4 steps to building your brand online
This is 2016, you have all the information on your fingertips. You can use this to effectively brand yourself and ensure that you stand out from the crowd. There can only be one you. Here’s what you can do to build your own brand from scratch. Step 1 – Google yourself You meet a stranger, get information about a competitor, receive a random email from a potential business partner…what is the first thing you do? You Google them! Now think about it. If you are testing your private investigating skills on Google, chances are someone else is doing the same thing for you. They are out there Googling your name. This begs the question; what will they find? Does Google even know you exist? Once you have decided to type your name in Google’s search bar and hit enter, what you find out about yourself will determine how you begin to either start building or reshaping your brand. Step 2 – Overhaul your Online Presence When was the last time you checked your privacy settings? Make sure that what you allow the public to see is really what you want them to see. What about your inactive social media pages? Sometimes, we follow trends and open social media accounts which we end up not using at all. If you are not active and it does not serve your personal or professional goals, delete these accounts quickly. You know those pictures that your friends took at that party in 2009? The ones that you don’t want anyone to see? Where are they? Are they visible only to you and your besties or to the rest of us on Google? Remove any inappropriate photos or information that you don’t want attached to your professional image. Have you been featured on any third party websites? Do those websites still represent your brand? Make sure that they reflect what your brand stands for. If not, consider asking them to get rid of those features or put up an update. Step 3 – Your value proposition Much like any service or product, you have to find out what you have to offer that is of unique value. This is your value proposition, to discover it ask yourself the following questions; What makes you unique? What are your skills? What pushes you to wake up in the morning? What makes you better than the next person? Who are you? What are your values? Are those values reflected in what the world sees? The moment you find out who you are and what you want to achieve, you’ll know exactly how you want others to see you. This links back to the impression you want to leave on those who are checking you out on online. Step 4 – Let Us Work So, you have figured out what Google says about you, you have overhauled your online presence and you know what you have to offer. Now let’s get to work. Which social media platforms do you have? Which ones are you going to use for personal and professional interests? Are you keeping up to date with what is happening in your industry and sharing it on your professional social media platforms? Be consistent in your postings and in what you put out into the world. It’s easy to be consistent when your online presence is a reflection of who and what you are. Live out your brand. Whether you are networking or in the way that you do business, embody your brand. Live it out in how you work and in how you present yourself. Your online presence should merely be an extension of your true self. So? What are you waiting for? What have you got to lose? Try these steps and let us know when you’ve become a brand .