Learn from the mistakes of others.
If you want to know how to do something well, you need to know what not to do! This is as true of personal branding as anything else. Below are 5 common mistakes that can easily be avoided. Keeping them in mind will help you to stand out and succeed in building an effective image of yourself.
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Too much information
– In personal branding you certainly do not want to reveal too little information, but neither do you want to reveal too much. Take control of information and sculpt it to present the best image of yourself.
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Failing to separate personal and professional content
– Writing a blog about a weekend abroad or posting pictures from a restaurant you particularly like is great, but it is not the kind of content that belongs on professional social media (unless you’re a lifestyle blogger…). Save those things for your personal Facebook and Instagram accounts, not LinkedIn and your professional blog.
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Strong opinions
– Be careful. A well expressed opinion on a relevant topic which accounts for other arguments and perspectives will demonstrate a mature intelligence. However, a strongly held but poorly expressed opinion (especially on socio-political matters!) will most likely alienate your audience.
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Inconsistency
– Consistency is truly at the heart of personal branding. In creating a personal brand you are essentially repeating a particular representation of yourself. If your content sends miscellaneous messages to the public, then no coherent image will emerge.
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Quantity over quality
– Writing a hundred blog posts will not immediately make your blog compelling. A dozen highly focused and well written posts will serve you far better. A recruiter might only have time to read one or two of your pieces, if that. Make sure they are good ones!
If you keep these points in mind then you ought to avoid many of the more common mistakes that people make when building a personal brand. Just remember that branding is all about controlling the release and flow of information so as to build a public image of yourself that suits your professional goals. Remember, you do not share everything there is to know about you when meeting somebody at a birthday party.
Jake Roseman
CareerProfessor.works Team
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