5 Strategies for Branding Yourself Online
By Nada Steighner, NCC, CDF
Question:
In one of your previous blogs, you mentioned that branding yourself online is a strategy that can help to improve job search results. How do I go about doing that?
Answer:
Remember that branding is a reflection of your accomplishments, skills, personality, and areas of expertise. Whether I take a look at your Facebook profile or have a 30-minute conversation with you in person, I should be able to get a sense of your brand. To an employer, it is what makes you a desirable job candidate or not. Developing your brand and maintaining it takes a lot of work but you'll reap the benefit as your career develops.
Branding can be powerful in shaping your job search narrative, so here are 5 tips to improve your brand online.
1. Identify your brand and goals.
Ask yourself what your strengths are. What accomplishments are you proud of (at work or in your personal life)? What skills are you proficient or advanced in? Seek input from family members and/or colleagues who know you well. Once you do that, choose 4-5 of the top skills or accomplishments and think of examples where you have demonstrated those skills. Next, brainstorm some career goals. Hopefully, they will tie into your top skills and accomplishments. Once you tackle this hurdle, you're on your way to developing your brand.
“Whether I take a look at your Facebook profile or have a 30-minute conversation with you in person, I should be able to get a sense of your brand. ”
2. Audit your online presence.
Does your defined brand match up with what's on your professional and/or personal online profiles? If it does, make sure that it's clearly stated. If not, remove content that doesn't align and update it with content that does match your skills, area of expertise, and/or work values.
3. Develop your branding strategy.
Social Media. Choose as many social media platforms as you can handle and be strategic by choosing the ones that fit your industry and digital literacy skills. If you're not as computer savvy or just starting off, select only one or two platforms so that you don't get overwhelmed. If you're in a creative industry or job role, try finding niche websites or professional organizations to identify the platforms that are the best to showcase your brand.
Personal Website. If nothing fits, build your own website. Career experts say that 56% of hiring managers were impressed if candidates had their own personal websites to support their job search. Personal websites can serve as an online portfolio of your work as well as a unique way to showcase your brand in a competitive job market.
Consistency. Make sure your brand is consistent across all social media platforms. That includes consistency with your name, content, look, and headline/mission.
4. Stay connected.
It's important that you stay engaged with whatever platform you use. Some examples of engagement include posting content on a regular basis, joining online communities, and/or responding to others or tagging others in your posts. By building your brand, you'll build more connections with others, which could lead to job opportunities.
5. Evaluate on a regular basis.
Just like employers do mid-year and/or annual evaluations, you should do that in regards to your brand. Technology is constantly changing and so are your skills. You should set up a schedule to check-in or evaluate your brand to see if your strategy needs to change. Remember, branding should be showcasing the value you can bring to an employer or other industry experts that could use your skillset.