Make the Connection by Showing Up Vol. 3

"Rome wasn’t built in a day" – medieval French phrase.

In 2020 I was working for a company heading up all their marketing and advertising is when my view of the world changed.?I was working for a company that had multiple brands spanning across a few industries including automotive (what it was most known for), real estate, media, and food and beverage.

My world changed for several reasons, and I started to look at my personal brand the same way I managed the business’s marketing, as a profit center. I then started executing every single week on building my online presence both on and off LinkedIn. Flash forward to 2022. I have learned that the most basic key to building your online brand is about continuing to show up.

Although I personally started my journey with building an online presence on LinkedIn, I soon saw the opportunity across other areas online. After WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram crashed in 2021, it was a lesson to us all to never only rely on one platform exclusively.

So, if it’s just about showing up, why doesn’t everyone do it?

Well, it’s not as easy as it looks, plus it takes time, patience, and effort. In a world of instant gratification, so many give up. Quite simply, most do not have a “map” or a GPS to help them navigate the road - a goal, plan, and strategy.

Consistency in showing up is an essential part of your GPS. ?

Consistency breeds habits, progress, and improvements in everything in life. It’s the same for your online presence. Building your brand online is a long game, where you must think more calculated about where you want it to be in the next year to 5 years, and the impact you want to make.

There are a few areas that I recommend going all in on as an area you should be looking at methodically online in relation to your personal brand:

1.????Company website bio, and/or personal website

2.????Social Media

3.????Podcasts

4.????Search Engines

Let’s talk about each one listed:

1.????Your own website should reflect your personal brand through and through. Your website is a virtual extension of you. If anyone wants to learn more about you, this should be the hub and place to do so. This might be a website with one page or with several pages. Please go buy the domain for your name. For example, I own www.melanieborden.com

If you have a bio on your company website, use the same bio on your personal website, as well in any media you are doing. If you are writing articles, or in the media, make sure you have those on your website too. This should be updated regularly so you are always relevant when someone is searching for you. Your socials should also be listed and connected. A common issue I see on company websites is broken social media links and old irrelevant content.

2.????Your social media should visually have some level of synchronicity. Visually, the banners should be similar in theme, contact info, colors, website URL, etc. It should all be relevant. On LinkedIn, this is a great place to showcase your website or contact info in the banner as the first place someone sees. Content creation is another area that needs your attention and weekly attention. I suggest 1-2 hours per week on content creation, which can mean photos and video or writing some posts and setting it as a calendar placeholder weekly.

Your schedule for posting your content should be easy for you to commit to long-term. Some individuals focus on posting on social media from M-F while others post 2 days a week. There is no right or wrong, but the more you post, the more you are seen. My favorite saying is you want to be in the right place at the right time with the right message for someone who needs you right now. Take the time to create a schedule including a day and time that works for you long-term. You must hold yourself accountable to post on a schedule.

3.????Not everyone has a podcast, and for those who don’t, stick to the same theme with your messaging and topics as a guest. If you go on podcasts regularly, make sure you are sharing those podcasts on your social media, and have them on your website. Write out in your posts the actionable takeaways so someone is inclined to watch/listen.

If you set a reasonable goal for yourself if you are just starting out with going on podcasts, perhaps 1x per quarter, it will help with your confidence and stepping outside the box. Going on podcasts or lives also helps with spreading the word about you and/or your company’s mission.

4.????If you are posting regularly on social media, you have already begun building trust with your audience. A Search Engine is a place where potential clients or employers go to research you, as most likely they liked what you had to say on social media and want to learn more about you. If you go on any panels, podcasts, or in any media, ask for the MP4 files and upload them into your own YouTube page with your first and last name in the video title along with the information about the media you were in. YouTube is owned by Google and your videos will show up in a search for you in the video results.

Other areas offline to support your online efforts – trade journals, presentations, swag, business cards, signage, print, direct mail, etc. all should be a reflection of your brand. Have the same message, colors, logos, and fonts across everything. To create graphics for both your on and offline needs, check out Canva or Adobe. There are thousands of templates you can choose from. I recommend sticking with the same colors and fonts for a visual personal touch on your brand that others will remember.

This conversation around how to connect the dots with a personal brand online is still one of the most common areas that so many are talking about.

Bottom Line: Continue to be present with your efforts online weekly as it will pay off one day. Understand that having a personal brand online, specifically on LinkedIn, will drive company revenue and increase your income.

I am very excited to announce that the “Make the Connection” newsletter is becoming a podcast. ?

Make the Connection with Melanie Borden, will be a weekly podcast featuring a curated network of global business leaders. We will connect you to marketing, business strategies, and trends that you can apply to your business. Make the Connection with Melanie Borden is launching in April!

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter today. If you want help building your own brand, please visit my?website?to set up a call.

Want to check out my other socials? You can also find me on?Instagram,??YouTube, and?TikTok.?

Best,

Melanie