Creating a personal brand can spark the interest of potential employers and put your career on the fast track, but how do you do it?
Personal branding allows you to create and maintain a specific image of yourself. Organizations create brands to make themselves known for specific things like having the best product or providing great customer service, and you can do the same thing when creating your personal brand.
A great example of a company that has used the power of branding for many years is Apple. Have you ever wondered how you know a commercial is for an iPhone before the product is even shown? Have you ever thought about the feeling you get when walking into an Apple Store? Why do Apple products always have the same look and feel? The reason this happens is because Apple has worked so hard to brand themselves so that you automatically know you’re having an Apple brand experience. You can use this same power of branding to accelerate your career and get that dream job.
How can you use the power of personal branding to kick start your career? Check out our five steps to creating an awesome personal brand!
Step 1: Align your personal brand to your professional goals
The first thing you need to do is decide what exactly you want your personal brand to be. This is known as your brand identity, and figuring this out is an important first step, as everything else will build on it.
Ask yourself these questions to help determine what your personal brand should be:
- Why are you creating a personal brand?
- What are your professional goals?
- What do you want to be known for?
- What are you passionate about?
- What are your strengths?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you should have a good understanding of what you want your personal brand to be. For example, if you are a student training for a healthcare career, some of your answers could be to find a job, advance your career, and become known as an expert in your local medical community.
Step 2: Choose your platforms
Personal branding is easier now more than ever because of the rise of social media and mobile devices. You can create your personal brand from anywhere, at any time, but deciding which social media platforms to use can be challenging. Is Facebook or Twitter the better choice? What about Instagram or LinkedIn?
There are two questions you need to answer when deciding which social channels to use for creating your personal brand: Who do you want to reach with your personal brand and what social platforms do they use?
For example, if you’re a healthcare student trying to get employers to notice you, Facebook and LinkedIn are probably where you need to be. If you’re an artist trying to promote your work, then Instagram would be better.
Step 3: Network with relevant professionals
Once you’ve figured out exactly what your personal brand is going to be and which channels you’re going to focus on, the next step is to network and begin building relationships with others. Following relevant accounts in your niche is a great way to start. When you have something valuable to add to the conversation, you can comment and like their posts, as this will start to build a relationship.
Following potential employers, community healthcare leaders, industry organizations, and healthcare experts would all be great for our healthcare student example. Feel free to share their content that aligns with the personal brand you’re working to create. For example, if a healthcare organization shares a post about updated industry standards, you can reshare this to your page.
Step 4: Share your knowledge and expertise
The best way to build and maintain your personal brand is to share content that shows your own knowledge and expertise. Photos, videos, blogs, infographics, and status updates are all great examples of the types of digital content you can share.
Think about your audience and the types of content they would be interested in when you’re creating content and figuring out what to post. Photos of hands-on training like phlebotomy and taking vital signs would be perfect things for a medical student to share. Testimonials and recommendations are great to share because they show you get things done.
Step 5: Always be yourself
There are many advantages to creating a personal brand to advance your career, but always remember to be yourself! Being authentic and genuine, and letting your true self shine through is essential because people connect with genuine people.
Ready to put your career on the fast track?
You’re on the way to creating an awesome personal brand, so take the next step to kick start your career with education and training from East Ohio. Request information now to get started today!