How can you build your personal brand inside your organisation?
Everyone has a personal brand. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room and what you’re known for.
Today I have a guest post to share with you by Corina Manea @corinamanea, Chief Community Officer for Spin Sucks and the founder of NutsPR. She’s written for the All Things IC blog to examine four ways to build your personal brand inside your organisation.
Since sharing my own personal branding explorations in 2017, it’s a conversation I’m now having regularly with All Things IC clients and Masterclass attendees.
I’ve even added the topic into my Strategic Internal Communication Masterclass agenda, where it sits alongside thoughts on being trusted advisers and demonstrating gravitas in-house.
Further reading on the All Things IC blog: A beginner’s guide to personal branding.
Further reading on the All Things IC blog: How to communicate your personal brand.
I had the pleasure of being featured on NutsPR last year in their Spotlight series and am delighted to welcome Corina all the way from Spain.
I’ll hand you over…
Four ways to build your personal brand inside your organisation
You hear everywhere that you need to build your personal brand to be able to succeed in business.
Every expert talks about the importance of having a personal brand on and offline. You may think having a personal brand is only for celebrities or business owners or maybe freelancers.
I’m here to show you personal branding is not reserved only for them. You too can build and grow a personal brand inside the organisation you work for.
Before going into the how let’s look at what personal branding is.
According to Wikipedia: “Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.”
For me, personal branding is what people you work with think of when your name comes up.
Do they think of you in terms of loyalty, expert, getting things done? Then that’s your personal brand through word-of-mouth.
I’m going to focus on four ways you can build your personal brand inside your current organisation.
1) Know your organisation’s mission and values
If you want the process to go smoothly, make sure your organisation’s mission and values are aligned with your mission and values. Notice I haven’t said the other way around.
When building a personal brand inside a company, it’s important for you to believe in the company you work for and their mission and values. If you don’t, it will be harder to go to work every day.
If you’re not sure what you stand for, take the time to think about, and write it down. It may seem like a tedious process, but treat yourself as a client. When you help your clients or stakeholders create statement missions or their company’s voice, what questions do you ask them? Use that to get you started.
Further reading on the All Things IC blog: A beginner’s guide to personal branding – including a free checklist.
Once you’re clear on your mission and values, you’re ready to move to the next step.
2) What makes you, you?
This step is all about identifying your strengths and uniqueness.
How are you different from your colleagues? Why should your employer choose you over anyone else?
Give this step all your attention. What you identify here will help you become a more successful PR pro and person.
If it’s easier start with weaknesses. Once you get those out-of-the-way, you can focus on what makes you special and valuable for your organisation.
Side note here: you may not have an answer the first time you sit down to make this list. Maybe not even the second time. But please don’t be discouraged, keep pushing.
After all you were chosen from thousands of candidates, because of those special traits you have.
The easier way would be for you to go to your colleagues and even boss and talk to them about what they appreciate about you.
But I recommend to put it off for as long as possible. You want to be the one who uncovers your special traits, not to listen to what someone else thinks of you. It will help build your confidence in yourself and your skills, and you’ll better know yourself.
3) Network, network, network
Now that you’ve identified your uniqueness, it’s time to put it to work. Make it your mission to connect with as many people in your organisation in different roles and departments as possible.
Be genuine and listen to people. Offer advice where appropriate, or connect them with others who can help them.
You are a PR pro and your special trait is building relationships. So put that to work in your favour. Connect with at least five new people per week. If you’re working for a small organisation, you have the chance to meet everyone in the company.
4) Go online
It’s time to conquer the world. Create profiles on the main social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Keep those channels professional. Sure, you can share personal stuff, but make sure none of what you share can work against you in the future.
Be social! Just like you’ve connected with your colleagues, start building relationships online too. Digital networking is a must for the future of your career in PR.
Share valuable content that goes in line with your mission and values.
Join communities and help people either with advice or by simply connecting them with others. Share your knowledge by helping others.
Building a personal brand inside your organisation takes time. Be consistent and be patient.
Follow these steps day-in, day-out. In no time, your personal brand will precede you. You will receive job offers from companies you never thought of, you’ll be recommended for promotions, and be respected inside and outside of your organisation.
Post author: Corina Manea.
Thank you Corina.
What do you think? Could these steps work for you? Are you interested in learning more? See below for some books I recommend and contact Corina on Twitter @corinamanea and LinkedIn.
Resources to help you learn more about personal branding:
- Further reading on the All Things IC blog: A beginner’s guide to personal branding.
- Further reading on the All Things IC blog: How to communicate your personal brand.
- Magma Effect – I recommend working with Jackie Le Fevre to analyse your values.
- Listen to this podcast featuring personal branding expert Jennifer Holloway.
- Personal branding for Brits book by Jennifer Holloway.
- How to build a memorable personal brand – podcast with Phil Pallen.
- Known – The handbook for building and unleashing your personal branding book by Mark W. Schaefer.
Want to analyse your personal brand? Download my free checklist:
Thank you for stopping by,
Rachel
First published on the All Things IC blog 4 February 2018.
Image credit: Unsplash.
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