Much of my day is spent working with small business owners, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, and helping them market themselves and their business. It’s interesting that small business owners and small businesses work so hard to make themselves look larger and to blend in with large companies and yet large companies are working hard to look smaller, more local and more human.
People do business with people. If you keep that in mind, then smaller, more agile and the ability to respond to customers’ needs and to be able to have a true human conversation with them will come out the winner.
Play to your strengths
If that’s your strength, then capitalize it. When someone’s authentically good at what they do – do you really remember (or know) who’s in second place? Usually, they stand out so much so well for what they’re passionate about or what they’re good at that second place is so far behind them that we don’t even know who’s there.
This week we focused on:
- Most Wonderful Time of the Year… by Kevin Monahan
- Why Have You Changed Jobs So Frequently? by Nance Rosen
- Do’s and Don’ts of Cover Letters by Ceren Cubukcu
- Why You Need a #PersonalHashtag Campaign by Danny Rubin
- 4 Cliches To Remove From Your Personal Brand by Heather Huhman
- Endear Yourself to the Buyer by Alex Freund
- Picture Your Personal Branding Strategy by Roger Parker
- How Often Should You Be Checking In On Your Competition by The Young Entrepreneur Council
- Talking Money: Job Offer Negotiations Part 1 by Richard Kirby
- The Culture, Stupid by Kevin Monahan
- Audio Branding and Its Importance to Your Personal Brand by Maria Elena Duron
- Resume Tips – Brand and Land by Robin Ogden
- Communicate in the Way That Works For You by Jeff Shuey
- Klout As A Personal Brand Builder by Susan Gilbert
- The ABC of Retaining Brand Dominance by Leslie Truex
- Why Negotiations Fail and How to Fix by Elinor Stutz
- 6 Ways to Build a Trustworthy Reputation by Chamber of Commerce
- Finding Keywords to Manage Your Career by Marc Miller
- The Art of Connecting Genuinely via Social Media by Crystal Washington
- Why You Need to Include Soft Skills on Your Resume by Glassdoor.com
Seven takeaways from this week to help you in managing your personal brand:
1. Building a following for your personal brand via social media requires not only expertise and a point of view, but also the ability to be perceived as genuine in your interactions. (Author, Crystal Washington)
2. Being trustworthy is not something that you can turn on and off; it is a professional lifestyle. (Author, Megan Totka)
3. Simplicity is also an equalizer. (Author, Roger Parker)
4. Your next opportunity to create the right image is via your résumé. (Author, Alex Freund)
5. Spend time brainstorming the traits, qualities, and skills that truly set yourself apart from the people in your network. (Author, Heather Huhman)
6. In business today, it’s all about telling your story faster and smarter than the next person. (Author, Danny Rubin)
7. Tip: Write out what you’re going to say and practice it beforehand, so it’s coherent. (Author Nance Rosen)
Here are some great tweetables for you to share:
The more you do something, you should expect a different result from the same actions. If not, you’re not improving. http://ow.ly/qcqM0 [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/4-reasons-to-reconsider-these-motivational-phrases
Create a list of keywords to use on social media platforms to give future employers exactly what they’re looking for. http://ow.ly/qcqNV [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/finding-keywords-to-manage-your-career
People attempt to build a brand on social media without taking time to connect with their audience on a personal level.http://ow.ly/qcqRh [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/the-art-of-connecting-genuinely-via-social-media
An elevator speech is an important part of your personal brand and should sell you successfully to prospective employers.http://ow.ly/qcqSm [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/develop-the-perfect-personal-elevator-pitch
Damage control mindset may seem enough to jump the potholes, but you’ll need fuel from your vision to go the extra mile.http://ow.ly/qcqV5 [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/where-are-you-focusing-on-vision-or-damage-control
Judge someone’s character not by how they treat their boss, but by how they relate to those of inferior title. http://ow.ly/qcqWU [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/how-to-win-friends-in-corporate-america
Unemployment is always going to be scary, but make the most of it by learning new skills to keep your brand in check.http://ow.ly/qcqYG [tweet this]
Link: http://personalbrandingblog.com/how-unemployment-affects-your-personal-brand
Fake it till you make it
Given as much as we share about authenticity, why would you fake anything about your personal brand? I do know that phrase originated from self-improvement gurus focused on encouraging you to “appear confident” by faking it till you make it. Or, envisioning that you’re successful – so you fake till you make it. Not so for your brand – be authentic.
This next week – we delve into:
• The importance of being heard
• How to react to pressure
• Improving your skills
• Expanding your brand on Pinterest
• Content ideas for your personal brand
• The importance of visual content
• And more!
Author:
Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat – a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.
Are you busy? Here’s some quick and easy tips on Social Marketing for busy people.
