Kristin Luck
In today’s highly competitive business landscape, establishing a robust personal branding strategy can be a game-changer for individuals, as well as for the companies for which they work. But for many, a personal brand is often perceived as something only ownable by industry luminaries or only worth focusing on once a certain career level has been achieved. Not true! So, what do you do if you’re starting from zero?
Here are four personal branding hacks to help you attract attention quickly:
1. Determine your niche.
Much like determining a company’s “competitive moat,” focus on identifying the unique abilities or perspectives you can share with your intended audience as part of your personal branding strategy. Moreover, consider what category of expertise you can play up. What unique perspectives can you share? Consider this your "personal positioning" exercise.
More on brand positioning here
2. Start small.
For many, the thought of developing a personal brand can feel both time-consuming and overwhelming. Start small and follow influencers with a strong personal brand in your target niche on key B2B social channels like LinkedIn…then engage with, share, and comment on their content.
3. Offer help and be generous with your time as part of your personal branding strategy.
Is there a key industry association that could use volunteers? Can you mentor or offer your time to individuals who could benefit from your unique experience? Sitting on association boards or committees, speaking at industry events or webinars, or contributing content to key publications are all great ways of elevating your personal brand.
4. Start creating.
You may think you have nothing unique to say or contribute, but if you’ve done the work to determine your personal “competitive moat,” you do. Get past any insecurities you may have around putting your perspectives out into the world, and start creating content!
Remember, developing a personal brand means playing the long game. Developing a critical mass of followers, whether it’s subscribers to your blog or connections on LinkedIn, takes years of consistent posting. Don’t get dissuaded if a particular post or blog doesn’t receive many likes or visitors- test, iterate, and post again.
You may think you have nothing unique to say or contribute but if you’ve done the work to determine youR personal “competitive moat”, you do.
Have a strong personal brand already? We’d love to hear your favorite personal branding strategy hacks!