Fix Your Personal Branding Strategy in 30 Minutes -The Muse

Fix Your Personal Branding Strategy in 30 Minutes -The MuseFix Your Personal Branding Strategy in 30 MinutesYoure ready to make a career move- maybe youre looking for a new job, launching a side business, or eyeing a promotion. In all of ansicht instances, boosting your personal brand can help you achieve your goal. Thats because a strong personal brand is a carefully designed message thats compelling and attracts the right people. It helps you stand out for who you are and what you do best.Youre probably nodding along, because you already know all of this. You dont need to be convinced how valuable personal branding is Whats holding you back is the time commitment. Thats why you have a LinkedIn Profile, even though you havent updated it since you set it up. After all, who can devote hours each week on top of working or job searching? Well, believe it or not, 30 minutes is all you need to take your efforts to the next level. Heres how to spend themMinutes 1-10 Evaluate What Makes You Stand OutThe first thing you want to do is perform a self-assessment. This step is often overlooked, but itll be super helpful as you find your voice in a sea of professionals with similar experience.This evaluation helps you have a clear geistesbild of your USP, or unique selling proposition, which is just a fancy term for the value you offer to your target audience.Here are some questions to get you startedWhat are you passionate about? You want to think about what excites you, and what things you truly enjoy doing.What are your core beliefs? This is important because its like a mission statement. Itll help you relay your personal approach to getting things done.What are your top four strengths? Thisll help you share what you do better than anyone else, to set you apart from the competition.Are you a good leader or a good doer- or both? This is good to know because its a way to identify and highlight the kind of roles that complement your strengths. What do others say about you? Ask around You may have strengths youre unaware of, or talents you need to put more emphasis on so people know they exist. To be clear, I dont expect you to answer these questions with witty taglines. This exercise is to help you target your branding efforts. So, answer the question(s) that inspire you by jotting down notes, and honestly writing what comes to mind.Minutes 10-20 Compare That to What You Already HaveNow that youve done some reflection on what you want to say, its time to see how it stacks up against whats already out there.If someone were to read your LinkedIn profile, tweets, or personal website, would they see messaging that points them toward the answers you came up with? You might be thinking Wait, I only have 10 minutes, thats not enough time to read my whole website or review my LinkedIn line by line. But, heres the thing, people who click into one of your social profiles or visit your website are probably going to spend a fraction of that time looking at it. So , you want to look for things that shout what you do. On LinkedIn, that means moving beyond filling out the basics and adding links to media, writing posts, and getting endorsements for skills. On your website, that might mean building a portfolio. On Twitter, its about not just following influencers, but composing tweets, too.This step is about comparing what you want to highlight to what you have and asking yourself Whats missing? What can I add?Minutes 20-30 Create a ScheduleTruth talk Personal branding isnt a set it and forget it kind of thing. Once youve figured out what you want your message to be and how you can share it more effectively, youre going to need to start posting- consistently. A helpful way to be consistent is to set a schedule that you can use as a guide. It shouldnt feel like a chore, but if youre anything like me, if you dont schedule it, it could get back-burnered. All I ask is that you give it 10 minutes a day Heres an example of a schedule you can start wit hMonday Make (or update) a list of people youd like to engage with more (a former manager) or simply connect with (an industry influencer). Tuesday Reach out to someone from that list. If its someone youre reconnecting with, try one of these ideas. If its a stranger, you can test out this Twitter trick, or, if youre brave, just send a cold LinkedIn invite using these templates. Wednesday Spend time looking for industry-related articles in publications popular in your field and share one. Or, alternatively, comment on someone elses post (or at a minimum, share it).Thursday Make (or update) your list of improvements youd like to make to your online presence. Break it down into baby steps. For example, you wouldnt write, Build personal site. Youd write, Look into site designers and write copy for personal site bio.Friday Spend today looking yesterdays list and knocking just one thing off. Of course, you can tailor your plan to whatever works best for you. Honestly, if you just do the f ive things above even once a month, youll see traction. Regardless of the schedule you choose, feel free to switch it up, and see what gets the best response. You wont see results overnight, but, thats OK.My final piece of advice is to avoid being misled by the term personal branding. What I mean is The most successful brands arent just about you. Take the time to know your target audience, and listening to whats on their minds as well. Genuinely connect and build relationships As best-selling author Dale Carnegie said, To be interesting, be interested.