Last week I was lecturing to my class on the importance of personal brands in the digital age. This is a lecture I’ve given numerous times before, with an emphasis on transparency and passion.
- Let them know who you really are without getting too personal
- Passion is what gets work done
I had them look themselves up on LinkedIn (after Googling themselves) to see if there were any issues that they saw. I had them search for me. Time and time again I heard, “I can’t find you”. To which I would reply, “Did you search for Michael Myers Denver?”. (11 of us in the Mile High City!)
I’ve posted on location being essential to almost everything you do as a business and this is no less important when developing a personal brand. After all; you are somewhere. And that somewhere becomes and essential part of your brand. Below are some recommendations for baking location into your personal brand.
- Join groups on LinkedIn that focus on your city/state. (Don’t be afraid to join international groups also)
- Specify a location on Quora. (Not on Quora? Join now and be the SME!)
- All profiles should feature your location (Twitter, LinkedIn, blog, Instagram, etc)
- Feature details about your local business ecosystem when you create content
Even if you do business internationally, it’s important to associate yourself with a location/culture. Some will say that they don’t want people to judge them based on where they live. <insert Akron Ohio joke here> This is a good point but do you want to be working with someone that thinks that way?
