4 Tactics for Successful Career Branding

4 Tactics for Successful Career Branding In today’s world, it’s important to develop a personal brand that’s as unique as you are. Whether you’re a recent graduate entering the workforce or an experienced professional looking to move up the corporate ladder, a distinctive personal brand could be the key to setting you apart from the competition. Crafting a strong personal brand requires time and effort, though, and you need to identify the appropriate tactics for building a brand that will help boost your career. If you are pursuing a career in music or some other form of entertainment for instance, then your personal branding efforts will likely entail custom merchandise that can help you become known offline like enamel badges as well as your online efforts. But if your line of work is mostly digital, then you’ll be looking to leave your imprint in as many places as possible across the world wide web. There are a plethora of tactics you can you employ to bring your personal brand to life; the key is to finding what works best for you. Be open to trying and testing new tactics to find the ideal branding strategy. To help you get started, we’ve pulled together four proven tactics for successful career branding. Define your elevator pitch Every brand requires a brand statement, and your personal brand is no exception. In order to resonate with your target audiences, you need to identify and define your own personal brand. Be introspective and objectively assess your core strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself the following questions: In what areas of work do I really excel?In what areas or topics am I most knowledgeable? What type of projects do I most enjoy?What type of projects seem to be most stressful or unenjoyable?What characteristics do I have that make me good at my job?In what ways do I differ from my peers?What type of role or projects would I like to be associated with in the future? Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, it’s time to develop your elevator pitch. This succinct pitch should sum up who you are and what differentiates you in about 15-30 seconds. While this may seem like a daunting task, remember it’s important to find your niche. Your personal brand, like many corporate brands, will change as you evolve in your career. The best elevator pitch will focus on a specific area and evolve over time. Establish your expertise Your personal brand isn’t only a reflection of who are you today, it’s also a roadmap for where you’d like to be in the future. Assess where your current expertise lies and how it relates to the industry or career you’d like to take on next. By doing this, you’ll be also be able to uncover areas where you can improve your knowledge or training. Take advantage of your current employer’s training resources or research local job career training programmes in your area. Another great option is to participate in trade associations, which can help not only expand your network, but also offer impressive training resources and events. Create great content Once you’ve established your area of expertise, it’s time to share and market your knowledge. Consider starting your own blog and commit to regular posting. There are plenty of website builders available that make it easy to build your blog, such as Wix, WordPress and Squarespace. The key here is to focus on quality, rather than quantity. While it’s important to keep your blog up-to-date, you should strive to create content that’s informational, educational, and highlights the depth of your expertise. Offer fresh insights and unique perspective on industry trends that will showcase your expertise. Also, make sure that the content itself is easy to digest and make it simple for readers who enjoy your content to share it via their social channels. An excellent way to further your reach is by writing guest posts. Identify blogs that align with your area of expertise or industry and offer up your content, free of charge. This is a great way to expand your audience, while also improving the discoverability of your own blog. Source: Breaking Into Startups Blog Make the most of your social profiles Make sure that you’re active on key social channels, such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Hiring managers almost always look at a candidate’s LinkedIn profile, so it’s crucial to ensure that your profile is in order. This also provides a prime opportunity to communicate your personal brand message! Consider sharing your blog posts on your LinkedIn profile and asking former colleagues for a recommendation. Source: LinkedIn Pursue public speaking Public speaking opportunities are a great way to promote your personal brand! Speaking at industry events, local business chapter events or trade shows and expositions allows you to be seen as a subject matter expert and helps boost your personal brand. To maximise your speaking opportunity, consider videoing it to use on your blog, website and to be shared via your social channels. As you build your personal brand, it’s important to realise that it is something that will continue to evolve. While these four tactics are a great place to start, the potential for building your personal brand is limitless. Don’t be afraid to try new things and adjust your career branding strategy as you grow in your career.