If 2016 taught us one lesson it was to be prepared for anything. So is your personal brand ready for the unexpected as we move into 2017? It isn’t about creating a whole new personal brand for 2017 but building and updating your existing brand to ensure continuity through all mediums.
This could include a change in job status, growing your business or building on current success.
There are a few simple things you can do to make sure your personal brand is current and reflects your work/life situation.
- Is Your Linked In Up-To-Date? We usually only update our LinkedIn when we are job hunting, forgetting there are plenty of ways to highlight your skills and successes on a regular basis. Obviously, it is important to keep your job status current, but take the time to highlight any new skills, educational courses and ask for recommendations. When it does come time to switch jobs you will find the work is already done for you and you can focus on the search.
- Are you neglecting your social media accounts? Part of personal branding is ensuring you are communicating with your audience. There are countless options (Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram etc). If you are finding it hard to keep everything up-to-date then choose two or three and focus on posting regularly. It will keep your brand current and keep people interested in following you.
- Are you updating your skills? It is no use building a personal brand or business if you can’t keep up with the technology. Now not everyone was born to be a front end developer or photoshop genius. But are you taking the time to learn basic skills so you can make adjustments on the fly when your business partners or assistants aren’t available? Could you make a quick change to your website? Free online courses like Free Code Camp take you step-by-step through the code learning process so you can understand the basics. Other valuable skills include learning how to make simple photo edits (beyond adding an Instagram filter) — there are countless tools out there for free that will make this process easy for you. Do your research and be a life long learner.
- Are you engaging your audience? When is the last time you wrong a blog, posted a video, tweeted to your audience? Consistency is key. Not just social media as mentioned above, but in person too. Meet for coffee, attend a conference, host a podcast or Google Hangout. A 20-minute connection can lead to life changing opportunities.
Use the New Year to get your personal branding back on track. Make 2017 the year you take your brand to the next level.
Originally published at medium.com