When it comes to branding, you may automatically think of logos, colorful packaging with signature shades, slogans, and maybe even the Kardashians. But branding isn’t limited to corporations, businesses, and celebrities—it’s also for women in the workforce.
What is a professional brand?
A professional brand is the identity you create for yourself in your professional life. It's what people think of when they hear your name or see your work. A strong professional brand can help you stand out from the competition, get noticed by potential employers and clients, and achieve your career goals. “Personal branding is the unique combination of skills, experience, personality, and values that you want the world to see,” says Alisa Cohen, managing partner and principal executive coach. “Your personal brand reflects the impression you want to give, and in return, it becomes what people perceive about you. Simply put, it’s the story that is told about you when you’re not in the room.”
Why you should have a professional brand
Think back to every professional situation where you wanted to impress someone—a job interview, a networking event, when vying for a promotion. These are the situations when a candidate with a distinct professional brand excels.
“A professional brand is the ultimate leverage in any career pursuit,” says Katie McKiever, social media and communications consultant. “If you maximize your professional brand and become known as a thought-leader, a go-to expert in your industry, you have the upper hand in career transitions, building businesses of your own, requests for speaking and guest podcasting opportunities, media reaching out wanting you to be a source for information, and more.”
“It’s being proactive and taking ownership of how you want people to view you and how you view yourself. It allows you to control how you market yourself therefore it helps you cultivate connections and build credibility,” she adds.
Read more: 8 Effective and Memorable Ways to Introduce Yourself Professionally
How to build a professional brand
To build a professional brand, you need to define what makes you unique and valuable, and then communicate that to your target audience. This can be done through a variety of channels, including social media, networking, and content creation. “By owning your personal brand, you’re owning your uniqueness,” McKiever says.
Here are a few key steps to take when creating your professional brand.
1. Define your aspirations
It’s important to be clear about what you want and how you want to be known before creating your professional brand. “What do you want people to think of when they say your name?” Cohen says. “If you were attending a dinner party in five years, how would you want the host to introduce you? We tend to describe ourselves as we know ourselves to be, not in terms of what we want to be. By defining your aspirations, you set the foundation for what you want your brand to be.”
2. Determine your unique value proposition
When thinking about your value proposition, you have to figure out what will make you attractive to a hiring manager or client for example. “This is a combination of your uniqueness, your values, and your contributions,” Cohen says. “Start by reflecting on your talents, skills, and passions to gain clarity about what you have to offer. What unique perspective do you bring to your organization? What do you stand for or what gives you purpose? What can you bring to the table in your industry? Whatever your area of expertise, how do you use it to add value to your individual work, your team, or your field at large.”
Read more: How to Craft a Career Narrative
3. Clarify your target audience
When determining your professional brand, you have to decide who your target audience is, or, as Cohen says, who you will be communicating with. “For job seekers, your audience is potential employers so you can show the value you bring. For entrepreneurs, your audience is the marketplace, speaking to prospects or customers. For leaders, it’s often within the organization and industry. Once you’ve identified your target audience, determine where they spend their time. This is your compass to determine where your personal brand needs to show up.”
4. Create a professional brand statement
Once you have a better understanding of your professional brand, you can start to develop it. McKiever says that it’s a misconception to jump into social media to create your brand. “You have to start inward first, not outward. The first thing to do is create a personal brand statement for yourself. This is where pen meets paper and you communicate to yourself who you are and how you help people. It’s your unique tagline or slogan. Your personal brand statement is one to two sentences that identify what you do, for whom, and how you do it. It’s your value plus your audience plus your unique selling proposition.”
McKiever says to try looking at it this way: “Start by finishing the sentence, ‘I am _____.’ Write down as many words come to mind that finish that sentence and those words will be your values, the things that nobody can take from you, and are just of you.”
Expect your brand to change over time, too. “We are humans, and we evolve,” McKiever says. “The point is to show up (online and in-person) with intention and in service to others.”
5. Establish your brand identity
A brand identity incorporates the key characteristics and traits of who you are as a professional. This can then help you decide the tone that you want for your brand. “Your brand message communicates who you are, what you do, and highlights your unique value proposition,” Cohen says. “From your elevator pitch and LinkedIn profile to your wardrobe and appearance to your network—there are thousands of touchpoints for your personal brand.”
Here a few things to focus on when considering your brand identity:
-
Name and tagline: Choose a memorable and appropriate name for your professional brand. Create a catchy tagline if necessary.
-
Logo and visual elements: Design a logo or select visual elements that represent your brand. Consistency in visual branding is crucial.
-
Personal style: Your clothing, online presence, and behavior should reflect your brand identity.
6. Be consistent and active
Your professional brand should be consistent across all channels, including your website, social media profiles, and offline interactions. This will help people to remember you and associate you with your brand. “Be consistent and intentional as you bring [your brand] to life,” Cohen says. “Cultivating this over time is the key to developing and promoting your brand—this is exactly what brands like Apple and Nike have done to develop their brands too.” Remain active with your professional brand and be active in promoting it and connecting with people. This could include blogging, writing white papers, networking, and speaking at events.
Read more: How to Build a LinkedIn Profile That Demands Attention
7. Establish an online presence
Once you have your branding tools together, it’s time to venture online and showcase your professional brand. “We all leave a trail of crumbs online—whether it’s an old social media profile or information your friends have shared online. Consider what a senior executive in your company or an external recruiter would learn about you if they searched for you online. Evaluate if this information aligns with who you are now and where you want to go in the future,” Cohen says.
Use this checklist to help you establish your online presence:
-
Create a personal website: Purchase a domain name and build a website to showcase your portfolio, blog, or resume.
-
Meet your audience on social media: Choose platforms where your target audience is active, and maintain consistent and professional profiles. “Assess the wording of your social media profiles, online bio, and any other sites you appear in such as professional associations and volunteer organizations. Ensure that the language that describes you promotes your unique value proposition and brand,” Cohen says.
-
Use LinkedIn to your advantage: LinkedIn is the best place to develop and communicate your personal and professional brand. “You own your photo, headline, and ‘about’ description—are they telegraphing the professional brand you’ve designed? Have you leveraged the recommendations section, built your connections based on your target audience, and credentialed yourself through the experience you’ve shared? Are you engaging on the platform with attitudes and behaviors that propel your professional brand in the direction you’ve defined,” says Cohen. This falls in line with keeping your branding consistent across the board.
-
Follow a content strategy: Share valuable content related to your expertise. Write articles, create videos, or podcast episodes. “Extend your professional brand further by publishing content on LinkedIn, Medium, or a blog, appearing as a guest on a podcast, or as a conference speaker or panelist. Leverage these opportunities to show up professionally and then enhance your digital footprint as you cross-promote,” Cohen says. Don’t just talk about yourself online, though, McKiever says “The trick is not just to talk about yourself with your brand on social media, but to talk about how your experiences can help someone else. Don’t stop at sharing something that happened to you or something that you did. Take that story, tell it, and then tell the lessons from that experience that someone else can gain value from and apply to better their life as well,” McKiever adds.
-
Engage with your audience: Respond to comments, ask for feedback, and build meaningful connections online.
As your resume increases and you grow as a person, you'll need to adjust your professional brand to represent who you are. Ultimately, it takes time to build a strong professional brand, so it’s important to be patient and not get discouraged if you don’t see results overnight. If you need help creating one, it’s okay to hire a professional to help you get closer to your goals.
