In today’s day and age the reputation we carry now extends online. People make judgements on Facebook profile pictures and tweets before getting to know you.
Whether you are aware of it or not you have a brand. When you’re not around your brand is representing you. Every time you apply at a job employers will Google your name, are you comfortable with what’s coming up?
This article when show you a few different things and steps to keep in mind while branding yourself. Keep in mind this is not something that happens overnight but more of a slow gradual process.
Define your morals and standards
The better you know yourself the easier it will be to build your brand. Any good brand can be described as genuine. Define the things you currently stand for and some things you want to start working towards. Also set certain standard of work that you do and work that you want to be associated with.
This is a crucial step. Once you know your morals and standards you will be able to make better decisions on the type of things you wish to be associated with. As you go through life your morals and standards will evolve, it’s important you have a clear relationship with them.
Once you have done this you have built the groundwork of your brand. Use these standards to guide the decisions you make and the people associate with. Convey these values across to new people in the way you talk, your biographies online and the activities that you engage in.
Get your name out there
In order to build a presence online or offline, start creating things to for your name to be associated with. These things can be social media platforms, blogs, volunteer activities, organizations anything you can think of.
Make sure the things you are associated with are always professional. Be aware of what you are posting online or what groups you are associated with are posting. Talk to the people you interact with online in a professional way. This doesn’t necessary mean use perfect grammar and punctuation all the time but simply keep your text clean and acceptable for everyone to read.
When you building your profiles online be sure to use a picture. People like putting a name to a face and are more likely to believe what’s written in your profile. Using a simple head shot picture of yourself is common and is most effective while branding yourself.
Build up your network
Always be open to meeting new people. Show genuine interest in people and they will show some back. Doing the little things like keeping track of peoples names can help you out. People love to be remembered.
While networking it’s important to have your predefined morals with you. Don’t go out and try and be people’s friends just for networking’s sake. The more genuine connections you build with people the less of them you will need. Quality over quantity.
Another little thing you can do is send out a follow up email. Just say hello and mention how you are looking forward to connecting with them soon. This is a great and easy way to maintain contact with new people. Simply remind people from time to time that you are thinking of them, you will be amazed out how this little action will allow you to maintain relationships.
Change isn’t a thing – it’s a process
Keep heart – building you brand isn’t going to be easy. Remember that change isn’t a thing but a process. Consistency will be your biggest friend on your journey.
In order to be consistency always stay learning. Don’t be afraid to learn new ways of doing the things that you do. There is always something to be learned or improved on.
It will take time to build your network, keep a positive mind and always keep working. Strive to stick to your morals and standards and the hard work will pay off with a well earned reputation.
Share what has worked for you! Leave your comments below!
