How in-person events can bring visibility to your personal brand

Welcome to issue 5 of my LinkedIn newsletter. If you see this in your email, I'd be grateful if you could open this on LinkedIn and react and comment. It will certainly help me in my analysis of who is getting value from my personal branding advice. Thank you!

So far for me 2023 has been focused on events, both attending them and speaking at them.

I wanted to give some insights into why I think this is important for your personal brand visibility.

“Cultivate visibility because attention is currency.” - Chris Brogan

It starts with this, even if the thought of seeking attention feels rather uncomfortable. Our personal brand is given life when it is seen, so we need to go for being visible.

1. Raising your personal brand visibility by going to networking events

My year started at the Business Buzz networking event in Coventry on January 4th. What a way to start the year!

Since then, I’ve been attending in-person networking regularly in various towns and cities in my region.

• People have the chance get to know you more quickly when you meet them in person.
• It's an ideal way for you to talk about what you do to a group of people who don't know you or may have a vague idea about you from seeing you on LinkedIn.
• It's about conversations, getting know each other and making yourself memorable.

You can talk to people about

???? what you do

???? who you help

???? what to expect if they hire you

Personal branding is about letting people know you exist, being seen as much as possible and making it clear what your area of expertise is and becoming remembered and preferred.

Help your ideal clients to find you and let your network help you to be found too

What do I mean by that?

When you attend a networking event, the intention shouldn’t just be promoting directly to the people in the room, but more about becoming part of the network. It’s simple really, isn’t it?

The more people see you, speak to you, learn about what you do and who you help, and as a result grow to trust you, the more likely they are to recommend you.

In other words, using all the elements of your personal brand will help you become known as the go-to person for an ideal client.

?? In person networking also gives an ideal opportunity to take photos and video to use on your social media. I always do. It's so much easier to create content when you have some images or video already saved on your camera roll.

If you can show your audience about your personality and approachability through having your face on the screen, then you'll be making your personal brand more visible.

Some things to consider if you’re thinking about in person networking

How much time out of your day will it take?

To ensure I’m making efficient use of my time, I’ve put a limit of 45 minutes travel time to a venue. I aim to commit no more than half a day to going out and about. Make sure you are following up afterwards with people you have met through arranging Zoom calls, phone calls and emailing.

How much will it cost?

There are different structures and payment arrangements for regular networking meetups. To be honest, I prefer attending pay as you go events. The obligation to not have to go because of an upfront fee, makes me feel like I want to attend more. Business Buzz - Local Business Networking is ideal for this.

What about if I’m shy or feel introverted?

I can advise you with some great resources to help you with networking if you’re not used to it or do not feel entirely comfortable with it.

Take a look the The Antisocial Socialites who run a regular LinkedIn audio event about networking for people who don't like networking! They have regular guests too.

Also visit the profiles of my fab LinkedIn connections Anita Popat and Fifi Mason , both of whom will have great advice on networking for introverts.

I fully appreciate the kind of challenges which present themselves if you are not entirely comfortable with speaking in a room full of people you barely know or you just don’t like crowds.

It’s hard enough to manage this, without then having to think of promoting your personal brand. However it is very possible to be shy and/or to be an introvert and incorporate regular networking into your personal brand.

2. Raising your personal brand visibility by attending events and conferences

These have been occupying my brain space recently, as I have a few planned in the next weeks, either that I’m speaking at or attending.

• You have the chance to get clear on your messaging. What are the takeaways that you want to leave your audience mulling over?
• Public speaking means no hiding place so, unless you are a very good actor, you have to present your authentic self with the bits you don’t like about yourself?as well as the bits you do. That's ideal for your personal brand
• Give a great talk and you’ll be memorable and much more likely to be remembered.

If your public speaking activities match up to your online presence (your profile, your content, your comments) and what you are offering, in other words your value proposition, you’re giving yourself a head start in building the all-important know, like and trust.

This is a huge topic that I intend to cover more in a future newsletter. Let me know what you’d like to know about public speaking for your personal brand and I’ll answer your questions in a later edition. ?

Here’s a shameless plug for the events that I'm speaking at

I’d love you to check you them out and please consider attending.

• Mar 1st - 2nd LinkedIn Rocks

I've been working hard behind the scenes over the last few months?helping to launch the very first LinkedIn Rocks conference, taking place virtually over 24 hours.

LinkedIn Rocks has been put together by a group of women who spend a lot of time on LinkedIn and met?through social audio (Clubhouse primarily). We have collaborated and supported each other over the last two years as The Ladies of LinkedIn.

We have brought together an amazing line up of 20 global speakers with a vast range of LinkedIn knowledge and experience to help professionals and entrepreneurs increase their confidence, activity and visibility on LinkedIn.??

?? My talk is about Elevate your LinkedIn Personal Brand: a mindset shift for success.

???Early Bird?price tickets - ends TOMORROW Feb 22nd: US$47 (approx ￡39) See?the website for details.

?? Start Time: 1pm GMT | 2pm CET | 6.30pm IST | 8am EST (US) | 11pm AEST | 7am US CET | 5am PST

The 24 hour event covers all time zones, so you'll be able to see some of the talks live and catch up on the recording for the others. You’ll also be able to buy the full recording of the conference talks as a great reference resource.

• Mon?27th Feb - Fri 3rd Mar Social Mums Summit?

This is a FREE virtual summit with talks and tips for small business owners from a variety of speakers. I'm delighted to be speaking about personal branding on?Tues 28th Mar. You can watch or live or catch up the recording of the full event when you sign up.

• Wed March 22nd?-?Digital Women Live?

This event is the vision of amazing Lucy Hall , founder of Digital Women and is taking place in Birmingham, UK. I'm excited to also be a speaker.

• Fri March 24th?- I'll be back in Birmingham for?Social Media and Marketers Meet Up, a fantastic, friendly event. You can join the?LinkedIn group?to find out more. Book your ticket?here.

Going to events and speaking at events is a huge step forward in bringing your personal brand into the spotlight. I hope this month's newsletter has given you some inspiration in thinking about how you gain more visibility for your personal brand through going to networking and events.

"Know where you want to go and make sure the right people know about it." - Meredith Mahoney

Also don't forget to let me know if you have questions about speaking at events. Is this something you are doing already or thinking of doing?

A building blocks approach

Each month my aim is to give you ideas which you can build on, so you can develop your personal brand with a positive mindset and at a pace that fits in with your work.

I’ll help you overcome the obstacles and guide you in building a personal brand framework which will accelerate your visibility, both online and in person.

If this has helped you, please let others know by sharing my newsletter not just on LinkedIn but elsewhere. Thank you!

I'll see you next month.

?? In the meantime, you may like to listen to my Spotify playlist?Ella's Podcast Guest Spots

Thank you for reading

Ella ?