And ‘posting on LinkedIn’ isn’t a personal branding strategy either.
Can we just put this to bed? Please.
Half of the briefings I get are: ‘Can you get me a personal brand by getting me in podcasts?’ No.
Also: LinkedIn is full of new ‘personal branding coaches’ because apparently it’s all the rage now (good for me though!)
And I see them advise you how much you need to post per week to build a personal brand. Also No.
The amount of posting has NOTHING to do with building your brand.
You build the brand first, and THEN you talk about it.
I’m sure you can talk about your work perfectly, but before having a moment to think about who you are, how do you want people to see you, there is too much improvisation.
What are you gonna post about when you don’t know what your pillars are? It’s like doing a photoshoot and you’re still in your pyjamas. Like giving a keynote and you didn’t prepare anything.
Your first question is: What do you want people to say about you when you are not in the room?
And then: what do you need to do to change that perception? What do you look like, how do you sound, how do you behave, how does this translate to every single part of your life?
Example: If you’re a CEO for NVIDIA let’s say, it’s not a great look to be fumbling Chinese spies. 1 mistress may be forgiven by your company, media and audience, a second one may cost you your head. If you’re the woman taking over that position, catch up building your personal brand immediately. A crisis around your person is even worse than NOT having a story.
As soon as you’re ready for that podcast: What is your message? What do you want to be talking about? Regardless of what an interviewer is talking about, what do YOU want to say? We prepare talking points. Also read my tips for interviews here.
In short:
A podcast is a microphone to amplify what is already there. First build the story.
LinkedIn is a stage, not a strategy.
And to build that personal brand: hire a professional.
With love,
Saskia
@saskiathewicked
Insights are distilled from years of experience working as a PR strategist at The Wicked, from successes and fails. None of these insights are borrowed knowledge found on AI.
