As the social media landscape is evolving at a hyper-speed pace, we too must continue to keep up.  Although I do not claim to be on the cutting edge of the social media horizon, I try to educate myself on the latest trends.  Right now the big trend seems to be personal branding. Building our brand is the best way to manage our career today.  It is our unique value, packaged in a compelling and consistent way to peek interest from our audience.   It makes sense when you think about it.  We all have so much information coming at us constantly that we must be able to quickly discern what is and isn’t relevant.  Marketers are branding their products in a way that will stand out and be relevant.  The same must be done when it comes to marketing ourselves for that next career move.  Personal branding is a step forward in creating a happier and more successful life.

I am just starting to take notice of the personal branding concept myself so we will embark on this learning process together. 

Where do we start?

The first step is to identify what your personal brand should be.   Don’t worry, this is not something that should come to you in five minutes.  Identifying your personal brand will take some thoughtful self-discovery.  Your brand should not be some fake persona.  Rather, it should encompass your knowledge points and should represent your focus for the future.

During your soul searching quest, ask yourself some important questions:

1. How do you describe yourself?
2. What drives you? What are you passionate about?
3. What kinds of activities give you meaning? What do you love to do?
4. What abilities do you have that consistently impress other people?
5. What is it that your peers and friends come to you asking for help with?
6. What makes you unique from your colleagues?
7. How do your passions intersect with your skills?
8. What do you do better than everyone else?
9. What do you take a specific interest in doing/working on? What could you do all day without getting bored?
10. Why do you do what you do?
11. What would you feel confident in speaking or writing about on a consistent basis?
12. Who is your audience?

If you still have trouble, ask some of your peers, family members and friends for assistance. Sometimes it is easier to see yourself through other’s eyes. 

Once you have generated your concept, the next step is to develop your personal brand statement.  Your statement is a polished way to talk about yourself that attracts the kinds of opportunities that bring you meaningful work.

These are the first two steps in building your personal brand.  There is no time like the present to get started.  Good luck!    

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 10:54 pm and is filed under Online, Social Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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