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.