What Do You Want Them To Know About You?

My first lesson in how important it is in branding yourself came when I asked someone for a verbal reference. The person giving my reference shared some information about me that totally surprised the person requesting my reference.

Luckily, it is an excellent skill I have, that I had not shared initially, but then I thought, well, maybe I didn’t view this skill the same way as the person providing my reference.

Branding yourself as if you were a company is very important. Why? Because if you’d like to have better opportunities in your industry, or a different industry, you have to take charge of what you’d like people to know about you.

This means that you have to be in charge of your own training, the personality you’d like for people to get to know about you, and what you’d like people to not know about you.

This boils down to when you are in the running for a position, most likely, like 99–100% of the time, they will probably Google you. They’ll find things about you that you can control.

Even if you are not seeking a new position, your current employer is most likely trolling the internet as well. Therefore, control what they see.

You control what’s on social media, whether you have your own website or a business, they will find all of this information. Even if you cursed and flipped off your employer five years ago and it was videoed or published somewhere, it’s out there. Even what you say about your current employer, it’s out there too.

So what do you do? How do you brand who you want people to know about you?

First, set up your social media accounts to show what you want people to know. Regardless if the account is for business promotion or personal, you control what is there. Especially if the information is industry related, make sure you link, repost, etc. trending articles or opinions that you agree and don’t agree with.

This lets the employer and or future employer know that you are aware of new initiatives evolving within your industry.

I have several social media accounts, but the ones that are the most active are my Twitter @gebjohnson, Pinterest, and my LinkedIn. Either place, you’ll find a parallel Genola. Obviously, on LinkedIn, you’ll find out more of my background because that’s the way the platform is designed.

My Twitter will be links to things that matter to me in my industry. That’s what I want out there and that’s what I’m putting out there. I usually don’t use my Twitter for casual posts, so if you really want to know a bit more about Genola, you’ll have to scroll over to my Pinterest.

There, you’ll still see things in my industry, but some of my boards are things that really set my butt on fire. There, you’ll get a little bit more about who Genola really is.

Second, set up a website that showcases all of your skills that you have that can be either vocational or soft skills. Show this the way you’d like for others to view you.

Be creative or not, it’s how you want to be seen. Remember, you are in control of YOU! You are branding, YOU!

I also have a podcast, The GEBJohnson podcast. There, you’ll get even more about me. I do share a bit more about my family in my podcast than anywhere else online. But, I’m very careful to not expose them to something that could possibly harm them in their future as well.

Third, show how you solve other people’s problems. You can do this even if your current position is a sales clerk. Most likely, you are also involved with other things in your life. I wouldn’t think that your whole life doesn’t revolve around being a sales clerk, or any other position for that matter.

If you are involved in social organizations like scouts for your kids, or a religious organization, if you are solving problems within these organizations, showcase it on your social media or if you’ve built your own website, show it there too.

I do participate in things with my religious organization, but for me, I choose to not publicize this because I believe if you view all of my deliberate branding, you’ll know my religious beliefs.

Share your uniqueness. People want to see you are human and do humanistic things. Now, there’s a line to be drawn here. There are some things people don’t need to know about you. Please don’t share.

Here’s an example of something that could show people even more about who you are:

I’m not sure whether I’ve shared this, and I think I did in a blog post this humanistic event in my life. Each spring, there’s a birds nest that appears on our front porch. Each year, my husband and I think, ‘we’re going to get rid of it’ because they make such a mess on the porch and down the sides of the columns.

But when we finally decide to do something, we’ll see the baby birds starting to hatch, then we feel sorry for them and let they stay until maturity. All the while dealing with their sh***ty mess.

This leads me to being authentic in your branding. You can share things that happen in your life, but be selective.

Be honest about what you think of trending issues in your industry. You determine how radical you choose to be, but if you show empathy and understanding of the other view point and support your opinions with proof of why you are against something, this shows you are exercising great soft skills.

Make people feel good they met you and got to know more about you. Branding YOU is just as important, if not more important than a Fortune 500 company doing it.

They spend millions of dollars on their company’s image. Why aren’t you exercising your right to brand the YOU you want others to know about you.

To learn more about branding you, join my newsletter that is published the 15th and 30th of each month.

Follow me on Twitter @gebjohnson and Pinterest @gebjohnson.com

Genola Johnson MY WHY: To help passionate people craft profitable professions with the foundations of their life’s purpose. She lives with her husband and two super model daughters in Atlanta. You can find her on GEBJohnson.com and her podcast The GEBJohnson Podcast. Follow her on Twitter@gebjohnson.com or IG gebjohnson