Have you ever found it puzzling why certain people in your industry become suddenly nationally famous? These professionals attract the best clients, give keynotes at prestigious events and receive all the media attention. Just smarter than the rest of us are these guys and women? Alternatively are they aware of some miraculous personal branding technique the rest of us are ignorant of?
Hingle started a study project a few years ago to learn all we could about these industry stars—we refer to them as Visible Experts®—and their personal branding techniques. To find out what was happening and precisely what they did to build and promote their personal brands, our researchers spoke with more than 1,000 Visible Experts and consumers of their offerings. Our results were first presented in a novel book titled The Visible Expert Revolution.
Today, let me share with you a little secret: most of these Visible Experts are not all that different from the rest of us. Many of them, in fact, confess that they are not the most intelligent or informed persons in their disciplines. They were not naturally born authors. They were not born speech writers. Most also lacked extraordinary charisma from birth.
somewhat, they learned their personal branding techniques by trial and error somewhat slowly. Each of them so took a different route, trying and throwing aside a wide range of tools and approaches along the road.
By the end of this essay,
you will have a research-based personal branding plan that we have shown will boost an expert’s reputation and exposure, therefore giving them an advantage not available to others. Better still, I will provide you a comprehensive road map to follow exactly as you travel your own Visible Expert path.
Ask yourself, though, whether you have the will to see it through before you leap in. It is not something you will reach over night. Both personally and professionally, this is a long-term process of development. That so, developing a strong personal brand—one that drives you to become well-known in your field—is really simpler than it sounds.
See it this way:
The summit from the bottom of the mountain always seems unreachable. But if you concentrate on the journey there, one tiny step at a time, you will find yourself staring down with wonder at the smaller universe you left behind. This is a trip well worth traveling and might transform your life!
For whom this Strategy Is Designed
For any service professional, expert, or executive looking to establish a personal brand but not sure where to start, I have created this road map. It also relates to marketing directors of professional services companies assigned to increase the visibility of their company and staff.
Whether you run a solopreneur business or work for a Fortune 100 company, the approach I provide is the same. One basic I cannot teach you, though, is that you must have bona fide knowledge in your field. Expert knowledge cannot be fiddled with. That is not to mean you have to be the best at any one thing or know everything—no expert does. Nonetheless, even if you still have more to learn, you must have reached a respectable degree of field expertise.
Define personal branding.
A personal brand is the result of a person’s visibility and reputation as seen by peers and consumers. Personal branding is a series of activities used to increase a person’s reputation and raise their exposure. These people develop in eminence and earning power as they get more well-known and appreciated.
A personal branding strategy is what?
A personal branding strategy is a road map to move your career from relative obscurity to great prominence. It tells where you stand right now and the degree of future visibility you wish for. It then goes into great detail on the strategies, tools, and knowledge you will need to reach your objective, including the daily content calendar to direct your path. A well thought out plan removes the ambiguity from your search for visible expertise so that you may focus on implementing it.
Content marketing is fundamental in a modern personal branding approach. Though they relate to developing your personal brand, most of the skills and tools included in this road map are really components of content marketing. If you just want a reminder or if you are new to content marketing, I would advise you to review our free Content Marketing Guide for Professional Services.
The Five Levels of Viewability
In our book The Visible Expert Revolution, we list five ever more visible degrees of knowledge:
Level 1: Local Experts Although their clients and companies value these professionals highly, they are not very visible outside of those circles. Here most visible experts begin their path.
Level 2: Local Legend. These people are starting to come across outside of their companies. Often speaking at corporate events and blogging, they are more involved in their local business communities. They might even bring a little fresh business into their company.
Rising Stars Level 3
These professionals have established a regional following. Among peers in their field, they are rather well-known; they also regularly publish on their area of competence. Rising Stars charge more and usually bring in better-quality business.
Level 4: Rock Stars in Industry. These names are well-known over the country for their particular areas of knowledge. They draw exclusive clients and fees. They therefore start to be major assets to their companies.
Level 5: Superstars from Around the World Global Superstars, the top professionals in the world, have emerged from their specializations and gained recognition more generally in their fields. They charge the most, and companies all around want to be connected with them.
Your first task is to identify which of these levels best fits you now. You then have to choose the degree of experience you want to reach.
Remember that every next stage calls more time and work than the one before it before you leap straight to Global Superstar. For example, moving from Resident Expert to Local Hero is typically easier than from Industry Rock Star to Global Superstar. You most likely will have to spend a lot of your free time if you want to be a worldwide household brand. Are you enough committed and obsessed to pull it off? That can only be answered by you.