Spring is here! That means ditching bad habits and letting go of what’s not working in your life. This includes bad personal branding habits.
This spring, clean out your personal brand to get rid of bad habits that may be damaging your credibility. Start with these:
Bad Habit 1: Complacency about your personal brand
One of the most common bad personal branding habits I see is complacency. People think they can sit back and let their good work speak for itself, but if you choose that route, you may miss out to people who have the same skills and qualifications that you do, but who put in the effort to market themselves actively. The marketplace is evolving all the time, and your personal brand should evolve too in order to remain up-to-date. This spring, research how you can market yourself distinctively and how you can demonstrate measurable value in your defined niche. This may mean up-skilling or finding new ways to get the attention of those you want to work with.
Bad Habit 2: Inconsistency in marketing your personal brand
Potentially even more damaging than complacency is inconsistency. I always say it’s better to be consistently good than occasionally very good. This applies to your personal brand too. I’m the first to admit that marketing your personal brand is not a natural activity. It requires developing a new habit. Much like sticking to an exercise regime, this is not easy unless you allocate time and consistently execute activities to achieve success. This spring, set aside an afternoon per week to focus on personal branding. Identify platforms that suit your needs to market yourself on. If you’re an introvert, for example, public speaking will not be a good choice. But regular contributions to an industry forum online may be the perfect way to grow your profile. Make sure that the activities you choose are something you will be able to stick to.
Bad Habit 3: Bad workplace manners
Everyone has bad habits, but you might not be aware of yours and the damage they do to your personal brand in the workplace – whether its in the real world or the virtual. This spring, make it your mission to weed them out. Common culprits include:
- Being late regularly
- Being on your phone during meetings or doing other work because the camera is off and no-one can ‘see’ you
- Interrupting others
- Not following through on what you’ve said you’ll do
Don’t know where to start? Check out our Blog 3 Steps to Kick-off Campaign YOU!