Marketers often spend a lot of time thinking about clients or company brands, but they may not take advantage of the very real opportunities to build their own personal brand, which can have a major impact on their careers. Mel Carson, Founder, CEO, and Principal Strategist with Delightful Communications walked through why personal branding is important and how to start building your own brand and become discoverable, shareable, and memorable.
“Personal branding is what people say about you after you leave the room.” ~ Jeff Bezos, Amazon
While Jeff Bezos’ definition of personal branding is succinct, it doesn’t explain how you clarify and then create your personal brand. That is more than a one-time exercise; according to Mel, it’s an ongoing, intentional process. “It’s the practice of defining your professional purpose and being able to articulate your experience and value to your target audience through digital media and in-person.”
The heart of a personal brand is your professional purpose—what is it about what you do that ignites your passion? Figuring that out is key. But an effective personal brand doesn’t stop there. You need to be able to clearly articulate the value that your experience, your unique skills, and your strengths bring to your target audience. And that means that you also need to determine who your target audience is for your personal brand. Is it business owners? Other marketers? Certain industry professionals?
If you, like many people, haven’t given your personal brand a single thought, the truth is that you still have one. Your online and in-person interactions are all contributing to the experience and impression others have of you. So your personal brand is out there, whether you own it or not. And if some sort of personal brand is already being created, then why not take the reins and shape it intentionally?
The effort of doing so can reap significant rewards because of personal branding:
While there are cautionary tales of people who have had problems putting themselves out there online, the benefits of being out there with your personal brand outweigh the possible problems. (As long as you are thoughtful with what you post.)
So how do you show up in person and online successfully in order to build your brand? Mel shared the DNA for a successful and enduring personal brand, which consists of four main elements that can be remembered by the acronym AURA:
Focusing on these components can help you build a successful personal brand through digital and in-person strategies that focus on relationships and connections. This is how you nurture loyal fans throughout your entire career.
Mel gave some practical takeaways to get started:
No matter what your level of experience, you can start building a successful and impactful personal brand for incredible, rewarding results.
Mel’s presentation was insightful and timely, with good examples and actionable takeaways. It was another valuable DMC event. If you haven’t been to one yourself yet, it’s a great way to network, learn, and stay abreast of the quickly changing digital marketing landscape.
Be sure to follow Mel Carson on Twitter.
If you couldn’t make this event live, you can see the replay below. Towards the end of the video, there was a great Q&A session where Mel answered viewer submitted questions as well.
Be sure to check out and register for all of our upcoming DMC online events (and watch all the past ones too). We have events planned twice a month through the end of 2020. We hope to see you there!