Do you consider “personal branding” another useless buzzword? Then you’re just one of many working professionals who’s underestimated the power of this marketing tool. Branding can open so many doors in your life, personally and professionally, that might’ve been closed otherwise. Personal branding isn’t so different from classic branding. You can use it to increase your visibility, handle your reputation, or to build trust in your skills.
You can actively influence the impression you leave on others. In other words, you can fight your way to a higher and better position. Today, we’ll show you how to use modern media more effectively to become an expert in your field, and give your career a little push.
Playing with the thought of a change in career? Or do you simply want to keep your future opportunities open? Then personal branding is important for you. Make yourself a checklist – which traits should a good leader bring to the table, and which do you offer?
Are you empathetic, competent, communicative? Great, then you have a wonderful foundation from which to strive towards your other goals. One thing is for sure: those who want to beat out the competition in today’s job market must work to make a name for themselves. How can senior managers take care of their image, and prepare themselves for their next career step? Read on to find out.
1. Take Advantage of the Power of Social Media
Everything is online, everyone is online – through the internet, an unlimited amount of information is offered to us daily. The media landscape is in a structural upheaval, publications are moving to the internet. At the same time, almost everyone today is able to produce and publish their own unique content.
Whether it’s a blog, website, or through social media, we have more opportunities to be heard than generations before us. This means as a senior manager, you should strategically use social media to catch the attention of users and position yourself as you see fit.
The popular social media platforms have an enormous audience – use them to your professional benefit! Look for a topic that’s professionally relevant for you, a topic that you can contribute to professionally, and start working towards building a following.
2. Earn a Reputation as an Expert
Theoretically, everyone online can position themselves as they want. We can see this clearly through society’s love of the selfie. The deciding question remains: Who am I, and how do I want to be viewed?
As a senior manager, you’ll certainly benefit from a wealth of experiences that you can gain from countless competencies, leadership qualities, important soft skills – show these off!
What are your unique selling points? Use the chances afforded to you through modern communication channels like YouTube or a blog to position your perspectives and skills as an expert for a specific topic. Start discussions, provoke others to think out loud, and share your knowledge with others – in short, demonstrate that you know a lot about this field. But don’t forget – those who use personal branding should make sure to use an authentic approach.
The world has enough self-proclaimed experts who only use social media to talk about themselves and their achievements. So instead, work towards building trust, make a reputation for yourself as an expert, but don’t lose sight of your goal. Stay believable and credible – then others will start showing you attention.
3. Build Up Your Network
Social networks, video platforms, blogs – there are a thousand possibilities to gain an audience, and to build a valuable professional network. What’s important is that you position yourself toward the topics that are professionally relevant for you and your career.
When you want to move forward professionally, building up a following for your baking blog will hardly help you land a new job. But if your target audience comes from a branch that relates to your profession, you can contribute and add value to their group. Perhaps you’ll be able to start a discussion with other senior managers and experts about new ideas and innovations!
4. Become a Desirable Brand
A strong personal brand will lift you high above your competition. A good brand has earned the trust of its users, it communicates a positive lifestyle. It offers direction and security. The same counts for senior managers. Show your potential employer why you’re original, why you – and only you – can help to restructure the marketing department of a company.
Demonstrate that you bring unique value that gives you an edge over your competition, while remaining credible and showing loyalty to your readers and followers. What’s important is that your voice should not get lost in the background noise of Twitter and other channels. Stay persistent. Communicate frequently, but pay attention to the quality of the statements.
Maintaining a clean and distinct online profile will also help you to position yourself. These should always be up to date, and reflect your areas of expertise. In this way, you’ll manage to build an ideal foundation for your next career step. We wish you success!
