The Secret of Personal Branding 2.0

In this feature, Think Like A Consultant interviews Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0 and a leading personal brand expert for Gen-Y. Consultants of all ages can benefits from Dan’s insights.

TLAC: In a time when people are overwhelmed with information, why is personal branding important? Doesn’t it add more noise into the system?

Dan: Personal branding is the only way people can filter information these days. When people have heard of your brand, the probability that they will follow you and read your information is much greater. Personal branding is the formula for how individuals can differentiate themselves and become known to their audience.

There is a lot of noise online right now and there will be much more as mainstream society gravitates there. The online world is where business is taking place and where families, friends and co-workers communicate. Noise typically forces us to work harder, smarter and invest in ourselves and our careers, so that we stand out from the noise. Consultants should care about personal branding because they are selling themselves before their company. People hire consultants that they’ve heard of, that have credibility and that can solve their problems.

TLAC: Many consultants are consumed with their work and with keeping up to date in their field. They don’t feel comfortable promoting themselves-it seems too egotistical. What do you have to say to them?

Dan: If you don’t invest in building your brand as a consultant and marketing yourself online, then other consultants will do this and become more successful than you are. Visibility creates opportunities is what I’ve always said. Personal branding is egotistical, but if you focus more on the customer or the reader than yourself, then you can draw people into your brand and then sell yourself. It’s all about having a balance between promoting yourself and giving value to your audience. For instance, on Twitter, I recommend that people tweet advice or quotes eight to ten times, before they tweet about their own accomplishments or products.

TLAC: If consultants begin to think of themselves as a “brand,” how can they identify what their brand is?

Dan: Everyone in the world is a consultant, but most don’t think of themselves as that because they work for a company or they’re a student. We all work for ourselves first ahead of any company. As a consultant, you are a brand and your own company. Your brand is two-fold: your self-impression and how others perceive you.So, the first thing you need to do, is think about what your real strengths are, what unique value you bring to the marketplace and what you’re most passionate about. If your passion is aligned to your expertise, then you’ll want to focus your brand in that direction. Then, you want to ask people what they think you’re best at, whether it’s your manager, another consultant, your family or friends. If self-impression equals perception, then you’ve branded yourself properly.

Branding is about positioning. Being a marketing consultant or a financial consultant isn’t enough anymore. You need to carve out your own marketplace, just like a company does. For instance, I’m a personal branding expert for Gen-Y. I’m the only person on earth that positions himself in this fashion. I call this a personal branding statement, where you dictate what you do and who you do it for (your audience).

TLAC: What are some of the top strategies that a person can use to differentiate his or her brand from others in the same field?
Dan:

1. Think about the font, colors, logo, professional picture, personal brand statement, mission, vision, and attributes that you want your brand to have. Make sure they can’t be replicated and that no one is already using them.
2. Gain expertise outside of your normal days work by volunteering and taking on new and exciting projects.
3. Get endorsements from well-known consultants that have more years of experience than you have.
4. Create a business card with your picture, blog address, Twitter handle, etc.
5. Attend every networking event in your industry that you possibly can.
6. What online strategies do you recommend for promoting an independent or small business consultant?
7. Claim your full name as a domain name at GoDaddy.com and build a website or blog around your expertise and what you have to offer.
8. Go to Knowem.com  and search your full name on the top social networks and then build profiles on them.  I recommend Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as a good foundation at first.
9. Comment on every single blog, discussion forum, respond to tweets, Facebook status updates and other social media platforms in your niche.
10. Start a blog around your brand and commit to 2-3 blog posts per week.
11. Film a three minute or less video clip of yourself giving an introduction to….yourself!  Put the video on YouTube and embed it on your website or blog.

TLAC: What do you see as the downside to promoting oneself? What should we watch out for?
Dan: If you promote yourself too much people will be turned off. It’s like a salesperson calling you at dinner every night for a week. You would probably call the police on the person!  In the case of the Internet, you can easily opt-out of following someone on Twitter or defriend someone on Facebook, if the person is too promotional.

If you become a content producer and provide value based on your expertise over and over again, then you have “permission” to sell to your audience. If you don’t sell, you can’t make money, of course. People are very understanding of direct sales, as long as it’s a “soft sell” and you’ve developed a relationship with them through content.

Related Article:
How To Develop Your Unique Personal Brand