If you asked me two years (or so) ago if I would ever entertain the idea of video blogging, I probably would have said “no”. That is one of the first things I have to point out for those getting started working on their personal brand. Don’t overlook anything that will expand your brand presence!
Since starting blogging and learning to promote my brand, there are more opportunities to get yourself recognized than one can believe. It simply requires a little effort on your part, but you can be your own PR department. You can point out your skills and your talents. It’s up to you to publish articles and talk about your area of specialty and how you bring value to clients. Only you can give your perspective and work to help answer questions about you.
Of course, there is more to personal branding than just talking about yourself, to be of real value you need to provide value to your readers, listeners or viewers. And that brings me to my main point for this post – experimentation.
Since I’ve always been a tech-geek more interested in how technology works rather than how to use it, I’m historically a rather conservative user of technology. However, since my awakening to personal branding I’ve found it much easier to start leveraging new technologies and ideas.
Some of the really useful technologies to personal branding is the rise of personal broadcasting. The ability to broadcast your ideas (yourself) either by recordings or live audio/video is a stunning milestone in our fast-paced world. Three years ago, I was hesitant to even put my name out on the web, but through several years of participation online, I’ve found that it gets easier.
The real trick is to not let yourself be tied to one service or community. Don’t spread yourself too thin, but get your name out there in as many places as you can. Use the new personal broadcasting services to your advantage. Find a topic that you are passionate about and talk about it.
Invite other bloggers to participate and polish it up before publishing it on YouTube and such. Have peers & associates sit in with you and discuss your topics of interest. Get it out there, and most importantly, get it linked in your blog if you don’t publish it there first. More than anything else, don’t be afraid to get yourself out there and to experiment. Find what works for you and use it.
What do you do for your personal brand? I’d love to know how you experiment with new media and make it work for you!
