A JSB Publica-on Personal Branding How to build the brand of you by Joanne Sweeney- Burke Visit my blog: JoanneSweeneyBurke.ie
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Why personal branding? 2. Defining your niche areas 3. Perfec<ng your digital footprint 4. Choosing your publishing pla@orms 5. Genera<ng engaging content
CHAPTER ONE Why Personal Branding?
Why Personal Branding? Know what you re all about So you want to be your own personal brand manager. Great! But you need to know yourself inside you. You might think that this is a very simple statement, but believe me, it s a very important star<ng point. What are the first steps I need to take to build my personal brand online? Tone of Voice: Define your wri<ng style. Is it conversa<onal, humorous, serious, professional, friendly or social? I personally use a conversa<onal and meaningful style showcasing my professional knowledge at all <mes. Branding: Do you have a personal brand iden<ty? Remember image is everything and if you are serious about promo<ng Brand Me then consider geong a logo designed by a professional graphic designer. I invest in branding for all my content so that I stand out from the crowd. Why Brand Me? Why are you considering developing and building your personal brand? Is it to get a new job, to increase your aqrac<veness to clients, to help your media career, to promote yourself as a thought- leader in your industry? I do it to posi<on myself in my industry and to be a go- to person on a range of specialist subjects. Sharing Me: How much of you will you share, what will you share, how much do you want people to know about you? You need to set these boundaries before going any further. My Target Audience: Establish who your target audiences are. Remember it s probable that you are targe<ng more than one audience, for example, peers in your industry, media, staff, Government, employers.
CHAPTER TWO Defining Your Niche Areas
Defining Your Niche Areas So what s your specialist subjects? Now that you ve established that you are going to invest in Brand Me, it s <me to consider what your specialist subjects are and who you are talking to. My specialist subjects include social media, digital marke<ng, personal branding, online reputa<on, cyberbullying, social media and law enforcement, business and mo<va<on and with each of these subjects I realise that I m talking to somebody different. How do I choose my specialist subjects? What s your profession, industry knowledge, skillset and exper<se? What unique experiences have you had? What are you passionate about? What mo<vates you in life? Do you have any unique hobbies or interests? What par<cular industry or niche are you targe<ng? TOP TIP: Write about what you know and don t deviate from it!
CHAPTER THREE Perfec-ng Your Digital Footprint
Perfec-ng Your Digital Footprint Have an online presence Take these 3 steps: #1 Nobody wants to hear from you if they haven t heard of you, so you ve got to get your brand shining online! With 3 billion people online and the ability to promote yourself for free you are going to exploit the social web for your own gain. #2 First you have to establish the extent of your online presence. So Google yourself. Put in your name and your area of exper<se and see what appears. Document the results including which sites you are referenced on. #3 Start connec-ng with influencers, networking with industry leaders and building up an online community. Surround yourself with like- minded people and adopt a posi<ve, helpful and encouraging aotude. TOP TIP: 87% of the informa<on on the Internet about us, we have provided it. So if you don t like what you see, upload more content!
CHAPTER FOUR Choosing Your Publishing Pla]orms
Social Networking Sites Consider who your audiences are Choose digital channels that will connect you with the right people and organisa-ons. I expect you to know who those influencers are. Separately, I would advise you to launch a personal blog in your own name! This will provide you will golden online real estate, which in other words is a strong posi<on on Google and other search engines for your name and your area of exper<se. Ask yourself: What social networking sites or websites are they using? What channels am I using currently and how I am performing on them? What knowledge and skills do I have in each relevant pla@orm please don t use I don t know how as an excuse. There are mul<ple free online resources and training courses to aid your learning so take advantage of what s available. What channels are the influencers in my area of exper<se using?
CHAPTER FIVE Genera-ng Engaging Content
Genera-ng Engaging Content What do people want to read? This is probably the biggest challenge to building your personal brand. But if you have followed my steps up to this, you are nearly at the finish line, well actually at the start line for online prominence! Remember content genera<on and personal branding is a never- ending process. So what is engaging content? Blog posts: that answer your target audiences burning ques<ons - how to, why I, top 10 reasons, my experience of blog offer value and educate and inform. Video: video is king on the Internet and will prove a winning formula, but keep your videos short, less than a minute and think before your press record! Infographics: these are hot right now and they are graphical depic<ons of lots of stats or data. Photos: never underes<mate the power of a photo and why not add a cap<on to it with text overlaid. Words: your Facebook status update, LinkedIn status update or Tweet have the power to connect you with an influencer, so think about your words before you post. Remember: Everyone has a personal brand, by design or default. Take your personal brand into your own hands and make it memorable for all the right reasons.
Use images to tell a story: Quotes such as the one above is considered very shareable content especially on Facebook, Instagram and TwiQer. I develop my own quotes and include the hashtag #JSBinspires
If you are to succeed on your personal branding journey you need to be CVO.. Consistent in your content in your vision in your knowledge. Visible on social media on your blog on various media outlets. Original with your content with your voice with your branding and design
Do you need a personal branding strategy? Do you need a mo<va<onal speaker? Do you need a training workshop? Contact me today. Email: joanne@digitaltraining.ie Connect on social media