and honing your personal brand is not about how to BEAT the competition; it’s about you being the GO TO resource for your customer’s problems. NS:MEME… If you embrace your authentic self…
If you EMBRACE your Authentic Self…. You have no competition.Stop worrying about what others are doing…FOCUS on your passion and purpose.Your brand must embody and embrace your true personality, not some "scrubbed and Pollyanna-like" version created for your online engagement. It encompasses your character, behavior, values, and vision. Leveraging and honing your personal brand is not about how to BEAT the competition; it’s about you being the GO TO resource for your customer’s problems. NS:Reflection of you… Google yourself lately?
Have you googled or binged yourself lately?Is it YOU? Speaking of “being YOU”…NS:Current profile pic.
You know who you are….NS:Serve
#3: SERVE. Amplify. Engage.Always give before you expect to get. Add value to the conversations you are sparking and participating in… Answer questions, don't just ask them. Others online are only promoting their service and shouting how "great" they are… don't be that person. Ever. Share insights and add value by discussing topics your community finds interesting or simply solve problems for them. Your unique voice and point of view are your value propositions; they differentiate you from others in your industry.NSLeverage progressive Power of FB!
Leverage the progressive power of engagement options: Like * Comment * Share. These elicit emotions from your connections. Use this power wisely. Being online does not have a different set of rules from the in real life ones. If you just want to "do social media" to selfishly take and use it as a megaphone to sell, it won't "work" for you. Again, you get what you GIVE.NS:Define Your Niche
#4: Become the GO TO person in your niche!Choose a focus.Share it with everyone.Make it easy to find you.What you SHARE on social media matters. If you want to become an authority in your industry, you must consider how you are using your voice. Your ideas need to be expressed in a unique way that is different from others in your industry and needs to add value to your community. Focus is NOT selling in Tacoma. It is selling in (specific hood)… or FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS. Why not?Marguerite.Scroll through your last 10 posts on each platform… do they represent the topics your want to be know for or not? Is there VALUE in those posts? Focus on being THE PERSON on your passion and niche - anything from inspiring positive change to entertaining or connecting people. The more you add and share value with purpose and focus, the more confident you become, and the more people will follow and listen to you. You become a magnet. Reach out to members in your professional community and offer assistance when someone seeks help that you can provide. Your brand will become known and you will be the one others come to for expertise in your field.Take this to another level by infusing knowledge from OTHERS. Amplify your favorite bloggers, influencers, and community. Shining the spotlight on others goes a looooong way. So, be keenly aware of:NS:Who What Where
WHO you follow (who speaks into your world every single day?)WHAT you read (who is in your RSS feed reader?) I use feedly.comassign each topic a day so I am sure to share my passions throughout the week!WHERE YOU POST?Places you can share your knowledge and wisdom:Blog:Create a content strategy and write valuable content. Period.Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, IG: Share useful links, pics, videos LinkedIn:Answer questionsSlideshare:Do you train or speak in public? Post your slide decks here and share the knowledge.YouTube:Start a vLog with "how to", inspirational, or tips/tricks videosIf you are not sure WHAT would be valuable to your community, ASK THEM what they want to know on the platforms you choose to be!Super important to pay attention… which leads to #5NS:LISTEN…
Are you listening to the conversations your connections are having about their lives and needs… about YOU? Sign up for Google Alerts. Immediately.mention.netnewsle.comWhen creating your Alert make sure to put your name within quotation marks, and then use additional words to further narrow your search, and the minus sign to filter results. In the future, anytime Google finds an online mention of your name, you will receive an email.NS…RECAP.
It was my heart's desire to explain a bit more about what personal brand means and some of the steps you can use to fire yours UP on social media. It comes down to having the intention to really help, inform and be an excellent person to know.Building a solid reputation takes time and focus. Don't let careless social media engagement damage it in an instant… Use it to FIRE UP YOUR BRAND and boost your reputation!