What are the most common mistakes people make when communicating their personal brand?

An example I have seen is, people write to impress. While writing and sharing experiences is a major factor towards networking, being yourself is the first priority. People lose a sense of their own personality. If you will not be yourself, how will you humour others? I was making the same mistake. I would see a post that felt like it should be shared and talked about, but when you follow other people's footsteps, you lose sense of where you even began with. Do not be short-sighted. Stay true to yourself and the rest will follow.

The foundation of owning your personal brand is to truly understand yourself and cultivate a sense of self-awareness. Before the end of the year, reflect on these three questions: 1) What are the unique strengths that I bring to the table? 2) What are you passionate about? How are you bringing that passion to the workplace? 3) What are YOUR top 3 core values (not your company's core values, YOUR core values)? Are you infusing your core values into your day-to-day? Extra credit question: 4) What are my unique quirks and how can I use them to my advantage? After taking the time to reflect on your strengths, passions, and values, celebrate yourself. Then make sure you bring all three areas into the workplace in 2024 in a big way.

Your authenticity is unique to you and is your top resource of distinction from others. You life experience personalizes your approach, insights and your character, which is the heart of your Brand.

Right, but not only: a key and usually overlooked point is to think about our weaknesses. When we are able to identify them, and try to find some advantage in them (not everything is black or white, and they usually have them), not only do we offer a more compact image of our true potential, but it is easier for us to counteract their negative part and we can really reduce them effectively.

One of the most prevalent mistakes individuals make when communicating their personal brand is inconsistency. People fail to maintain a cohesive and authentic image across various platforms, leading to confusion and dilution of their brand identity. Another common error is neglecting to tailor their message to their target audience. Effective communication involves understanding the specific needs and interests of the audience and aligning one's brand accordingly. Additionally, some individuals focus too heavily on self-promotion without emphasizing the value they bring to others. Successful personal branding should strike a balance between showcasing individual strengths and demonstrating how those strengths benefit those around them.

My biggest struggle with personal branding was that I was trying to be clever versus being clear. I’d share personal anecdotes that were motivating… to only me. Which was a problem. Others don’t think how I think. And that’s normal. I had to change how to ask myself questions about sharing my brand. Instead of being overly creative with your words: “Motivation is what you make it,” with vagueness. Ask yourself what you wish you knew 2 years ago. Be concrete: “Two years ago I wish I would have known that motivation had a precondition, it’s momentum. And here’s how you can do it right now.” That sort of direct, and concrete branding style helped my vision, and my clients better understand my message. Plus it made me a better writer.

The key to clarity is to take the time to get to know yourself and align with your current purpose. Purpose gives your life meaning, direction, and the clarity to move forward with conviction. Purpose can be a scary concept to grasp, but it is quite simple. Take these steps to align with your purpose: 1) Ask yourself this question: "What lights me up?" What things or qualities give you a burst of joy and inspiration? These are probably your passions. 2) Which of these passions includes helping others?

Being clear about the relevant traits of your Brand, who your ideal clients are, the value you offer and the benefits to your clients, makes it easy to create content that informs and engages with potential clients in a manner that allows them to choose you over the competition.

Clarity of thoughts in whatever we do is most important. If one is unclear about what actually is the own strength then the message being conveyed might be inconsistent which would not help in creating personal brand and might be biggest barrier.

To be more visible, you need to seek out new and diverse perspectives. Talk to different members on different teams, and listen to them and their ideas. Ask thoughtful questions and actively listen to their responses. Then start talking authentically about what you are excited about and how you can help them.

It's not just what you say that matters but how you say it that helps to define the cachet of your Brand. How you choose to communicate supports your Brand message and becomes a bridge of connection with your intended audience.

I disagree that you always need more visibility to advance your personal brand. Sometimes quiet competence and delivering actual value speak louder than self-promotion. The most respected leaders at my company focus more on doing great work than being highly visible. And some of our top performers got promoted due to the incredible impact they made without worrying about exposure. Now at key moments, tactical visibility does matter, like advocating for a new role. But generally, subsistence plus substance beats style over substance in personal branding. So rather than chasing recognition, I think the wiser path is to keep your head down, achieve results, support colleagues, and let your work be your calling card.

As we have learnt during COVID times, being adaptive is the key to being the fastest in growth and increasing the upwards journey. So if one is not adapting to the current situation/ demand / trend then the personal brand can’t be built.

Every living thing must evolve to stay relevant and since your Brand is the beating heart that connects you to your ideal clients, it must continue to innovate, grow and evolve.

In that sense, it is necessary to think about your strengths every so often, and in relation to each new scenario or opportunity. The changes around us are continuous and are becoming more and more disruptive. That can make what yesterday was a key skill, today less so; and, on the other hand, that any previously irrelevant attribute becomes an essential advantage. A personal brand needs to be kept up to date, every day.

We have to grow with the ever growing world. Staying stagnant in one way will also stagnate your growth. Take time to do research and stay on top of the times.

Start by defining your Brand values and weaving them into the fabric of your Brand. Then live those values internally within the company culture and externally in the client experience you become known for, to earn loyal relationships from both staff and clients.

Avoid the pitfall of overloading your personal brand message. Strive for clarity and conciseness to ensure your audience captures the essence of your brand without feeling overwhelmed.

A mistake is focusing all of your energy on what you did in the past. When you see a personal brand that focuses on companies they once worked for (i.e., Ex: Google, Ex: McKinsey, Ex: WPP, etc.), it outshines what they’re doing today (or want to do). It also brings up the question, “Why don’t they work at this company any more? Did they get fired?”

Not being helpful. No matter how many skills you have, if you do not give the perception that you can really be of help to someone, you will only be recognized as a potentially valuable person, but no one will have an interest in counting on you. This is the key element of a personal brand: you have to make visible the usefulness of counting on your abilities.

When posting for your audience, consistency is key and engagement. Your followers want to get to know you and interact with you. It feels more personal.

The biggest mistake is talking about yourself. The best way is to show interest in the other person by asking questions, especially open questions!