Why your personal brand matters

Can your personal brand propel your career?

Armstrong Craven prides itself in finding the best talent for our clients and our experience tells us that the talent who have a strong personal brand distinguish themselves from the crowd.

By cultivating the strongest possible personal brand, you are making yourself a more attractive proposition to existing and potential employers.

Increasingly, employers believe that building and leveraging your personal brand is vital for career development beyond middle management level and advancement in the modern business world.

In Asia this view is less advanced, compared to the US and Europe, as traditionally the Asian culture is more humble. However, there is no question that the importance of personal branding is gathering momentum in Asia, too.

Personal branding usually equates to a strong online presence, telling your story, who you are, what you do and what you stand for, establishing exactly what you can offer and what you want from your career.

Back in 1968, Andy Warhol once famously said: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”. Digital reach continues to grow in 2017 and it has never been easier to create a personal brand and online presence. The challenge is how to get it right – and ensure that your personal brand gives you the best chance of being noticed. Below are some tips to consider when building your own brand:

See yourself as a brand

We are used to talking about companies as brands. Names like Nike, Apple, Facebook, Google and others trip off the tongue.

But now you have to also see yourself as a brand in your own right.

This requires a certain confidence, but also the ability to create a compelling narrative about your career to date and your future direction.

Be visible – but in the right way

There has never been so much social media and tools to make the most of your online platforms. It is therefore easy to share information, sometimes too easy. Make sure tweets you send, pictures you share, LinkedIn posts you make are aligned with your personal brand narrative, helping to build credibility and enhance your brand.

Have something to say

Jonathan Long, Founder and CEO of US brand agency, Market Domination, says: “You know your personal brand is strong when you become a source of information.”

He recommends starting by sharing news and information on social media and to your email database that you feel is of significance. This will help to build your brand as a trusted authority. In time, your personal brand may grow to the extent that external organisations, such as the media, want to include you in their content.

Stay on trend

In order for your personal brand to be taken seriously, you need to maintain an in-depth knowledge of your industry and key trends. You need to be alert to breaking news within your sector and how it affects your business and that of your competitors. This will enable you to position yourself as a thought leader in your world.

Embrace video

One of the smartest ways to build personal brand in 2017 is via the use of video content – the power of video has the ability to increase click through rates by as much as 200 per cent.

Video apps such as Periscope are a good way to share quick videos across all of your social media accounts.

Use customised hashtags and keywords

Highlighting personal successes or important events with customised hashtags and keywords is another effective way to get your personal social media accounts noticed and help shrink complicated achievements into bite-sized chunks.

Get away from your desk

It is also important not to forget personal branding is more than just a LinkedIn and Twitter profile – networking and attending key industry events is a vital element of building your personal brand.

Talent must ascertain its value proposition and understand why it makes them attractive to employers.

Building a personal brand is not about a scatter gun approach. Rather, it is a considered and long term campaign to create the profile that best displays and underlines your capabilities. It is therefore important that there should be a consistency of messages across the various activities you undertake.

Personal branding applies not only to recruitment, but to clients, partners, colleagues and other individuals who you may interact with as part of your job.  It positions talent within a certain market, emphasises expertise and communicates values.

Dorie Clark, a marketing strategist and author of the books, Reinventing You and Stand Out, says: “Taking control of your personal brand may mean the difference between an unfulfilling job and a rewarding career.”

So is creating a personal brand to enhance your career on your to do list?

Armstrong Craven is a global talent mapping and pipelining specialist with offices in the UK and Singapore.
Follow Heather @singaporeAC
www.armstrongcraven.com