Branding
When promoting your professional brand. You are showing your personality, goals, interests, accomplishments, values, and mission; you are showcasing your best self.
Branding Aspects
Values
Values are what you care most about. Realizing your true values will align yourself with what to focus on and build a true passion.
Passion
Knowing what your Values, Goals, and overall Mission is helps you to learn and feul your passion. You know what you want now you just have to go for it!
Goals
Setting goals ( based on values ) will help you to stay determined, focused and push you toward your purpose.
Achievements
Reminding yourself of what you've accomplished will help maintain your motivation and push you to become even better than you are now. Showing other people your sucesses is just a bonus.
Mission
Creating a misson statement will define both your values and your goals and is a nice base to build your personal brand on.
Defining your purpose
Once you've defined your purpose by evaluating your values, mission, passion, and goals. You will want to conduct an audit of your personal equity, which includes your achievements, experience, credentials, connections, and your emotional intelligence.
The next step is to construct a narrative, similar to a mission statement, where you will want to illustrate your potential and your vision.
Then start to communicate your brand and bring it to life. Start to market your brand and share your story. (Cote, Personal branding: What it is and why it matters - HBS online 2024)
How to show your brand ?
Social media is a great way to broadcast your brand to a wide auidence by creating content that shows your values, goals, accomplishments, and your vision.
Wether it be through photos, writing, or videos make that content to show off your personal and professional brand.
There are many platforms to use and many people who share similar values, passion and goals that will want to see your content and connect with you.
Here are some great platforms to use :
This is a platform that uses text and photos. This website/app is one of the best in terms of networking, as that is what it is based around. Find people in the same industry, general location, and with smilar goals. It also lets you develop an online resume and can connect you with possible employers.
Tiktok
This is a short - video based platform. Great for gaining online traction quickly and for sharing snippets of content. The app shows videos similar to what you're interested in making it easy to find business related content and people in the industry.
Photo and short video based platform. Great for interacting with a wide range of people near or far. The messaging and comment features make networking easy and pressure - free.
Photo and writing based platform. Great for networking by getting to know people who know your people. Creates a sense of online community by finding people or groups with a like interests. Build your network.
Youtube
Long form video based platform. Great for providing how - to's, motivation, educational, and lifestyle videos. Dive into providing content for your peers to watch.
x (formerly twitter)
Writing based platform. This app has a lot of posts intended to inform people on various subjects. Much like the other platforms it is a great way to connect with people and build your network online.
Reminder to stay professional
What is posted online will stay online forever. Make sure you are comfortable with anyone seeing what you post as anyone may come across your content wether it be: collegues, friends, family, future or present employers, even CEO's.
You may look amazing on a night out at the bar, or on the beach in a bikini, and the beer you're drinking may be aesthetic, but does it align with the brand you want to build?
Stay professional, polite, and respectful.
References:
8 powerful platforms to market yourself online and Boost Your Professional Brand. Michele Johns Photography - Round Rock Headshots. (n.d.). https://www.roundrockheadshots.com/blog/8-Powerful-Platforms-to-Market-Yourself-Online-and-Boost-Your-Professional-
Cote, C. (n.d.). Personal branding: What it is and why it matters - HBS online. Personal Branding: What it is & why it matters. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/personal-branding-at-work
Loos, A., Burns, S., Carpenter, S., Shumate, L., & Imada, B. (2022). You got this!: The real skills you need for career success. Wiley.
Professional brand: What it is and how to build yours: The muse. The Muse | The Muse. (n.d.). https://www.themuse.com/advice/professional-brand