The Road to Building a Strong Personal Brand Online to Position Yourself as an Industry Leader
By: Romy Arsenault
Whether it is your intention or not, every social media account you own is promoting you. What do your profiles say about you? Do they fit with your professional image? For you to stand out and establish yourself as an industry leader, you must learn how to market yourself online.
What’s your magic?
Personal branding Guru, William Arruda, explains that a brand is a unique promise of value. Personal branding is not work versus life, but rather the intersection of who you are with what you do. When growing your social media platform, think about what makes you unique, for this is your selling point. Ask yourself:
- What do you do better than anyone else?
- What are your passions, abilities, and values?
- What do people frequently praise you for?
Ensure your content reflects the answer to these questions.
Who are you trying to connect with?
Millennials, mom influencers, athletes? That’s a start, but consider using research to learn more about your audience and how to best engage with them. Research traits such as:
- Age
- Location
- Languages
- Income
- Aspirations
- Hobbies
Using this information, you’ll be able to determine which platforms to focus on to reach people you most resonate with. Once confirmed, ensure to post consistently to maximize engagement rates.
Have a plan
Create a social media strategy, summarizing what you want to achieve on social media. To craft a winning plan, set goals that you can track using metrics. A few are listed below.
Conduct an audit
Examine what is working on your platform and what is not. This will allow you to plan what to do more of, and what to eliminate. Equally as important is conducting a personal audit. Regularly conduct a Google search of your name to evaluate your digital hygiene. Ensure only your best qualities appear and mitigate any negativity by burying it with more refined content.
