Positioning yourself with an individual social brand

Social media has many advantages and one of them is building an individual professional brand. Standing out in your career has always been essential; however, in today’s world it could be argued it is more important. We live in a very competitive, digital and connected world. More of our life is going online – both personal and professional – and this can have positive and negatives outcomes for managing our career.

Gaining recognition through social media is a benefit of using the technology.  Any social media activity though needs to be aligned with who you are, what you are about and how you behave away from the online world.  Social branding provides an opportunity to showcase the unique value you bring and yes, everyone has unique value. It is our uniqueness that makes us different and who we are.

Whenever I speak on this subject I always talk about the 3Rs: Recognition, Reputation and Respect. This is a tool that anyone can use when it comes to developing their social brand. I believe that if you harness these 3Rs consistently throughout your career, you will develop a positive and well-defined brand that supports you.

Recognition

This is not about being recognised just for the sake of being known. It is about being clear what you stand for and what you believe in.  Richard Branson is example of someone who has a strong personal brand which is separate from his company brand. It is not about being as big as Branson but just connecting with your network.

Reputation

This is what I like to refer to as ‘your story’. It becomes the ‘word of mouth’ of your career and it defines who you are and what people think about you.  I love this quote from Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com, “personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room”. Your reputation and brand will depend on what people say about you behind your back.

Respect

At times, it seems that this word has almost become ‘old-fashioned’. Everyone is rushing off to do ‘something’ or be ‘somewhere’. Superficially, it appears that we value ‘things’ more than ‘people’. However, overall I don’t believe this. Respect is more important today than it has ever been. And individually if you are authentic, give of your time and respect people; then people will come to have trust and respect in you.

Having an individual social brand is an asset that needs to be protected because at the end of the day it is your reputation, and it will either support or harm your career.

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Tags: individual social branding • Social branding • social Media