I was reading a post by a fellow author, tvlachak, and discovered that LinkedIn is offering their 20 Most Popular LinkedIn Learning Courses of the Year for free until October 1, 2020.
The one that caught my eye was created by LinkedIn Learning Instructor, Chelsea Krost. She is a Marketing & Branding Strategist/Coach, global speaker, and an author. Her Learning Personal Branding course is the #12 most popular course for this year.
If you are blogging, or reading this because you would like to start, her course has great content, and should springboard you to higher heights if you follow her recommendations. Here is Part 1 of what I have learned to date.
Introduction
Krost explains that often you are your own best marketing tool, and that if used correctly, your own personal brand can be more effective than public relations departments, email marketing, influence marketing or Google ads. If you are an entrepreneur, you are often the best person to promote your own:
business
skillset
service
On the other hand, if you are just starting your career as an employee, investing in your personal brand can help your career by creating opportunities that you didn't think were possible.
The power of personal branding
Personal branding can become your most powerful marketing tool. In an increasingly digital world, individuals often look for a personal connection, according to Krost. Customers are likely to flock to companies with a face behind the brand. The social media shift can be observed by the increase in the prevalence and the impact of influencer marketing. She explains what makes it more effective in today's society.
(influencers) make an advertisement more personal through personal through storytelling from a real person, experiencing real life. These influencers have developed strong personal brands, with loyal followers, - Chelsea Krost
She also points out that smart business owners are encouraging their employees to invest in their own personal brands. The reason for this is because a company's employees are in the best position to discuss and share its product, and consumers are more likely to trust their recommendation than a big corporation. It's about peer approval.
Brand messages are reshared 24 times more frequenly when posted by employees versus the brand.
Leads developed through employee social marketing convert 7 times more frequently than other leads, - Chelsea Krost
What's interesting is that she suggests that better results are possible when personal brands are used in tandem with business brands.
Creating a good foundation for your personal brand
Creating a personal brand will take time, so don't expect immediate results. Remember that your personal brand is the complete extension of who you are, and what you stand for. It should also be used to differentiate you from your competition. To assist with the process of how to further develop your personal brand, she suggested that you look within yourself, and think about how to answer the following 4 questions:
1. What am I passionate about?
This will include things about you both personally, and professionally passionate about.
Krost recommends that a personal brand should be a blend of your current expertise, infused with personal stories and lessons learned from real-life experiences.
Being passionate will help you stay motivated, since it will be a long journey.
2. What am I good at?
Define the areas that you are strong at, but it's very important that you don't try to be something that you're not.
Authenticity is key in personal branding. This leads perfectly into the next question.
3. What gives me credibility?
Krost shares a quote with the audience. Brand yourself before others do. What skills or knowledge have you acquired throughout your life experiences?
training/certifications/credentials
specialty skills
proven success stories
awards
You may not have documented credibility when you first start. This means that if there's something you want to be known for, you will need to do some work to obtain credibility. You will need to do the following on a topic to become a recognized authority:
be actively engaged
write
trend in discussions
attend conferences or summits on that topic
Clear credibility will create trust, an online following, more leads, and opportunities with more clients.
4. What are my personal brand goals?
Knowing this will help your personal brand mission and strategy be formed.
Krost lists the following as the most popular goals when creating a personal brand:
increase business brand awareness
generate leads
grow your professional network
leverage more media, press, or industry collaborations
find more opportunities, like public speaking or publishing deals
monetize your digital presence (isn't that what everyone is doing on read.cash?)đ
Be patient, and take the needed time to study and answer these 4 questions to help craft your personal brand.
Please stay tuned for Part 2 in a future post!
Thanks for reading, and stay safe!
If you would like to support my work, please hit like đ and subscribe! đ
Follow me on Twitter: @CryptoWordsmith
Cover photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash
Photos:
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash
Photo by Chris Curry on Unsplash
Photo by Conner Ching on Unsplash
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
It's the perfect time to start earning free crypto while you learn about it!
If you want to earn free BCH, read.cash is always looking for new members and for aspiring authors. Previous writing experience is not required! I invite you to create an account using my referral link by clicking here.
The Publish0x community is also looking for new members and for aspiring authors. Previous writing experience is not required here either! This is a friendly environment where you can earn ETH, BAT, or LRC tokens for free! I invite you to create an account using my referral link by clicking here.
You can also earn free crypto such as EOS or XLM by watching Coinbase Earn videos! Register for your free account using my referral link here, and we can both receive a bonus!
Â
I'm earning up to 8.6% annual interest compounded monthly on my crypto deposits at BlockFi, and you can too. When you sign up for a free account using my referral link here, we can both receive a bonus!
BlockFi hack: You can even choose which cryptocurrency to receive your interest payments in!
Thanks for your support!
That's a very interesting quality content. It made me question myself about the branding as I think I'm only floating by with no direction. Have to talk with myself and figure it out đ cheers!