Over on Quora someone asks:
What more is there to personal branding besides a sexy online presence, titles, and credentials?
‘A sexy online’ presence covers a whole multitude of different elements that are at the heart of a personal brand.
Meanwhile, ‘titles and credentials’, while important, are secondary.
In the end, it is the content that you publish online that will make (or break) your personal brand.
Let me explain what I mean.
Back in 2015 I was looking for a new doctor. I’m based in Central London, and so I simply opened up Google, and searched general practitioners in my location.
As you would imagine, a whole host of different options came up.
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of doctors based in this city, so choice is not a problem.
One doctor in particular stood out, though—-let’s call him Dr Mark.
Dr Mark had a nice, well-designed website which detailed his surgery hours, location, services fees and so on.
It also featured decent professional photographs of him. Plus, there was a blog where I was able to read a selection of his articles on everything from avoiding the common cold to what to do if you have an accident at work.
There were also links to Dr Mark’s various social platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
On YouTube, I was able to watch videos where Dr. Mark talked to camera about different medical issues.
There were also a number of TV interviews that he’d done where he demonstrated his expertise and authority on a variety of topics.
On Google I was able to read reviews and comments from some of his other patients, all of which were full of praise and positivity. (Of course, Dr Mark would always encourage patients to post a review to help him build his online presence).
As a result of the content on and by Dr Mark that I read online, I contacted his office and made an appointment.
He has been my doctor ever since (and he’s not cheap).
Now, I ’m absolutely certain that there are many other doctors in London who are just as good, if not better. Perhaps some charge lower rates, or have more convenient office hours.
But the reason I chose to go with Dr Mark was that he had taken the trouble to curate and publish high-quality content online for free that not only showed his expertise, but also gave me a glimpse of his personality.
This, rather than having a flashy website, or a beautifully-designed logo is at the heart of a ‘sexy online presence’.
Because when you break it down, the purpose of a personal brand online is, in the end, to sell whatever services or products you might have to your target audience.
The way you do that is by positioning yourself to encourage people to know, like and trust you, so that they are likely to want to do business with you at some point in the future.
And the way that you do that is through free content that:
- Shows you are an authority
- Demonstrates that you are warm and likeable
- Makes you stand out from your competition
The reason that we use content (articles, blog posts, Tweets, videos, Instagram stories, YouTube videos etc.) to do this is because each presents a different method of telling our own unique story—-and storytelling is without any doubt the most effective way of making sales.
Why? Because customers are human beings, and human beings are swayed by emotion, not logic.
Yes, if I’d searched online and compared the raw, logical details it’s possible that I’d have found a physician better qualified than Dr. Mark at a lower price.
But the decision I made to book that first appointment with him was, more than anything, an emotional one.
His online content told me his story, and showed me the kind of guy that he was. And, getting to know, like and trust him through that content, I made the (emotional) decision to become a customer of his.
This is what I mean when I say that titles and credentials are of secondary importance. A personal brand is ultimately about publishing free content online that tells your story to the world, and draws people to you who will later become paying customers.
That being the case, the most ‘sexy’ online presence of all is one that—-through a variety of media—-shows the real you.
Get it right, and it’s the most powerful form of marketing in the world.
If this is of interest to you then you might like my daily email, which teaches personal branding and online business techniques, among other things. To sign up go here: Troy Francis Subscribers
You will also very likely enjoy my course Personal Brand Mastery—read all about it here.
