A personal brand is about making your reputation known to the public. In other words, it is a self-PR about who I am and what I can do for you.
Then, how do we develop personal brand?
1) Think about creating added value and start small
2) Personal Brand = Reputation x Amplification via Media
3) Find something you like and stick with it
- Think about creating added value and start small
A former McKinsey consultant named Victor Cheng says that if you want to build a personal brand, start by creating small value for your company.
In the end, your value in living in the world depends on how much contribution you can create. Added value usually comes in the form of solving problems that others cannot solve. If you start by solving the problems of colleagues or the organization at work, you will know what you are good at and what value you can create.
- Personal Brand = Reputation x Amplification via Media
Victor Cheng defines personal brand = Reputation x Amplification via Media.
In other words, the value of a personal brand is expanded via the media platforms.
In fact, now is the easiest time to build a personal brand, as we are inundated with social network service platforms. You can create and upload your thoughts and content through countless social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
My media-specific strategy is as follows:
- Blog: Write articles on various topics related to current affairs, culture, language, and economy. I get inspiration from conversations with others and readings, and I contribute good articles to other online media.
- YouTube: Upload foreign language and language related videos comparing Chinese, Japanese and Korean expressions. This also has many similarities to my blog, where I write on the subject of Northeast Asia, so it may be possible to create synergy.
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a Facebook about jobs and careers, and having a personal brand here is a great help in changing jobs or finding a job. If you post your career, academic background, grades, special skills and etc, headhunters or the company may contact you directly. As mentioned in the previous article, LinkedIn can add job security to unstable labor income.
- Find something you like and stick with it
As with all jobs and hobbies, you need to keep doing what you love. A personal brand is not created overnight; it can only be created through a long period of time and effort.
If you start creating your own personal brand on a subject you don’t like, you’ll definitely stop doing it for long. Therefore, finding a topic you really like and sticking with it is the key to developing your personal brand.
Next, I will write about freelance related websites and my personal experiences.
Korean article can be found here.
