Blow Up Your Personal Brand In 5 Steps

If this article caught your eye, chances are you’ve heard the term “personal brand” applied to job seekers.

But do you know how to apply the best practices for brands to your professional career?

No problem! We’ve got you covered!

In today’s article, we’re going to go over the 5 steps you can take right now in order to blow up your personal brand, and boost your professional career!

1. Narrow down your value

We don’t mean reduce your value — we mean narrow down what you know to be the best traits you offer to employers.

Think of a commercial for an orange juice company. Are they going to advertise that their product is the same as any other? Or that their product could make a great paperweight or doorstop? Or that you could take a bath in it if you wanted?

They could, but almost certainly they won’t. And why is that?

It’s because the value of a bottle of orange juice is based on the quality of the juice, the affordability of the product, and what sets it apart from its competitors.

In the same way, your value to employers is your particular skill level, the return on investment they get from choosing you, and what characteristics set you apart from other candidates.

Focus on just a few of your unique features when crafting your personal brand. Because it’s easier to stand out from the crowd when comparing apples to oranges.

2. Scrub your social media

In 2022, it’s safe to assume that nearly everyone has some type of online presence.

Whether it’s social media profiles, email accounts, directory listings, websites, blogs, news articles — we can almost guarantee that you’re online!

And one common mistake that personal brand champions make when starting out, is that they forget that building their brand has already started…

So before you focus on creating new content about yourself online, start by curating the existing content first. Make sure that what employers can see matches what you want them to see.

3. Keep it clean

Once you’ve curated your existing online presence, you’ll want to establish some rules for how you interact online moving forward.

A good starting place for this is to privatize your profiles and make sure content you share is only shared with the right people.

But an even better way to look at it is that anytime you share something on the internet, you are sharing it with the whole internet. Because you never know where that information will wind up.

What only takes a moment to post can haunt you for a lifetime. It could be compromising pictures, or slanderous words, or a secret you were supposed to keep. Before you put it online, think about what would happen if everyone saw it — including potential employers!

4. Ready. Set. Blog!

Blogs are a great way to share information online ***wink, wink ;)***

And those with the most information to share are often seen as experts in their niche.

As you develop your personal brand, consider starting a blog where you can share your brand’s journey and expertise, to help solidify your brand persona in the eyes of your followers.

It’s also a great way to create content that can help you link your social media platforms to your personal website or digital portfolio. Share new blog articles as posts, and put a link to your blog in your social media profiles!

5. Partner up with other brands

Like peanut butter and chocolate, some things just work better together.

And brands are no different — by networking and identifying yourself with other professionals, you can help each other establish your presence in any industry.

And if you’re just starting out, consider seeking out others who can not only act as a partner, but as a mentor, too! Someone who can guide you through the steps they took to carve a space for their career.

Conclusion

Building your personal brand is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

Try applying what you’ve learned today to get started, or stay tuned for more helpful tips coming your way every week!

Blow Up Your Personal Brand In 5 Steps