Would you want to have your career regarded more seriously? Do you wish to progress in your job or make a career change?
Personal branding may assist you in achieving all of these goals by increasing your professional authority and influence.
In this article, I’ll explain what a personal brand is, why it’s important, and how you can use it to propel your career forward.
Let’s get down to business with the definition.
Personal branding is a term used to describe a person’s
Personal branding, also known as self branding, treats you as a brand, improving your reputation and image in the same way that a company would.
You may mark yourself in a variety of ways. All of them, however, put the spotlight on you and your skills.
A personal brand establishes you as influential, as someone who understands market trends and is ready to provide answers.
Why is personal branding so important to your business strategy?
An individual or personal brand will assist you in achieving whatever professional objectives you have set for yourself. Perhaps you’d want to generate buzz for a new book, close new business, or demand a greater fee for your services.
More power and influence will be crucial in attaining this goal.
Consider. Your worth rises when others see you as a key person in the business.
Others will pay attention to you when you talk. And your significance pervades many aspects of your professional life.
Shameless Self-Promotion: For over 25 years, I’ve assisted in the transformation of practically unknown individuals into industry icons. That’s what I do now for seasoned professionals 50 and above who desire greater power, control, and job possibilities.
Make an appointment with me for a free consultation.
Have I yet persuaded you?
If that’s the case, you’re probably wondering, “How do I do it?”
That’s what I’d want to assist you with today. I’ve compiled a list of 8 ideas and methods to help you increase your professional authority and influence and put it to good use.
Let’s get started.
8 personal branding tips that will increase your authority
1. Create content content is essential to your brand’s success
Even if you attended every conceivable event and conference in your business, a piece of content will reach much more people than you could?
But what kind of content should you make?
Investigate what’s going on in your industry for inspiration. Consider breaking news, tool releases, upgrades, industry studies, and anything else your target audience may be interested in.
Choose a platform where your audience will get material on a regular basis. If you have a blog, this is an excellent location to put your material.
But don’t overlook additional opportunities to create and share material. This might be on LinkedIn, where you can create an article directly from your account on their publishing platform.
You may alternatively use a platform such as Medium. It’s completely free to use, has a massive readership, and has a built-in publishing platform.
Guest posting for other big sites in your field is another excellent alternative. You might pitch a piece to Forbes or Entrepreneur if you’re in the business world.
If you know your target audience reads other, smaller industry blogs, go out to one of them to inquire about guest blogging possibilities.
I’ve pitched myself and my clients to Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and other national and regional publications with great success. And you don’t have to be famous to accomplish it.
Simply tell an interesting, timely tale.
2. Pay attention
It’s a little word, yet it may make a big difference in how you interact with people. This is true on a local scale, inside your workplace, as well as on a bigger one, throughout your whole sector.
Being a leader does not need taking center stage all of the time. It entails gaining people’s esteem in order for them to want to put you in the spotlight.
How do you go about doing that?
The vast majority of people just want to be heard. So pay attention to them.
Make eye contact and even move your body towards individuals when they talk to you in person. This demonstrates that you are paying attention to them and that you care about what they have to say.
They will be more inclined to respond late, when you have something meaningful to say.
This is true regardless of where you are – at an office meeting, on Zoom, or even on social media.
Let’s talk about how you can accomplish this on social media. First, read through other people’s remarks before offering your viewpoint in a conversation.
You may even like their comment. Make sure you’re aware of all sides of the debate.
Then, when you contribute your perspective or point of view to the mix, you may do so while keeping the whole picture in mind, possibly even referencing other people’s remarks.
3. Pay attention to your tone and body language
It may be difficult to perfect the art of human contact in these day of social media and email, particularly when it comes to body language and tone.
Body language and tone, however, have been shown to have a significant effect on how others perceive us, particularly our authority.
People will most likely see you as subservient if you slouch and gaze down at the ground, for example. Instead, stand up straight, shoulders back, and establish eye contact with people in your immediate vicinity.
These little adjustments may make a big impact and give you a more authoritative demeanor.
Crossing your arms while speaking to someone is another body language faux pas to avoid. This may give the impression that you’re locked off and perhaps argumentative.
Instead, keep your arms at your sides and your toes pointing in the direction of the individual. Small gestures like this demonstrate that you’re more open and attentive.
Low tones have greater power when it comes to tone. As a result, try to keep your tone low and calm while speaking in meetings or other comparable situations.
4. Share your knowledge
You’ve been in your field for a while, and you’re certain to have knowledge that others would want to learn from. So share your knowledge; it’s a wonderful approach to build and maintain your reputation.
How do you go about doing this?
There are a few options.
To begin, you may either design your own webinar or join as a speaker on someone else’s. Choose a topic that you are well-versed in and like discussing.
This is excellent since you’ll have video clips of the webinar to post on your website or social media after you’re done.
Another alternative is to share your industry knowledge with others. This may be in the form of a blog post or as a podcast guest.
Once you’ve established yourself as an expert, you’ll almost certainly get invites to these events.
You may also search for discussions taking place on social media, such as in LinkedIn or Facebook groups for certain industries. Follow these communities and look for ways to contribute significantly to the conversation or even offer your unique viewpoint on a topic.
5. Make references to other experts
Every sector has its own set of influencers, each with its own set of devoted followers.
Quoting one of these influencers is a fantastic approach to get your name out there and start building your own brand. It might be a brief, poignant remark in a blog post, a compilation of many experts’ perspectives on a topic, or even a full-length interview with a single expert.
All of these strategies contribute to your name becoming associated with an expert. Someone may glance at your material just to read what that expert has to say, but they will stick around to read your views and opinions.
To get the most out of this approach, tag the influencer or influencers on social media so that their followers notice it and go through to read it.
6. Build relationships with other influencers
You are, as the saying goes, who you hang out with. Connect with people who already have it if you want to gain authority.
Here’s when networking comes in handy.
Seek for chances to meet important individuals in your field. This may be done via social media, industry gatherings, or even a simple email.
However, you must do more than just follow them. You wish to establish a long-term connection with this person.
Determine which influencers would be a good match for this. Get a sense of their personality and hobbies by watching their videos and following them on social media.
If you discover someone with whom you have interests, look for methods to develop a relationship with them.
How do you go about doing this? Determine how you may be of assistance to them.
Comment on their posts and like them. If you have something useful to contribute, such as a cooperation opportunity, reach out.
Let them know how much you liked their article or book. Most importantly, be honest.
The greatest approach to establish relationships is to be yourself.
7. Make yourself a source of information
Your name appearing in print with a relevant, expert statement is a sure-fire method to increase your authority.
It’s not as difficult as you would imagine. Journalists covering industry beats, in particular, are always on the hunt for quotable sources.
If you make yourself accessible for it, you may end up being mentioned in a relevant magazine.
Sign up for HARO (Help a Report Out), a website that links sources like you with reporters and journalists who need your assistance. Simply fill out the required fields, and HARO will send you frequent emails alerting you to journalists searching for experts in your field.
Then you may submit a pitch to take it further.
Find out who is covering your industry’s beat in local newspapers or even smaller, online publications. Contact them if you have any fascinating news or thoughts to offer.
However, keep in mind that these are busy professionals who need to turn stories around fast, so provide all essential information so that they can take it and run with it, while also providing you with a quotation or reference to enhance your authority.
Thanks to Wendy Marx at Business 2 Community whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.
