Personal Branding: Going From Invisible to Invincible

• Updated on: 2022-10-12
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We’ve all heard of the value of having a strong personal brand. However, many of us still hesitate to cite various reasons. ‘It’s too hard, it takes too long, too much effort, ‘I don’t know what to say’—all of these excuses are familiar to us, whether we say it to ourselves or have heard our friends and colleagues say it. Nevertheless, the fact remains that personal branding is one of the most effective ways to grow your influence online. So this week on our chat, we invited marketing strategist, Kendra Losee, to clarify some key questions about personal branding. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Kendra Losee
Topic: Personal branding: Going from invisible to invincible
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
Q1: Why should you create a personal brand?
Personal branding is important because it helps you make a big impact, even when you’re not actively engaging on social media. It’s a great way to differentiate yourself from others in the industry.
A1a. Make a bigger impact, even when you’re not in the room. Personal branding can sound like a luxury to some, but the truth is that it can help set you (and your business) apart from the sea of sameness. #TwitterSmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
If you have a strong personal brand, you can use that as an asset. A personal brand is much bigger than the person itself—it can help you find and land new business and career opportunities.
A1b. When you have a personal brand, you can leverage it as an asset, as something “bigger than you are” and use it to find new career opportunities or to move from one business/endeavor to another (if yours is acquired, etc.). #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/yhiByigFGf
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
So many people on social media are still unaware of the value of personal branding. This means that if you put in the effort to create your personal brand, you’ll have a good chance of standing out from the crowd.
A1c When I’m teaching (adults) social media at universities, it’s shocking how many don’t even know what personal branding is and how it can help them. This means that those who intentionally create their own personal brand have even more chances to stand out. #TwitterSmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
As our guest summarized, a personal brand can humanize your business, help establish yourself as an expert, offer a medium for people to find and discover you, and even give you the opportunity to advertise your offering.
A1a. A personal brand can:
– Humanize your business
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Q2: How does a personal brand help improve your business?
The more effort you put into growing your personal brand, the more authority you’ll gain as an expert in that topic. Then when you share your unique opinion about a topic, you’ll naturally gather an audience that’s interested in hearing your opinions.
A2a. You become the authority about a topic or area. This means you become known for something.
Then when you put your own take on it, the view you take that makes you different will make all the difference. #TwitterSmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
As Masooma emphasized, a personal brand can help you grow your revenue by widening your reach, increasing awareness, and driving more business opportunities your way.
A2. A personal brand drives business growth and, ultimately, revenue.
It does so by:
— Masooma | Content Writer (@inkandcopy) September 22, 2022
Q3: What are some things to consider when creating a personal brand?
Think long-term. When you’re thinking about building out your personal brand, consider which topics you have a personal interest in. This shouldn’t be too specific, like the iPhone 4s, for example. It has to be broader (such as Apple as a tech company) so that you can scale it and sustain it throughout the years. It’s also essential that you think about who your ideal audience is.
A3a. Building a lasting personal brand:
What do you have a sustainable interest in? Meaning, what do you like that aligns with your business, career goals, and your target audience? (Especially your target audience!) #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/xyj6pYKQqB
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
While you iron out the topics you’re most keen about, also consider what you’re willing to do and say—and most importantly, what you won’t do and say. Our values define our brand. Be conscious of what values you want to stand for and how you’ll go about it.
A3b. Another thing that is often overlooked is our values. What are your values in the areas of personal development, career, and even in life? Your values can have a huge impact on how you define your personal brand – and how you choose to build it!
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Q4: What makes for a successful personal brand?
First up, define your brand well. Know who you are—your values and what you want to stand for. Choose your topics, how you’ll convey your perspectives, and who your audience is.
A4a. Essentials of a successful personal brand
– Know what your values are
– Know what you want to become known for
– Define your take on the topic
– Know what makes your viewpoint different
– Know who you’re talking to (your audience) #TwitterSmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Once you’ve covered the basics, ask yourself what value you (and your brand) bring to the table, which platforms work best for you, and how empathetic you can be in your conversations.
A4b. More essentials
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Lastly, find and focus on what makes you different from the others. Be your own unique self and you will automatically become relatable.
A4c.
– Find your difference. To quote @SallyHogshead , “Different is better than being better”
– And be relatable. You don’t have to be perfect, you need to be perfectly you. #TwitterSmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Madalyn emphasized the value of being uniquely yourself. Personal brands are all about who you are as a person—don’t be afraid to be yourself. Most importantly, don’t try to be someone else—that never ends well.
A4: If you want to have a successful personal brand, you need to be yourself. Don’t try to be someone or something you’re not. Don’t try to copy everyone else. People will see right through that. Be authentic. #TwitterSmarter
This is me being my goofy self. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/b6cUafqXe5
— Madalyn Sklar  Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) September 22, 2022
Q5: How do you grow your audience as a personal brand?
Show up consistently and in platforms your audience is in. Showcase your personal values and find ways to relate to your audience’s values. Join conversations that you personally care about. Be compassionate when engaging with others and discussing topics they care about. Every time you share content or engage in a conversation, bring something useful to the table. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a pretty good starting point for growing your audience as a personal brand.
A5a – Grow your audience as a personal brand
– Go where your audience is, and play to your strengths (video, audio, written, or a combo of all).
– Align with your own values
– Connect with their values
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Of course, always remember to have fun. If that means sharing a photo of your poodle, then by all means, go for it.
A5b. And sharing pics of your dog/pets also doesn't hurt. ????
????Gratuitous pic of my dog
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Q6: What are some ways to grow your personal brand when you’re just starting out?
First of all, acknowledge that it’s not an overnight exercise. Define your areas of interest and expertise, make your profile and bio accessible and easy to understand, listen to what others are discussing and read the room before connecting with people, share your own experiences and learnings, and prioritize meaningful relationships.
A6 Build your personal brand – from the beginning
– Define your area of interest
– Make sure people can find you
– Listen to what others are saying, connect with them
– Share your journey and your findings
– Create a POV
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
That’s a big list. You don’t have to do all of those at once. Instead, start small—talk about why you care about the topics you’ve chosen. It’s a good way to build a narrative around who you are as a person, and that’ll form the foundation of your personal brand.
A6b. When you're starting out, you can start with small steps. Find your niche/area of interest, and just start sharing WHY you care. You can build your plan and start taking intentional steps as you go. #TwitterSmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Our guest also told us about using the SPARK framework to meaningfully connect on social media. Consider the Stories you can tell and the People you want to reach. Find ways to Attract and retain your audience, compile Resources you can share with them, and Keep-providing value to those who want to hear from you.
A6c. I've been sharing my SPARK framework to help students/clients:
Stories (what are your stories you can tell?)
People (your audience)
— Pavel Stepanov (@pavelStepanov77) September 22, 2022
Q8: Share some resources to learn more about building a personal brand online.
Kendra’s all-time favorite resource is Mark Schaefer’s book titled, KNOWN. She also shared this recent HBR article written by Harrison Monarth. https://hbr.org/2022/02/whats-the-point-of-a-personal-brand
A8a. There are SO MANY resources when it comes to personal branding. To this day, I still wave @markwschaefer 's book KNOWN in front of my classes as it is a great place to get started.
I also like this article from HBR: https://t.co/gAtrCpvvJN
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Before you dive into your personal branding education, however, our guest shared a caveat. What information you find depends a lot on what you’re looking for. For example, “what is a personal brand?” is wildly different from “how to create a personal brand”. Before you dive in, think about your personal values and your goals. Doing this will help you align your activities and learnings to your goals.
A8b. It depends on what you need to know.
How to create a personal brand is going to be different from learning how to define your own.
A big part of what helped me realign what I've been doing has been diving into my values and aligning my goals with them #twittersmarter
— Kendra Losee (@klosee) September 22, 2022
Well folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading through and for more great insights from our chat with Kendra have a look at this Twitter Moment that Joana put together for us. If you like this summary, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us next Thursday at 1 pm ET for #TwitterSmarter. We also have an after-chat on Twitter Spaces at 5 pm ET. See you there!
 
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—marketing stuff to pay the bills; haiku and short stories so I feel wholesome. A social media enthusiast, I hang out with the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and am always happy to take on writing gigs.
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I help busy entrepreneurs transform their social media marketing so they can reap the rewards of a strong community and higher engagement.
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