TED Talks Daily
5 steps to building a personal brand you feel good about | Marcos Salazar
05 Apr 2023
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's TED Talks Daily. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Even though it can sound cringy, today's speaker says we all have a personal brand. In his episode from the Way We Work series, entrepreneur Marco Salazar says embracing the idea that we have a personal brand, whether we want to or not, means we have an opportunity to take control of it to the benefit of potential employers and ourselves.
After a short break. Whether you realize it or not, you have a personal brand. If I looked you up on Google and didn't find anything about you on the first page of results, that's your personal brand.
Chapter 2: What is a personal brand and why is it important?
If I found an out-of-date LinkedIn profile or a bunch of random social media posts, that too is your personal brand. People tend to think about a personal brand as bragging, self-promotion, and all about yourself. But it's actually something much more important. It's your reputation. In other words, it's how people perceive you. Your friends, colleagues, or the general public.
Chapter 3: How can you take control of your personal brand?
And it's what people think about you when they hear your name, as well as what people say about you when you're not in the room. In our connected world, every single one of us has a personal brand, whether we like it or not. This is because whenever we engage with people both in person and online, that's every interaction or everything we post, upload, or comment on.
We're creating a reputational narrative about ourselves. Your reputation is already out there. The question is, do you want to be the one who's driving and shaping this story? Or do you want chance or algorithms to be doing it for you? I think most people would agree that they want to take control.
And what this means is we need to make some very intentional decisions so our brand stays in our hands. Let me walk you through five key steps to building a strong personal brand in a way that feels good. First, you need to figure out what your goal is. Let's start by answering a foundational question. What do you want your personal brand to help you accomplish?
Are you looking to change jobs or transition into a new industry and you need your brand to reflect a new skill set? Maybe you're looking to get a promotion at your current organization and you need everyone to know all the amazing things that you've accomplished in your career.
Or maybe you're launching a new business and you want to build your brand around the products or services that you're offering. Whatever your goal is, write it down and make it specific so that you're working towards a clear outcome. Next, you'll want to get clear on what you want to be known for. In other words, how do you want people to describe you as a professional?
Start by answering the question, so what do you do? And I'm not just talking about your job title. Are you a teacher who focuses on social and emotional learning? Or maybe you're a project manager who is reliable and always gets things done on time. Or maybe you're an artist who makes beautiful ceramic pots from natural materials.
What you want to do is dig deeper into the what, how, and why behind your work so you can make it concrete and easy to remember. Just make sure to lead with something that doesn't cause confusion. For example, I once coached someone who called herself a death midwife, which no one understood.
But when she started introducing herself as a grief counselor who works with families during a time of loss, all of a sudden, everyone got it. If you're stumped, think about how you can stand out from the crowd in your industry. What are the things that make you unique? Are there specific talents and expertise that you've acquired in your career? What do you know more about than most people?
Sit down and make a list and you might start to surprise yourself about all the things you know. Now, let's think about the audience you want to share your personal brand with. The reality is your personal brand is not about you. It's about the people you want to educate with the skills, knowledge, and value you can provide. Who you decide to focus on should be based on two things.
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