4 years ago, Stacy, a digital marketer was the go-to gal and expert in her field.
Colleagues sought her advice, clients raved about her insights, and her work spoke for itself. Yet, when it came to personal branding, she found herself completely in the dark. She was invisible to the world and was only recognized for her work by people in her inner circle.
She watched as less experienced professionals built thriving online presences, landed keynote speaking gigs, and rose to become industry experts. And there she was on the sidelines, experienced but microscopic.
Have you been or are you in a similar situation?
If you’re a professional, business owner, or entrepreneur, you might relate to Stacy’s struggle. You have the required skills, the industry knowledge, and good enough experience. But without a focused personal brand and identity, you will continue being an “Invisible Expert.”
So why do great professionals find personal branding hard?
Here are 6 ‘whys’ that I’ve put together so you can learn how to break free from this trap.
- Relying Too Much on Work to Speak for Itself
Many professionals believe that top-notch and extraordinary work naturally leads to recognition. But here’s a surprising pill to swallow. You may think that quality is the only thing that matters. Wrong. It’s visibility that is just as vital in today’s digital world.
Clients and opportunities don’t always find the best of talents and professionals—they find the most visible ones.
Break the Trap: You can showcase your work and expertise by writing insightful articles, sharing helpful statistics on LinkedIn, and engaging actively in industry conversations with the right people. Your work needs a voice too, you know.
- Fearing that Self-Promotion Feels Like Bragging
Professionals like Stacy and you (and me too) worry that personal branding means constant self-promotion, which can feel insincere, phony, and vain. But as it turns out, I’ve come to learn through my myriad of personal wins and fails that personal branding doesn’t mean you’re boasting about yourself—it’s just about you expressing value.
Break the Trap: Firstly, you need to change your approach toward personal branding like I did. Then, instead of leading your posts with “Look how great I am at what I do,” think: “Here’s how I can help you with ‘X’ so that you can achieve ‘Y’ and drive more sales.” Share your lessons—both the good and the bad experiences—and meaningful information that provides real value to your audience.
- Not Knowing Where to Start
Some professionals out there may think that personal branding is just an overwhelming task and they unfortunately don’t go anywhere near it. The questions that scare them away from leveraging such a great opportunity to distinguish themselves (and their brand) most often are: “What should I post?” “Where should I post?” and “How often should I post?”
Break the Trap: Start simple. Start slow. Share one valuable insight once a week on LinkedIn. Start reading others’ posts and comment on industry conversations. Form the right connections and build your network. Remember, it’s those small steps and initiatives you make now that will later become bigger impacts (cue ‘rewards’).
- Underestimating the Power of Narratives
During my professional journey, I made a rather important self-discovery: Facts inform, yes, but it’s the stories that connect. This realization made a change so great to my own brand that not only do I now include narrative elements in my posts, but I have also refined my storytelling abilities.
Great professionals often default to data, credentials, and achievements. No fault there. But people tend to naturally remember stories more—interesting ones—not resumes.
Break the Trap: You can start by sharing stories of challenges that you initially or recently overcame in your career journey. Subsequently, you can share some important lessons learned and real-world applications of your expertise. This will build understanding with your audience as well as trust.
- Struggling with Being Consistent
You might think that posting just once on your LinkedIn page will help build your personal brand. Wrong. Consistency is directly proportional to visibility. Unfortunately, some professionals often push their personal branding to the bottom of their to-do list.
Break the Trap: Primarily, treat personal branding like a business meeting—schedule it. Set aside 30 minutes of your time every week to share insights and engage with your audience.
- Waiting for the ‘Perfect’ Moment
Perfectionism, ironically, keeps many professionals stuck in the mud. They want everything to be faultless and tip-top every time, be it in perfect bios, perfect posts, or perfect strategy—so they end up doing nothing.
Break the Trap: Start before you feel ready and you will find more clarity through action. Imperfect content is much better than no content at all.
From Invisible to Indispensable
Stacy finally decided to stop hiding in the shadows and start actually taking the initiative toward creating her personal brand.
She started first by sharing insights on LinkedIn, then joined in on industry conversations, and embraced storytelling in her posts. Within a matter of months, she received LinkedIn connections from interested clients, opportunities for contractual work, and genuine questions from people who were just venturing into the personal branding realm.
See, you don’t have to break your mind over this. I get it. It may sound easy when said but truly difficult when implemented. You don’t need to be the loudest or brightest in the room—you just need to show up consistently, add value, and share your expertise with people.
So don’t think or hesitate anymore. Get ready to step out of your comfort zone and out of the “Invisible Trap”. Show up regularly and contribute valuable information and become distinguishable in your field.
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