Build your personal brand during Covid times, tough economic times or anytime
Never Eat Lunch Alone or, ‘N.E.L.A,’ is one of the best nuggets of advice that someone climbing the corporate ladder can hear. Take every moment to communicate and be known in your workplace, and build up a visible reputation to your team, comradery with your coworkers and a personal presence with your fellow management.
By being known, or having an authentic personal brand, you will be on the fast track for promotions, new opportunities, and especially prudent during these turbulent times, one of the last to be let go.
Alas, you can’t be the office go-getter if there is no office to go to. How do you become well known and have a personal brand when COVID-19 has restricted the best of us to work from home? How can you contribute value to the team, be acknowledged, but still do your socially distancing duty?
These five strategies will put you back on track:
1. Take on accountability and be a leader
Many team members have discovered, when they begin to work from home, have trouble finding the right rhythm. Be it due to too many distractions (like others in the house), temptations of media (Netflix is only a couch and remote away), or the lack of a panopticon (no boss looking at your screens here).
You can turn this sluggish start into a boon for your own personal reputation. Instead of sliding into negative home-life balance patterns, consider using this freedom opportunity to become the ‘intentional’ leader in your team, and show that you are accountable and responsible.
First and foremost, make it easier for team members to trust you and understand your current progress. Communicate with them regularly and provide consistent daily check-ins and wrap-ups. But personal branding allows you to take a step beyond what’s expected. Share an exciting story, a valuable life hack, a photo of your sunrise, or anything that takes the pressure off and reminds others of a regular workplace.
Be one step ahead of your peers. Be awake earlier and checking in with your team for your tasks for the day or week. This can quickly be done from the comfort of your bed, such as checking in via phone apps or even sending one or two emails before jumping in the shower.
Even in the case that you don’t want to lead, become the self-leader and ask for responsibility from your management. Show yourself as the leader they can trust, and your personal brand reputation will become stronger throughout this corporate break.
2. Be your firms’ number one digital fan
This tip is so powerful that you may be stumped why you didn’t do it sooner. Take a moment to go through your businesses’ digital media channels and understand how you can become the firm’s biggest fan.
Whenever the company posts something or shares something of value, if you are right there to champion the post, people in power will notice. Being a brand steward adds considerable value to you and makes you stand out as a more prominent strategic player than someone who is just hunting after a paycheck. Showing loyalty and compassion works in any climate, pandemic or not and infers that you see the bigger picture and are in it for the long haul — not bad for just commentating on a post!
Besides, it also allows you to remain visible on the corporate chessboard to peers and other industry insiders, marking you as someone active and at the forefront of the team. Speaking of staying visible…
3. How to become a Zoom star
Do you fear zoom conference calls? The lack of privacy in your home or even flustering to get ready enough to look good on a grainy web camera. But what if you turned the tables and made video conferencing your ultimate tool to standing out and pushing forward with your personal brand?
Video allows us to communicate in ways infinitely superior to voice memos or emails. You can show facial expressions, body language, not to mention sharing concepts on your screen.
So don’t fear zoom calls. Ask that all meetings be zoom to zoom, or if you are setting the sessions yourself, organize the platform, so it is easy for others to join (such as skype, zoom, or google hangouts).
What are the best practices when it comes to utilizing video communication?
- Set up a recording location in your home. We don’t mean setting up a full television studio in your basement, but setting up a corner of your house with great lighting, clean audio, and a complimentary backdrop (not distracting but not bland white wall either). Use depth to project your image and literally stand out from the background.
- Use a video where you can instead of emails or phone calls. This will allow your message to stand out compared to other brands, colleagues, or general noise of the internet. Nothing cuts through distractions like a video, and you will get noticed.
- Create regular update videos for your team and also for the firm to use as content for social media. By inadvertently becoming the face of the brand, you will quickly rise to the top of who’s who and be known throughout the industry.
4. Become THE thought leader
The one gift of working from home is that you have more time than ever to expand your personal brand. While you at first might assume you have nothing to talk about, you are an expert in what you do — potentially more than your management, and more so than the general public.
Depending on your target audience consider making a content platform, be it a blog, LinkedIn posts, a YouTube channel, or even Twitter to spread your message and become known as an authentic thought leader. Ensure that what you cover on the platform is valuable and that you are returning your technical know-how to those who need to hear it. Building your brand this way will not only impact your reputation in the personal sphere but also make inroads in your career. However remember this reputation will also translate into real influence and power within your firm when done smartly.
5. Do everything with AUTHENTIC Authority
Never ever post content online unless it’s adding value to your personal and business brand. Learn this skill or use a professional that knows their craft so you can leverage all the opportunities that come while most of your competitors/peers/colleagues are ‘missing in action’.
With these five tools, you will be able to turn working from home into a powerful personal branding engine that will deliver you leagues ahead of your colleagues and potential, open you up to new opportunities when the world returns to the ‘new’ normal.
Download your free Ebook here.
