You develop your digital brand via personal relationships — in both insignificant office buildings and sprawling suburban offices worldwide.
Digital brand is alive and well in the real world.
You will develop your brand via personal relationships that take place in “insignificant” office buildings and sprawling suburban office parks worldwide. That is to say, from handshakes to in-person presentations. Your brand, on the other hand, has evolved through time.
The debut of LinkedIn in 2003 was one of the early drivers in this transition. LinkedIn established an online repository for your professional actions and achievements. With the emergence of new social media platforms and technology for video meetings and online forums, organizations, and associations, there has been a gradual progression from real to virtual since then.
Then came Covid, and the slow shift to digital personal branding became instantaneous and total as if you had flipped a switch. The in-person, 3D parts of personal branding were substituted with 2D reproductions online once you flicked the switch. Leaders relocated meetings previously held in Conference Room A to Conference Room Z. (for Zoom).
Managers placed client pitches via the internet.
Initial impressions — including those of a recruit who has never visited the company in person — are now made online.
So, if you want to improve your professional success and happiness, understanding digital personal branding is essential.
The good news is that personal branding’s three most fundamental concepts are equally as relevant and significant online as they are offline. Authenticity — authentic, genuine, and honest — is the foundation of personal branding. Personal branding is all about sticking out from the crowd of people who do what you do.
Personal branding entails providing excellent value to those making judgments about you, making you relevant and compelling. Here’s what you need to know and what you need to do to ensure your digital self is in sync with your physical self. You, online, putting your best foot forward.
1. Master the digital-brand first impression on the internet.
Because first impressions have shifted online, you must make one consistent with who you are.
It’s time to freshen up your LinkedIn page. It’s often the first place people go when they want to do a professional background check on you.
Even if they start with a Google search, your profile will appear towards the top of the results, directing decision-makers to your profile. Concentrate on your headshot, headline, and “About” section. It’s called digital-brand schmoozing.
Because your LinkedIn About will be the version of your bio that gets the most attention, make sure it demonstrates that you’re both credible and pleasant. Therefore, use the Featured area to exhibit yourself on the video to connect more intimately. However, this allows others to discover more about you personally and emotionally.
2. Expand your online community.
Adding an online component to your real-world interactions can help you stay visible and essential to the individuals who matter most in your career. A digital brand career.
Reverse-sort your email and add all of the people you’ve lost touch with to your online social media relationships.
Create a practice of adding new individuals to your online network as soon as you meet them after you’ve updated your digital Rolodex.
Therefore, do it right the first time. This will allow you to keep track of all of your human contacts in a digital format.
3. Showcase your brand on the internet.
However, it’s time to learn how to conduct online meetings and presentations. They’re here to stay, even in a post-Covid world.
Therefore, the good news is that they provide you with the ideal chance to demonstrate the value of your brand.
Don’t forget it’s always a digital brand. You’ll make a big deposit in your brand bank if you employ conferencing technology to improve what you do and demonstrate that you’ve mastered the realm of virtual interactions.
4. Don’t take online digital brand meetings lightly.
Treat online events as though they were the same high-profile events that used to take place in person.
However, always keep an eye on things. Because your online brand will influence your real-world success, you must be visible, accessible, and valuable to your target audience at all times.
Therefore, determine a publishing schedule that will benefit the individuals you want to impact. Make a strategy to stay top-of-mind with your stakeholders. Digital branding will help.
Create a Google alert for your name to keep on top of what’s being said about you online. You’ll be among the first to know when your name appears in digital content.
Therefore, make the most of your video. The next best thing to being there is watching a video. Use an upgraded two-dimensional representation of yourself since you won’t be “there” all of the time.
To make efficient use of video, follow these steps.
1. Create your LinkedIn Cover Story.
- Your Cover Story is a 30-second video bio that appears next to your photograph.
- It’s digital branding common sense.
- It allows you to use rich media to introduce yourself to others.
2. Create YouTube videos that demonstrate your thinking leadership.
- Include video “evidence” from your presentations in your LinkedIn Featured area.
- Use video in crucial meetings, messages to your team, and pitches to your employer to create a more personal and connected experience.
Finally, keep reinforcing your brand characteristics along the route. Sit back and watch your brand take off!
