Personal branding: more than just money?

?? I had an interesting exchange recently about what a personal brand is actually for.

Here's a brief overview of the conversation:

HIM: Personal brands are pointless unless you're making money for your business

ME: what if you're running a mission-driven project or advocating for a cause that doesn't need money?

HIM: that's still generating business.

ME: not necessarily; there are lots of people involved in online activism and advocacy work who just want to start conversations and spread awareness without 'converting' people into anything more than followers.

?? I like to think I won the conversation, but I acknowledge that not everything is a competition.

The point is, it's an interesting topic that's worth exploring.

THE RISE OF THE PERSONAL BRAND ON LINKEDIN

Personal brands are absolutely nothing new online.

?? Believe it or not, blogging has existed since the late 90's (or even as far back as 1994 depending on your sources,) and with it came a form of long-form, self-aggrandising content that has littered our Insta feeds ever since.

We just didn't collectively use the phrase "personal brand" to describe individuals who marketed themselves in this way.

And we often didn't see this kind of thing on LinkedIn.?

Now though, we can't move for it!

I'm not going to speculate too much about why this is. Like so many other things, we can probably blame the pandemic and our desperate desire to reconnect to 'real life.'

But this trend hasn't gone away, and if anything, it seems to be gathering momentum.

?? In fact, you've probably noticed a sudden surge in agencies, freelancers and marketers specifically focused on developing personal brands. Arguably, I'm one of them.

?? The very fact that these specialists exist - and that their businesses appear to be flourishing - is in itself an illustration of how personal brands can be beneficial; the individuals in question have leveraged their visibility and personality to be able to sell their services.

And people are buying them.

So this stuff definitely works from a business perspective.

But returning to the original point of this newsletter:

Is there value in having a personal brand beyond making money?

I think there is.

But first, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you're reading this, you're probably a relatively socially-minded person.

??Meaning you care about other people, society at large, and leaving the world a better place than you found it.

?? In this way, a personal brand (i.e. the version of yourself you portray online,) could be really useful for raising attention around any topics you care about.

And for those of you involved in advocacy around specific issues, this could be incredibly beneficial.

Not just because it might make you money or promote a brand or venture. But because of this:

You're bringing eyes, hearts and minds to something important.

As an example, over the last few months on LinkedIn, I've spoken about:

???? the debilitating effect of migraines

???? managing chronic and undiagnosed health conditions?

???? periods and how they can affect your workweek

???? living in a house share in your 30s?

None of these things directly sell my business, services, or projects.

?? But they serve to raise awareness, start conversations, and connect people who want to engage in these topics.

You could argue that these conversations indirectly sell my services, and that's definitely true.

But the personal brand also serves a larger purpose. And, importantly, you don't need to own a business to benefit from that.

?? I know a lot of employees who do their day job quietly in the background, but then have noisy, disruptive personal brands to advocate for causes they care about, explore hobbies, or have some other focus besides making money.

And they bloody love it!

?? As with anything in business, there is no one size fits all approach for how to do anything.

But in my opinion, a personal brand can help you achieve so much beyond financial gain, including but not limited to:

???? making friends?

???? getting to know other people both in and outside of your industry

???? getting invited to be involved in events and opportunities you would never have been given if you weren't visible?online

???? finding new collaborators, cheerleaders, and supporters for a cause

???? starting conversations that matter and maybe expanding the discussion around an important issue?

???? challenging competing views to raise the visibility of a different viewpoint, or to support others?

????and leveraging your new-found popularity to start a resistance movement to overthrow your corrupt government....

Oops, said that last part out loud...

?? In any case, the personal brand is very much here to stay, and there are many different ways it can benefit you as an individual, or something much greater.

So, permission to explore and see what you can make of it.

?? COACHING QUESTIONS ??

?? what does a personal brand mean to you?

?? whose personal brand do you admire? Why do you like them?

?? what benefits do you think that individual achieves from their personal brand?

?? is there a quality you've identified that you could start bringing into your content?

Once you know what you'd like your personal brand to look like, it becomes infinitely easier to get your content to line up with it.

And herein lies the biggest motivation for being able to do it consistently.

Good luck, and happy posting

-- Alice Lyons ?? ??

-----------------------------------------------------

???CONTENT COACHING OVER COFFEE?is here to give you weekly ideas to up your posting game on LinkedIn so you can get your good work out there ??

?? If you'd like more detailed support, I offer?1:1 content coaching?starting from ￡180 for a 90-minute breakthrough session.

?? I’ll also be launching a group coaching program and on-demand course in the autumn. Give me a shout if you’d like more info on this.

?? And to have a chat about how we could work together, just send me a dm, or?book a 20-minute coffee chat with me here.