Nowadays, Success Is Personal So Your Brand Must Be As Well
By Business Desk
Tuesday, October 25, 2016.
For better or worse, we’ve moved far away from the idea of shared success of the past. Whether it’s due to worries about socialist leanings or the ego-driven nature of mass media, today. The group doesn’t matter as much as the individual. So a smart entrepreneur needs to put a lot of attention on them, themselves. We’ll look at a few methods of doing that.
Creating a voice
To start off with, you need to find that brand that fits you. It’s not enough to just ‘be yourself’. You have to be the best version of yourself. Think of your talents and your aims. What do you have to offer people? What’s your story to success? You need to craft a narrative and make sure you have the skill to do it. Effective content marketing from places like CandidSky could be a big part of that.
Sharing the love
A personal brand needs a wider context to really shine. That context needs to be your community. If you’re blogging, you need to ask questions of your readers and get them involved. You need to keep close relationships with that bumper list of business contacts you have. Personal branding isn’t about constantly shoving the spotlight on yourself. It’s about being a hub in and of yourself. About growing a community. So make sure you’re giving them plenty of chances to get involved in the conversation. Support the efforts of others who are in the same industry as you. Share the love.
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Grab the mic
Of course, occasionally shoving the spotlight on yourself can help a lot, as well. Everyone can make themselves seem like an expert on their own turf. A real expert gets invited into the other spaces on the internet. They guest blog for bigger operations. They even get their voice heard by taking a guest spot on a podcast. You can’t afford to be shy in building a professional brand for yourself. Ask people if you can take that guest spot. Introduce topics and display what kind of value you can share with readers and listeners. Don’t spend too long without being heard on one channel or the other.
Dealing with negativity
Everyone, every business and individual, is going to have to deal with negativity online at some point. Sometimes, it will be justified negativity. Other times, it will haters and trolls who just want to tear you down. Making this distinction is the key to how you deal with it. You need to decide which points need to be addressed and which need to be ignored. You want to appear conscientious without getting dragged into the mud. So don’t make the mistake of tarring all online detractors with the same brush. Be discerning.
Building a personal brand isn’t about ego. It’s about giving yourself some clout. Controlling the online reputation of you and your businesses. Build the image of a great person and wear it like a suit. Always keep personal branding in mind and it will extend to help any business ventures you get involved with.
Picture: (c) Shola Adenekan
