By Jason Eisenberg
Community Program Manager for Office Depot
“Everyone has a brand. There are people talking about your work – if you don’t control your reputation, that’s your fault.” – Brittany Krystle, Beyond Influential
These words from personal brand expert and host of top-rated podcast Beyond Influential, Brittany Krystle, convey a harsh truth about branding yourself or your business. And while blunt in her delivery (which I love about Brittany), her statement should be enough to get you to think about how you – as a personal brand – are perceived by the public and how it can drive both positive and negative results to your business. In this article, we’ll go over why you should be working on your personal brand, Brittany’s three laws for personal branding (she is a non-practicing lawyer 😉), and how to get started.
Why you should focus on your personal brand
In this day and age of influencer marketing, understanding your sphere of influence is paramount to your personal and business success. Even if you don’t consider yourself an influencer – your interests, passions, skillsets and your unique perspective – can be assets for your audience.
Remember, your brand is essentially your reputation. Start building it out now so you can have it when it’s time to optimize or if your business hits an unforeseen setback:
“The more you put yourself out there in the right way and control your story, the more you build up that credibility, that visibility – that proof. And what’s awesome is that over time, branding yourself online does a lot of the work for you. You end up getting a stockpile of proof.” – Brittany Krystle, Beyond Influential
To be clear, social proof is not the number of followers you have. While inarguably a factor in terms of your reach, the social proof that matters is in the proverbial pudding. Are you having conversations with folks in your community and adding value to their lives? Better yet, are they having conversations with each other? Is your content valuable enough to be shared and discussed without being prompted? That last question is key because to create resonating content, you need to have clarity of your personal and business values, as well as the message you’re trying to convey through the content you’re offering.
Which leads us to…