Personal branding is all about reputation and reputation has always been important. The only difference is that the platform is no longer word of mouth, this dance is taking place online.

Personal branding is a simple concept, it is all about putting your individual expertise on the record and joining the conversation online, and no one can do this for you. No one has your experience or your thoughts, and much less your opinions.

Personal branding is a simple concept, it is all about putting your individual expertise on the record and joining the conversation online, and no one can do this for you. No one has your experience or your thoughts, and much less your opinions.

The biggest questions i get is why high level professionals can’t pay someone to do this for them. Public relation professionals do this all the time for politicians and celebrities but you can usually tell when the content isn’t coming from the person themselves. The other thing to keep in mind is that they already have an online reputation, they are not building it, they are protecting it, and there is a difference. As professionals we need to build our online reputation. Our job titles and our work will not speak for themselves, it is too noisy in the digital space. You need work on setting yourself apart and creating your own brand awareness or you are leaving prospects at the mercy of your loudest competitor. 

First impressions often come from your social channels vs. your first meeting so you need to be discoverable and you should have some control over what people find about you when they search your name.