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Your online presence says a lot about you and in today’s world it could make or break your success.
But what exactly should we be sharing online; and how?
Ahead of the Future Women Executive Summit, we spoke with Lynn Dang of Microsoft who shared some ideas on how to strategically maximise your online personal brand.
Establish a vision
It seems obvious, but before you establish your personal brand you must first consider what you are setting out to achieve. Who do you want to be noticed by; and why?
Apply basic marketing principles to your own personal brand and you will have a much stronger chance of “success” – however you define it.
Be authentic
When I go out and talk to people, I find that many people, particularly women, often feel uncomfortable about sharing their personal vision online.
They feel they have to conform to preconceived expectations and are somewhat afraid of stepping outside of this imaginary box. They also feel a lot of pressure to be perfect and put the right thing out there.
My advice is to always bring your authentic story to your online brand. Create a unique profile summary, void of cliché’s and buzzwords; and showcase examples of your work on your profile.
Above all, be courageous and don’t be afraid to be different.
Demonstrate (genuine) thought-leadership
There are a lot of self-titled “thought leaders” out there, but a surprising proportion of these share the same kinds of ideas.
Being a true thought leader is about knowing what’s already out there and finding a unique angle that really challenges existing theories and practices.
Once you have established a truly unique message, make your voice heard.
Publish regular updates on topical issues and use SEO principles to maximise your reach.
Build a relevant network
Don’t underestimate the importance of building a relevant online audience. As they say, “your network is your net worth”.
The beauty of LinkedIn, Twitter and other social platforms is that you get to strategically create your own audience.
This ties in with your professional vision. Consider what kind of people you want to network with and who you want to get your message across to; and then allocate whatever time you can for sending personalised invitations.
Don’t rely solely on inbound ‘leads’; source your own. A business wouldn’t do this and neither should you.
Lynn Dang is among an esteemed line-up of speakers to address the Future Women Executive Summit -25-26 March 2019.
