Build A Great Reputation, Starting Today

In the 2020s, no one can afford to ignore reputation management, or even perform it half-heartedly. Find out below what it takes to build a great reputation in the digital age.

First, start by thinking about building your personal brand. Investing time and energy in a personal brand is not a vanity project. On the contrary, it can be just as crucial as building a corporate brand. Everyone has a reputation, but only those who curate and invest in their reputation build a brand.

What should a personal brand entail? We humans like to know more about a person than what they do on the job. Therefore, your personal brand can encompass anything relating to you as an individual.

Whatever you decide, it is crucial to stand for something. Have a topic you own, a unique point of view or be a leading expert in your field. Whether we like it or not, we live in the “Age of Positioning” where one has to be original and stand for something to get noticed. Thinking about branding entails asking some fundamental questions about your drive, passions and interests.

Once you are clear about your brand, the remaining challenge is making sure your story stands out amidst the information overload of the digital age. Fortunately, there is a whole toolbox available, which enables you to build your brand: a personal website, media interviews, SEO, social media, public speaking, blogs, videos, podcasts, books and awards, to name only the most important ones.

Second, you should aim to communicate with purpose. Why purpose? Societal expectations are changing. Conscious customers are increasingly aware of the social and ethical implications of their purchases. Ethical employees and investors choose businesses that, in addition to providing a good return, align with their values, beliefs and vision.

In order to succeed today, individuals need to communicate that they are driven by something other than profit. This could be anything, from raising awareness of an issue like climate change to trying to make the world a safer place.

Authenticity is key, as there are few things more disappointing or infuriating as a hollow purpose. Individuals and companies are being labelled as “rainbow-washing”, “pinkwashing” and “greenwashing” because they appear to adopt purposes such as increasing diversity and sustainability only to attract attention, and not because they genuinely care about the issues. Such short-term thinking is bound to fail.

With this in mind, you are on the right track to becoming a digital thought-leader. Digital thought-leadership is about starting and driving a conversation in the wider world.

What does a digital thought-leader say? First and foremost, you need to have a point of view. There is enough “vanilla” online, so do not add to it if you want to be heard. Your content must bring value. It can offer inspiration, insight, practical advice, or emotional benefit. Valuable content is closely linked to your personal experiences, passions and ideas. In an ideal scenario, if your contributions are of high value and quality, every time you post something, people will actively seek out your content and share it.

Since there are any number of valuable things you can share, it is helpful to think about what it is exactly that you want to say. Try to fill out the following content compass, by focusing on a maximum of three to four topics or themes. Any more than and it may cause confusion about what you want to be known for. Any less and you might come across as one-dimensional. 

Start thinking about your reputation today. Building a great reputation takes time and effort but it will ultimately set you on the right path to successfully navigate the challenges of the digital age.