Do you have a strong personal brand?

Your personal brand is the “X-factor” that separates you from your competition and finds you new opportunities throughout your marketing career.

Vocus social media community manager Stacey Miller outlined how you can become a brand in demand at her “Brand Yourself Better” webinar. Here’s a recap of what we learned and some ways to start your personal branding.

Missed Stacey’s webinar? Register for the on-demand version now!

Before you attempt to create your brand take time to assess yourself.

Take an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses. Then determine what makes you unique because, as Stacey says, there’s always someone better than you.

What sets you apart can be your location, experience, efficiency or your entertaining nature.

Dollar Shave Club knows that people have a thousand options for buying razors, but what sets them apart is in their name. Additionally, they’ve managed to craft an entertaining and engaging voice that the carry over from commercial to Twitter.

This doesn’t mean you have to change your prices or voice. Be genuine. Build your brand around what interests and inspires you.

Three Ways to Build Your Online Brand

Andertoons - Elevator Pitch - Personal Brand1. Elevator pitch

“If you can’t explain to me what you do or what you’re great at in 15 seconds, you’re not optimizing your personal brand,” Stacey says.

Elevator pitches, whether spoken or included in social media profiles, clearly and concisely explain what you do and can hook valuable connections or attract prospects.

Stacey provided a simple formula for creating one: What you do + What problems you solve + What makes you qualified for it = Your elevator pitch

2. Social branding

These seven steps from Stacey’s webinar will help you build a brand on social:

1. Be present – Don’t create accounts out of curiosity and leave them stagnant.

2. Be consistent – Post as often as you can but consider your time restraints and how often your audience is around.

3. Answer questions – The best blog posts and social updates solve your audience’s problems.

4. Engage in conversation – Only broadcasting information may lead people to think you’re a robot or not genuine.

5. Follow back – Follow interesting and influential people and follow those who follow you. This helps you expand your network.

6. Include keywords – Infuse keywords important to your brand into your bios.

7. Create a complete profile – Use a professional headshot and thoroughly fill out the about sections.

3. Blogging

“If you are not blogging right now, I beg you to blog,” Stacey says. “It’s one of the most effective ways to leave an online footprint.”

Struggling to get started blogging? Follow the examples of Marcus Sheridan and Vocus’s Jeff Zelaya.

Marcus made a name for himself (and his business) by answering common questions people had about swimming pools on his company’s website. The simple strategy produced big sales.

Marcus took that success and turned it into a personal brand. He’s known as the Sales Lion and his blog promotes his consulting and speaking business.

Jeff shares his blog with guests who write about interesting information related to marketing. Publishing guest bloggers helps you expand your network and create exposure for your brand.

Don’t have time to maintain your own blog? Increase your content footprint and build influence by guest blogging or answering questions on Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit.

Want more marketing advice? Check out upcoming and on-demand Vocus webinars!

Image: JD Hancock (Creative Commons)

About

Brian Conlin is a content marketing manager for Cision. A former journalist, he enjoys researching and developing accessible content. When not writing, you will find him watching baseball and college basketball, sampling craft beer and enjoying Baltimore. Find him on Twitter @BrianConlin13.