This review first ran in the Feb. 23 edition of The Hamilton Spectator
Platform: The Art and Science of Personal Branding
Lorna Jones Books
$29.99
You have a solution to our problem and an answer to our prayers.
You’ve gone where we’re going and already done what we dream of doing.
We’re hungry to hear what you have to say and you’re willing to share your lessons learned.
Thanks to social media, it’s never been easier for you to offer up your experience and expertise, insights and ideas. Yet finding you among the billions of users online is the challenge.
This is why you need to build and then manage your a personal brand.
“You can change the world with your voice if you have a platform to stand on and people who will listen,” says Cynthia Johnson, author of Platform and a branding agency co-founder with more than three million followers on social media channels.
“There is so much noise coming from so many people and places that we are exhausting the public attention span for experts and important causes. We need to hear from people who understand topics completely and thoroughly.”
A strong personal brand cuts through the noise and draws our attention.
Brand building is technical, creative, spiritual and scientific, says Johnson. “And it is much easier than you think.”
Our personal brands are built on four elements: personal proof, social proof, recognition and association. “Each piece is part of a puzzle, and they all work together to tell a story: your story.”
Personal proof includes your education, experience, credentials and achievements.
“Social proof is the proof that other people need in order to believe that we are qualified to do something,” says Johnson. Examples include our social media followers, referrals and references.
“Association is the part of the branding puzzle that determines nearly all of your successes,” says Johnson. “People decide whether you are credible based on your expertise and your network. You are whom you hang out with.”
And finally, you build your brand by being recognized as among the best at what you do. Awards and accolades elevate you in our hearts and minds.
Building your personal brand requires growing your networks on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Johnson has four suggestions.
Always include an email address on your social media profiles and tell us exactly what you’re interested in and looking for. “You can follow and connect with people all day long, but unless they know how and why to reach out to you, the ball will remain in your court.”
Aim for quality over quantity when posting content to social media. Post too much content that’s of low or no value cand we’ll legitimately wonder where you find the time to do the job and develop the experience that you’re attempting to build your personal brand around.
Avoid the rookie mistake of overusing or misusing hashtags. Don’t use hashtags to grow your followers by highlighting key words, says Johnson. “The main purpose of the hashtag on all social media channels is to create live public groups around topics or interests.”
And, just like in the real world, treat everyone on social media as if they matter because they genuinely do. “Don’t be the person who ignores the little guy, because in a connected digital world, you never know how people will grow from one day to the next. So go ahead and connect with people; it doesn’t hurt, and you never know how much it could eventually help.”
Personal branding is for everyone, says Johnson and it’s not an optional exercise if you want to be seen and heard. “You have it even when you don’t. Everyone in the digital age needs to be aware of their personal brand. It is no longer a choice whether to have one; the choice is whether you manage yours.”
Jay Robb serves as communications manager for McMaster University’s Faculty of Science, lives in Hamilton and has reviewed business books for the Hamilton Spectator since 1999.
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