5 Steps to Building a Personal Brand You Feel Good About | The Way We Work, a TED series — Transcript

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1. 0:00Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal brand.
2. 0:03If I looked you up on Google
3. 0:04and didn't find anything about you on the first page of results,
4. 0:07that's your personal brand.
5. 0:09If I found an out-of-date LinkedIn profile
6. 0:11or a bunch of random social media posts,
7. 0:14that, too, is your personal brand.
8. 0:16[The Way We Work]
9. 0:20People tend to think about a personal brand as bragging,
10. 0:23self-promotion and all about yourself.
11. 0:26But it's actually something much more important.
12. 0:28It's your reputation.
13. 0:30In other words, it’s how people perceive you --
14. 0:32your friends, colleagues or the general public --
15. 0:35and it's what people think about you when they hear your name
16. 0:38as well as what people say about you when you're not in the room.
17. 0:42In our connected world,
18. 0:43every single one of us has a personal brand,
19. 0:46whether we like it or not.
20. 0:47This is because whenever we engage with people both in person and online --
21. 0:52that’s every interaction or everything we post, upload or comment on --
22. 0:56we're creating a reputational narrative about ourselves.
23. 0:59Your reputation is already out there.
24. 1:02The question is: Do you want to be the one who’s driving and shaping this story?
25. 1:06Or do you want chance or algorithms to be doing it for you?
26. 1:09I think most people would agree that they want to take control.
27. 1:13And what this means is we need to make some very intentional decisions
28. 1:17so our brand stays in our hands.
29. 1:19Let me walk you through five key steps to building a strong personal brand
30. 1:23in a way that feels good.
31. 1:25First, you need to figure out what your goal is.
32. 1:28Let's start by answering a foundational question:
33. 1:30What do you want your personal brand to help you accomplish?
34. 1:33Are you looking to change jobs or transition into a new industry,
35. 1:37and you need your brand to reflect a new skill set?
36. 1:39Maybe you're looking to get a promotion at your current organization
37. 1:43and you need everyone to know all the amazing things
38. 1:45that you've accomplished in your career.
39. 1:47Or maybe you're launching a new business
40. 1:49and you want to build your brand
41. 1:51around the products or services that you're offering.
42. 1:53Whatever your goal is, write it down and make it specific
43. 1:56so that you're working towards a clear outcome.
44. 1:59Next, you'll want to get clear on what you want to be known for.
45. 2:02In other words, how do you want people to describe you as a professional?
46. 2:06Start by answering the question, "So what do you do?"
47. 2:09And I'm not just talking about your job title.
48. 2:11Are you a teacher who focuses on social and emotional learning?
49. 2:14Or maybe you're a project manager
50. 2:16who is reliable and always gets things done on time.
51. 2:19Or maybe you're an artist
52. 2:20who makes beautiful ceramic pots from natural materials.
53. 2:23What you want to do is dig deeper into the what,
54. 2:26how and why behind your work
55. 2:28so you can make it concrete and easy to remember.
56. 2:31Just make sure to lead with something that doesn't cause confusion.
57. 2:35For example,
58. 2:36I once coached someone who called herself a "death midwife,"
59. 2:39which no one understood.
60. 2:40But when she started introducing herself as a grief counselor
61. 2:44who works with families during a time of loss,
62. 2:46all of a sudden everyone got it.
63. 2:48If you're stumped, think about how you can stand out
64. 2:51from the crowd in your industry.
65. 2:53What are the things that make you unique?
66. 2:55Are there specific talents and expertise that you've acquired in your career?
67. 2:59What do you know more about than most people?
68. 3:02Sit down and make a list
69. 3:04and you might start to surprise yourself about all the things you know.
70. 3:07Now let's think about the audience
71. 3:09you want to share your personal brand with.
72. 3:11The reality is, your personal brand is not about you.
73. 3:15It's about the people you want to educate with the skills,
74. 3:17knowledge and value you can provide.
75. 3:19Who you decide to focus on should be based on two things:
76. 3:22the goal of your personal brand
77. 3:24and the people who can best benefit from your unique talents and skills.
78. 3:28So spend some time thinking about these two questions:
79. 3:31Who can most gain from what you have to share,
80. 3:34and how exactly can you see yourself helping them?
81. 3:36Here's where it all starts to come together.
82. 3:39Let's pull all your answers into a single mission statement
83. 3:42that describes who you are, what you do,
84. 3:45who you do it for
85. 3:46and the transformation you can create in people's lives.
86. 3:49Let's take the example of the teacher.
87. 3:51“My name is Alma, and I’m a third-grade teacher
88. 3:54who specializes in social and emotional learning.
89. 3:57I work with students to teach them the skills
90. 3:59for fostering empathy and compassion
91. 4:01so they can thrive and contribute to a more caring world."
92. 4:05Let's take the project manager.
93. 4:07“My name is Jennifer,
94. 4:08and I'm a project manager for a sustainable fashion company.
95. 4:11I work with teams across different departments
96. 4:13to plan, organize and direct innovative marketing campaigns
97. 4:17that engage customers while also increasing brand loyalty."
98. 4:21Mission statements are going to look wildly different
99. 4:23depending on who you are in your career.
100. 4:25But whatever your mission statement is,
101. 4:27write it down and put it somewhere prominent.
102. 4:29You can use it to make decisions about how you speak about yourself
103. 4:33when you first meet someone,
104. 4:34to the communities you want to share it with.
105. 4:37Let's start building your personal brand online.
106. 4:39There are two key personal branding assets you should think about developing:
107. 4:43a personal website and social media.
108. 4:46What's so important about a personal website
109. 4:48is that it allows you to take full control over your online reputation.
110. 4:52It offers the most flexibility in sharing your brand and value to others
111. 4:56in a much deeper way than a resume or a LinkedIn profile.
112. 5:00People want to work with others they like, know and trust,
113. 5:03and your personal website provides you an opportunity
114. 5:06to share more about your personality through photos
115. 5:09as well as more about your career and life story.
116. 5:12This, in turn will differentiate you from others in your industry.
117. 5:15Social media is also a great way to share your personal brand
118. 5:19with the audience you're looking to connect with.
119. 5:21However, I suggest trying not to be on every platform.
120. 5:25Pick one that aligns with your goals
121. 5:27as well as where your audience spends most of its time.
122. 5:30If you're an artist or a creative, Instagram is a great fit.
123. 5:33If you work in a more corporate environment,
124. 5:36LinkedIn is the place you want to be.
125. 5:37When posting, focus on being helpful to others.
126. 5:40Share interesting articles relevant to your industry,
127. 5:43post ideas or opinions that can benefit colleagues,
128. 5:46and like or comment on posts shared by the people you follow.
129. 5:50The key is to always engage in a way
130. 5:52that both reinforces your personal brand while also bringing value to others.
131. 5:57Look, I know this may all sound a bit intimidating,
132. 6:00but try to think of this branding process as an opportunity for personal growth.
133. 6:04It's your chance to dig deeper into who you truly are
134. 6:07and who you want to become.
135. 6:08This, in turn, will provide you the clarity you need
136. 6:11on how you can make your greatest impact in the world.