How to Build Your Authentic Personal Brand

I’m delighted to have Mohammed Al-Taee as a guest blogger today on The Job Quest! Mohammed is well-versed in the topics of personal branding and social media, and this post definitely gives some great ideas on keeping your personal brand true to you.

“The age of privacy is over.”

This is one of the latest Mark Zuckerberg quotes concerning Facebook’s policy. If a man who runs the biggest social network on the planet said that, then we have to stop and think about it 100+ times. It’s not necessary for you to be active on Facebook to think about it — we are living in an age that will not have space for something called privacy.

Today, people on the other half of the world can know instantly about my life activities such as playing football, having lunch with friends or giving a speech somewhere. We are forced to be transparent and authentic because it’s a new way of living; our online identity becomes our real identity.

Your personal brand is a reflection of your offline character and online identity, so merging your offline and online identities will be YOU. Yes, it’s you and should be you everywhere and on all social networks.

I will give few tips that can help you take action toward your personal brand to make sure that YOU are YOU wherever you are.

1 – Make sure your updates are aligned with your audience interests and not just broadcasting normal information. Don’t do stuff that can lose you connections. Each connection could be a new opportunity for your business and career, so stay relevant. Don’t just be relevant — be yourself (and if you are not relevant, that is a problem).

2 – Print your Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin bio profiles on paper and start looking between the sentences and ask yourself, ‘Am I delivering a consistent message?’ I’m not asking you to create identical profiles, but make sure your brand attributes, interests, experience, etc. are the same everywhere.

(Yes, I support green world, but delivering a consistent message could save the world and doing that on paper will make you concentrate more than on a computer screen.)

3 – When you become transparent, you feel confident with everything you do or say. You will not have to fear your audience and friends. Your word will move faster and your brand will shine faster than anything else. Remember: Authenticity Is Sexy!

4 – Don’t act or try to be someone else online. Please DON’T do that. Maybe it’s difficult to show your inner person to the world, but you should practice doing that. With Twitter, your life is public in every interaction, conversation, traveling, etc. Since there is nothing to hide, be professional and smart about what you share online.

5 – Every 6 months, do a routine check for your personal brand. Create a presentation about yourself and make sure that your vision, purpose, passions, etc. are still aligned with what you communicate every day. You can use that presentation in a Toastmasters event or even in front of your friends.

What is your strategy to deliver your authentic personal brand?

Mohammed Al-Taee is an ambitious entrepreneur, as well as a professional information technology and project manager with an excellent reputation. He offers a proven ability to shape an organization’s IT performance and responsiveness to business needs with contributions to customer satisfaction, service delivery and overall cost control. He has significant knowledge in the area of personal branding, including how to leverage technology tools to market your brand and how to manage your online identity.

Mohammed can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.