In a recent article focused on personal brand building, we summarized the recommendations of William Arruda from Forbes.com on the questions we should ask ourselves to find out what to base your brand on. We also learned that branding stands and falls with authenticity. Now, let's add another interesting information William Arruda points to. Effective personal branding can sometimes be based on quite unexpected behavior.
Be lazy
You do not have to create new and new content. You do probably not even have time to spend your whole days writing. You can build your brand even by reusing your older content. You can, for example, write an article summarizing your recent tweets or prepare a series of articles based on a longer report you wrote some time ago. You can also comment on someone else's content or occasionally engage in online discussions.
Be unpopular
Note the fact that the strongest brands always have an equally large base of fans and detractors. The same applies to personal brands. Your goal is not to please everyone, but to take a stand and do not change it even if some people disagree.
Reject changes
We hear everywhere that we must embrace change and learn new things. Your personal brand should, however, be consistent and show the same values on a long-term basis. This does certainly not mean stagnation. If your brand is e.g. about creativity, be creative in everything you do.
Be promiscuous
Unlike personal relationships, promiscuity is highly desirable in online relationships. Build your contacts on social networks so that they do not involve only people from your industry or specialization. You need to get into wider networks where you will find more opportunities.
-kk-