How to Use Content to Build Your Personal Brand

How to Use Content to Build Your Personal Brand We often talk a lot about content in the marketing world. Broadly defined, content means creating and sharing relevant information. Itcan range from business-related articles and blog posts to videos and podcasts. Content can paint a picture of acompany, explain what itsells, create engagement, and do so much mora.Many companies also use content to build their brands. Engaging content can give potential customers great insights into what acompany offers, what it cares about,and what itstands for.Content, however, is notlage just the domain ofcompanies. You, as an individual job seeker or professional, can use content to build your own personal brand as well.Who Are You?In order to figure out what kind of content you should create/shareand the approach you should take, you first need to figure out who you are. What do you stand for? What is your message going to be? What do you want people to know about you? What areas of expertise can you bring to the table?For me, Im a people connector. Im a marketer. I connect the best and brightest candidates with the best and brightest managers for my company. I market our company as a best-in-class employer of choice to external candidates whomay be looking to make a move to a new, more exciting opportunity. Ive built my own personal brand around being knowledgeable in my craft andknowledgeable in the craft I recruit for. Marketing is a huge passion of mine, and I spend my free time researching trends reading educational books, articles, and blog posts andwriting articles such as the one youre currently reading. I love sharing the knowledge I learn.Build Your BrandOnce youve established who you are and what your message is, its time to start building yourpersonal brand.Get involved with social media by joining sites likeTwitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, andSnapchat. Join conversationson these platformsand get conversations going.What ar e you an expert in? If youre a product manager building websites and apps, for example, then you should follow various groups related to the subject on Twitter and LinkedIn.Start sharing your expertise by writing posts on LinkedIn or blog sites likeMedium, and share those posts with your followers on Twitter and Facebook. The more knowledge-based value you bring to the table, the more people will take notice of and follow you. Push out your content on a schedule that works for you, whether that be on a daily basis or on a weekly basis. Just make sure it is consistent.Engage With the CommunityNow that you have developed your personal brand and have gathered afollowing, be sure to follow people back. Read their blogs, articles, and posts, and be sure to share your insights on their content. Share other peoples contentviayour social media channels. This will further add to your value by showing people you are engaged in the space you are passionate about.With Twitter, its a good idea t o set up an automated direct message (via Crowdfire or the like) that is sent to people who follow you. The message should thank them and point them to your website/blog, as well as let them know you will follow them back.At the end of the day, building a strong personal brand meansbeing a brand ambassador for yourself and sharing the knowledge you have learned alongyour career journey. Producing and sharing content is a great way to do just that.John Indiveri is a senior corporate recruiter with 10 years of experience in the talent acquisition industry.

5 career lessons from Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen

5 career lessons from Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen5 career lessons from Game of Thrones Daenerys TargaryenYou may not be the Motzu sich of Dragons, but that doesnt mean that you cant have theconfidenceof one when youre at work. Daenerys Targaryen, one of the breakout characters fromHBOs Game of Thrones, is best known for zu sichbei quest to conquer the Seven Kingdoms in the shows. However, if you look at it from a different perspective, shes also an incredibleentrepreneurwho turned a few dragon eggs into a major empire.Whether youre a fan of the show or not, we can all learn something from one of televisions best female role models. Here are some key business lessons that the Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea and leader of many other names can teach workingwomen.(As a precaution, this article will reference moments in Game of Thrones through the end of season seven. If you want to avoid spoilers, youll want to bookmark this article for later )Surround yourself with positive influencesIn season one, Daenerys welches consistently put down and manipulated by her power-hungry older brother. She wasnt given the freedom to make her own choices, and when she made suggestions or asked questions, Daenerys was told that she wouldnt understand the intricacies of the business she was trying to enter (a.k.a. being a queen).How did she get out of her bad situation? By surrounding herself with positive influences. She spent less time with the people that made her insecure in her own power and created a support system ofadvisors, confidants and allies. Now, several television seasons later, that support has propelled her to furthersuccess.Learn from everywhereWhen Daenerys was told she would become Khaleesi, she could have rejected the opportunity. Instead, she actively made the effort to learn from and immerse herself it. This earned her the respect of her subjects, who have since followed her across the Narrow Sea to help her achieve her goals.Daenerys experience remind us of the importance ofdiversity. When you open yourself up to new experiences and to working with people of different backgrounds (like Khaleesi did when she elected to work with Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns), you open yourself to more opportunities. The more opportunities youre presented with, the more chances you have to better yourself as a professional and as a person.Know your self-worthDaenerys knows that shes meant to be queen of Westeros, and she makes sure that everyone else knows it too. Whenever shes confronted with an individual who does not believe in her legitimacy, she emphasizes her self-worth and ensures that those she is speaking with are aware of it as well. As she constructs her kingdom at Dragonstone, the self-proclaimed Breaker of Chains makes sure she is treated exactly the way that she deserves.As a professional, its important toadvocate for yourself- especially when you dont think youre being treated the way you should be. Dont hesitate to speak up for yourself, whether that means making sure a work dispute is handled correctly or asking your boss for a raise. It can be difficult, but the more you advocate for yourself the easier it becomes.Recognize whats a priorityWhen Jon Snow convinces Daenerys to join his fight against the Night King, she does so because she understands that its more important to work together to ensure the existence of the Seven Kingdoms than to continue squabbling over who gets to rule it. Though shes putting her biggest goal on the backburner, shes not giving up on it. Rather, shes prioritizing her tasks in a way that helps her in the long run.Knowing how to prioritize is an underrated skill in the workplace. Managing a long to-do list full of micro and macro-level goals is tough, but being able to put all those items side-by-side and know which to tackle first will help you manage yourself and your team responsibly. It also helps strengthen your work-life balance, which is important to protect your mental and physical health.Dont give upThe Daenerys Targaryen we see in the first Game of Thrones episode is drastically different than the one we see in season seven. Shes learned a lot, met new allies andenemiesand made many mistakes along the way. And yet, despite all this, she has never given up.Professionals across all industries will tell you that grit and perseverance are more important to success than natural talent. Though she will no doubt continue to encounter many obstacles along her journey, her dedication to her cause is what makes her the most likely victor in the war that she has entered.This article was originally published on Fairygodboss.comAt Fairygodboss, our mission is to help you create the best career for your life. Weve helped over a million women do this by crowdsourcing hard-to-ask information about job flexibility, salaries, work-life balance, maternity leave policies and whether women are promoted fairly in their compan ies and departments. Come see our free job reviews and career advice