In the previous topics discussed, I have highlighted the evolution of Internet has influenced the way people communicate – social media networking facilitates new models of collaboration between consumers and companies (Raji, S., 2015). It is known that companies market their services and products to consumers, the purpose of branding is to stand out and differentiate from the rest.
What about individuals, is there a need to brand ourselves?
Tom Peters once said “We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” The infographic below further illustrates various roles individuals can take for branding.
Have you mentioned things like, “I have collaborated with a couple of design firms”? – People may have heard of your achievements, but have they seen them? Time to take up the roles and manage your own YOU company!
With reference to the infographic, imagine you are the CEO, you make the decision. Instead of keeping your work in your hard drive, why not showcase it to the world? (Bray, H., 1997) No, I am not advocating you to flaunt online, but to embrace digital media to build connections and open up to opportunities. We have equal chances to stand out and be a brand worthy of remarks, so why not? It’s free anyway! So come up with a plan and strategize on personal branding online.
From the video, we can tell that personal online branding is critical, it exudes your abilities and confidence, gaining access to decision makers, while fulfilling personal, professional and social lives.
As a Social media manager, set up Linkedin , Facebook or Blogs as a kick-start. To stand out, the Salesperson will think of how to share the story across. For instance, showcasing your work on online portfolio with descriptions. The key is to keep it concise and engaging, oversharing might scare people away! Instead, think of how to persuade your customers/ employers by writing up a summary of your profile that exudes your personality, desire, passion and skills.
Being a Publicist, make your online presence known, attempt to reach out to audience – offer valuable advice and relevant information to make connections and drive traffic back to your site (DeMers, J., 2014). Having mutual connections is essential, in return you could ask for a couple of recommendations and referrals to boost your online presence. The Assistant has to monitor and evaluate contents published. Remember to include your contact information, links, posts and achievements and ensure it is accessible; potential employers can easily assess information and evaluate what value you can contribute. Needless to say, an Intern will have to help to ensure consistency in digital profiling and explore innovative ways to enhance your online presence.
Tadah! Your authentic digital professional profile is developed!
(430 words) Excluding citations/ image captions
References
Bray, H. (1997). Put Yourself on the Web. [online] Fast Company. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/32968/put-yourself-web [Accessed 9 Nov. 2016].
DeMers, J. (2014). 39 Actionable Ideas For Driving Traffic To Your Website. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/05/13/39-actionable-ideas-for-driving-traffic-to-your-website/#157dbe9674ff [Accessed 9 Nov. 2016].
Fernando, H. (2016). 8 Steps To Creating A Powerful LinkedIn Profile. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/8-steps-to-creating-a-powerful-linkedin-profile-2013-12?IR=T&r=US&IR=T [Accessed 9 Nov. 2016].
Gibson, N. (2016). The Many Jobs of Your Personal Brand – Job Search Infographics. [online] Job Search Infographics. Available at: http://www.nategibson.net/the-many-jobs-of-your-personal-brand/ [Accessed 9 Nov. 2016].
Peters, T. (1997). The Brand Called You. [online] Fast Company. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you [Accessed 9 Nov. 2016].
Raji, S. (2015). Online Social Media and Networks: Impact on Marketing Practice. [online] Ama.org. Available at: https://www.ama.org/publications/E-publications/Pages/ama-journal-reader-july-14-social-media.aspx [Accessed 9 Nov. 2016].
CHAI.XL 
Hi Xinlin,
Wonderful post you have there! The infographic you used really caught onto my attention which I thought was a brilliant choice. Statistics after statistics (which the whole class is using) can get quite boring after awhile. Not only was the infographic easy to understand, it captured all of your main points efficiently and effectively altogether.
I fully agree with you about the power of good personal branding opening up the door of opportunities and presenting us with unlimited possibilities. While we certainly hold many roles to our personal brand, how well are we able to execute the job of each role. Using myself as an example under the role of a salesperson, sometimes I find it pretty uncomfortable, if not intimidating, with the idea of selling oneself and increasing my exposure to millions and billions of unknown people on multiple online platforms. I was wondering, can we make do without say the role of a salesperson when we brand ourself?
Since Topic 3’s question highlights about being ‘authentic’ as well, I think it would be better if a statement could be included into this post. Looking forward to your next post •‿•
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Hey Xinlin,
I liked how you incorporate the idea of 5 personnel branding Me.Inc and how each individual contribute in building your personal profile. The use of video has also aid my understanding towards this topic.
I would like to ask which roles (social media manager, salesperson, publicist, assistant and intern) you mentioned above, plays the most important step in branding ourselves. And why you have selected that particular role? I hope to hear your thoughts about it!
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Thanks for the feedback! Personally, I feel that the salesperson would ideally be the most important role in branding ourselves. As a salesperson it is our job to communicate the right message to consumers. We do not only look at the contents but also how it is being delivered. The mode of delivery of information is important, to ensure the right audience are convinced. Similarly when it comes to branding ourselves online, it is important for us to present our information and work, with the ability to attract targeted audience!
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Hi Xinlin!
Your take on how to create an online professional profile is so interesting! I’ve been reading almost everyone’s posts and dissection of the roles an individual can take to promote self-branding was a really refreshing one.
I was just wondering, this is a really ideal breakdown on how to conduct effective self-branding with our digital profile. However, is it based on the assumption that everyone is capable of fulfilling each of these roles efficiently? This is to assume that you yourself is capable of coming up with great business plans, attention grabbing content, working a good sales pitch, keeping connections and be organized and meticulous in all of your work. I would say that puts a lot of pressure on one person! Do you think this framework could possibly backfire if one ends up poorly managing all these roles in the midst of trying to do everything?
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Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you found it interesting. In a company’s context, it might not possible for us to fulfill all of these roles efficiently. However as individuals managing our own “brand”, I guess it is possible simply because we know ourselves best!
I don’t think it would backfire “in the midst of trying to do everything”, because that is what one would do to develop their own identity. This framework solely serves as a guideline to help us to brand ourselves, especially when we are clueless about where and how to start our digital profile, why not take up various roles as a kick-start? For instance, to set up a digital profile, we need to know which direction we are heading to, who are our audience, what are our goals etc. That is what the CEO would address to, and the list continues. I hope it answers your question!
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[…] Xin Lin gave a very comprehensive and interesting framework on how to create an online professional profile that I thought was extremely useful for self-branding. It did concern me if a single person is capable of doing so much, but I really liked how she gave clear steps that targeted every corner of building an online portfolio, something that I was lacking in as the suggestions I gave were more general. […]
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[…] Xin Lin’s viewpoint on having 5 individuals on your personal brand was very interesting. Previously I did not view building of personal profile in a work like/business setting. Her post open up my perspective on another way to build a personal profile. As building a professional profile require various expertise such as social media manager, publicist, sales, assistant and intern. And how all of these job function work together to succeed the goal of the professional profile. […]
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[…] commenting on Lelia’s and Xin Lin’s blogpost. Feel free to check them out here and here. Let’s get going with the reflections […]
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[…] also really love Xinlin’s post where she mentioned how it’s like a business where we are our own CEO, assistant, […]
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