personal branding for human resources by paysavvy
TRANSCRIPT
personal branding guidefor HR Managers
A p u b l i c a t i o n b y P a y S a v v y
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INTRODUCTION: DO YOU REALLY NEED A PERSONAL BRAND?
As an HR Manager or Director, you might not think that personal branding is something you need to worry about. After all, it sounds like something that might be more important to multimedia professionals or freelancers.
However, in the age of the internet, personal branding is important for everyone, including HR professionals. Writing for Fast and Company, Nick Nanton and JW Dicks said it best back in 2010: “You, as an individual, have become your own brand, whether you like it or not.”
To explain a bit further, their point is that the internet has broken down barriers to information sharing and privacy. These days, even if you don’t deliberately maintain your online presence, others will do it for you, i.e., your friends will likely post videos and tweet about you online.
Combine that with weakening job security for the greater part of the workforce and the fall of familiar institutions such as the banking industry, and Nicks and Nanton have a pretty good case for personal branding. Certainly, it’s not a bad idea to get on the personal branding bandwagon and get proactive about the issue.
And of course, there’s more to it than that. As an HR manager, your job is all about interacting with people, so it makes sense to make yourself as approachable and easy to understand as possible. A personal brand helps with that.
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From an even more professional standpoint, your personal brand helps communicate your successes and knowledge to those around you. Putting your best foot forward will certainly go a long way towards building confidence in your abilities from management and employees alike - an important consideration for HR professionals, who are often the intermediary for both groups.
When all is said and done, personal branding doesn’t need to be that complicated. In essence, it means taking control of your image online and in professional contexts, both to avoid allowing someone else to take control of how you’re presented to the world and to ensure that those important to your career and work life can connect with the qualities you deem most important.
This means actively participating online in a variety of contexts, and while that may sound like a tall order for someone who’s never sent a tweet or shared a Linkedin update, it’s simpler than it sounds. After a quick overview of the essential parts of a personal brand, this guide will have you up and running on the most important professional social networks in just a few easy steps!
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Personal Branding EssentialsBefore we get into the nitty gritty of maintaining an online presence, it’s important to take a look at the key elements that make a great personal brand. Beyond simply putting your best foot forward, you should consider the purpose of your personal brand, what you’re trying to communicate, and who you’re trying to communicate with.
To put it simply, your personal brand should be a more essentialized view of yourself - an entity that’s easy for others to connect with.
As an HR Manager, you’re probably familiar with rules, policies and best practices for employees and management, so think of this section as one more page in your playbook!
Of course, there are countless social media and marketing companies on the web, and each has posted about the important factors of a personal brand. However, Nicks and Nanton have a fairly solid take on the subject, and its definitely worth taking a look at the six elements they’ve pegged as most important.
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THE CREDIBILITY FACTOR
While your personal brand should be simple, it should also take advantage of all the resources at hand to build your credibility as a great HR Manager. You’ve likely got a degree and a few designations under your belt, so keep these in mind and use them to enhance the credibility of your personal brand.
For example, you might want to think about the post secondary program you took part in, or any classes that you’ve taken throughout your career. Work experience is important too - how long have you worked at your organization? Where have you worked before?
All of this well help to position you as a credible ‘expert’ of HR, i.e., someone that employees and management can trust and have confidence in.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VISIBILITY
It’s difficult to say what the most important aspect of an HR Manager’s personal brand should be, but visibility is definitely up there. After all, if you don’t make an effort to make your brand visible, a lot of your other efforts will be wasted. Of course, promoting a poorly planned personal brand isn’t the best idea either, but it’s definitely important to spend some time on a strategy for getting your personal brand out there.
Getting active online is a great place to start, and that will be covered in more detail later in this guide. However, since HR Managers see plenty of personal interaction, it’s also important to project your personal brand on a day to day basis with coworkers and at networking events. Find your audience and connect with those in it.
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STAYING CONSISTENT
When it comes to your personal brand, there’s no sense confusing anyone. HR Managers are no strangers to staying consistent - they need to ensure that workplace policies are implemented fairly and in the same manner for all employees.
It’s the same with personal brands. The easiest way to stay consistent is to keep your message short and simple. Of course, your personality is complex, but it’s important to pick a few key elements that best represent who you are.
Consistency has another benefit as well - sticking to your core message will help establish your brand for your audience, supporting its visibility.
ADD A LITTLE PERSONALITY
While your personal brand should be simple and professional, adding a little bit of your personal side can give your brand some added weight and depth. This is especially important for HR Managers, as being approachable and relatable towards employees is an essential skill of the trade.
After all, if an employee has an HR related complaint or needs to ask for advice on how a specific policy should be followed, things will move much more smoothly if they feel comfortable around their HR Manager.
At the end of the day, it’s best to use your own judgement regarding what to include. It’s most important to stay professional, but don’t be afraid to think about what might help you stand out from others in your field.
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WHO’S IN YOUR AUDIENCE?
It’s important to note that while visibility is important, that element of personal branding comes with a caveat - you should be visible to your target audience. It follows, then, that you need to make an effort to consider and define that audience.
For an HR Manager, that could mean anyone you currently work with, potential future employers, or even other HR Managers. You can define your target audience however you like, but keep in mind that it should represent a cohort that will benefit from connecting with your brand.
KNOW YOUR AREA OF EXPERTISE
Finally, when crafting your personal brand, it’s important to keep your specific area of expertise in mind. While this is similar to building credibility, knowing your expertise is a bit different - it’s about getting specific.
For example, are you focused on employee engagement, or on crafting effective workplace policies? Do you have a knack for expanding your role as HR Manager with rapidly growing startups, or is your skillset more geared towards large organizations? Either way, find your niche and run with it, as this will be a key part of both your personal brand and your career.
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3 Steps to a Great Personal BrandOnce you’ve got a handle on the essentials of personal branding, these steps will help you create your very own personal branding strategy!
WriteTo start off, write down a few messages that you’d like to communicate through your personal brand. Brainstorm as many as you like, but remember to keep it short and simple. Choose a few of your favourites.
ResearchNext, you’ll have to conduct some research - on yourself. Look through your past experiences for evidence to support your messages (credibility and expertise anyone?) This could come from your education, past experiences, beliefs, or anything else you think might help support your message.
Reflect and RefineFinally, put your messages through the audience filter. Your messages might be great, but do they appear to your target audience ?(employees, management, other HR Managers ?) If not, you’ll need to refine them a little before you settle on the final product.
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Technically, there’s also a fourth step; rinse and repeat as necessary! You may have to go through the process a few times before you get your personal brand sounding just right.
And don’t forget, the role of an HR Manager is constantly evolving, so don’t be afraid to go back and update your personal branding strategy as time goes on!
Once you’ve got your messaging down pat, it’ll be easier to project your personal brand in everyday life, especially as an HR Manager, since you connect with people every day at work.
Of course, there’s no need to stop there. Get online and promote your personal brand there as well! If you’re not savvy with Twitter, Linkedin or website design, read on for tips on how to get started with personal branding on those networks!
Remember, there’s no reason to rush - if you’re new to social networking, or even new to using a social networking strategy, focus on one network first and move on to the others once you’re comfortable.
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Online Branding for HR ManagersGetting started with personal branding online is one of the simplest ways to get your message out there. It takes a little work to get everything set up properly, but in the end, having a strong online presence will go a long way towards telling the world just how great an HR Manager you are.
As an added bonus, implementing a deliberate, professional strategy for your online presence makes it far less likely that others will be able to take control of what gets posted about you (as mentioned earlier). Of course, you can’t control everything on the web, but taking control of your social networking strategy is a great place to start.
In the following section, we’ll talk about how to get started with personal branding on Twitter and Linkedin, but first, let’s talk about starting up your own website!
THE WEBSITE: THE IMPORTANCE OF OWNING YOUR OWN SPACE
Beyond social networks, it also makes sense to have your own website. At the end of the day, you don’t own all of the work you put into your Twitter or Linkedin accounts. They’re still property of Twitter and Linkedin. Having an online space that you “own” is your insurance policy for keeping your efforts intact.
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Furthermore, a website can act like an anchor for all of your other personal branding strategies online. You can include links to encourage others to follow you on Twitter or Linkedin, or share your tweets or status updates on your homepage.
And while your options are limited in terms of personalization on those networks, the world is your oyster when it comes to your own website. You can post examples of your work, write a blog about an HR topic, or include a contact form to allow prospective employers to get in touch.
Whatever you choose, the first step when it comes to your personal website is actually building one! Here’s how to get started:
DECIDE WHICH DIRECTION YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE
Speaking of the vast number of options at your fingertips, it’s important to decide exactly what you want to achieve from the get-go. Otherwise, things tend to spiral out of control.
Do you want to start an HR Management blog, or do you just want a simple site with your resume and some contact information? If you want to do a blog, what will it focus on? Workplace policies? Employee Engagement? General advice for a successful career in HR Management?
Have a clear idea of what you want before you start, and make sure that it serves the messaging of your personal brand.
MAKE SURE YOU OWN YOUR DOMAIN!
As mentioned above, your website is the space that you completely “own” on the internet, but that concept won’t do you much good if you miss out on the brand name you want! It’s
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important to register and pay for your brand’s domain name, ideally before it gets taken by someone else.
Since we’re talking about personal brands, it will probably make sense to use your full name as your domain. However, depending on what you’re going for, addresses like HRMaven.com or HRGuru.ca might also do the trick.
SHOULD YOU HIRE A WEBSITE DESIGNER?
Depending on how technologically adept you are, you might choose to build your own site or hire a professional to do it for you. A professionally designed website is your best bet for a clean end product that meets your goals, but it’s entirely possible to do it yourself on the cheap if you have limited options!
Wordpress.org and Squarespace are great places to start, although Squarespace requires a small fee.
HAMMER OUT YOUR MESSAGING AND TAG LINES
You’ve already settled on the messaging for your personal brand, although you might have continued to tweak it a bit along the way. However, when you move that messaging to your website, it will also likely make sense to add a tagline, or a catchy one-sentence description of your brand.
As with your messaging, take some time to try out a few options before you settle on a tagline you like.
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Twitter: Building a CommunityTwitter is an extremely useful tool for personal branding. Given the short character limit for posts, it’s easy to stick to your messaging, connect with others in the HR field and build your audience.
Basically, you can use twitter to gain followers and interact with others with similar interests. Twitter is also a great way to stay informed. Following accounts such as Canadian HR Reporter (@HRReporter) and participating in Twitter chats such as #tchat (@talentculture) make it easy for HR Managers to stay abreast of the latest news in their industry.
THE TWITTER HANDLE
First things first - when you set up your twitter account, you’ll need to pick a twitter handle based on your personal brand. It’s best to try and keep this consistent with whatever you chose for your website, as that’s likely what people will search for if they want to find you.
Additionally, try to keep your twitter handle relatively short if possible. Twitter only allows posts of 140 characters or less, so a long user name can be a hindrance to retweets and mentions.
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KEEP YOUR BIO PROFESSIONAL
Twitter allows space for a short bio, a little insight into who you are and what sort of information you’ll be posting. In other words, your bio should be an engaging description of your personal brand.
However, short means short. Twitter bios are just 160 characters long. However, with a few tips from this buffer post on how to write professional bios, you’ll be well on your way to writing something that packs a punch. Highlights of the post include:
» Don’t use buzzwords - they go out of date quickly and can date your bio
» Use keywords that relate to your audience (i.e., human resources, workplace policy, hiring)
» Choose active language rather than descriptive language (i.e., are you a rockstar HR Manager or do you handle HR effortlessly?)
As with your personal branding strategy as a whole, don’t be afraid to update your twitter bio regularly.
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TWEETING
Beyond simply trying to gain followers and following others to stay informed, its important to interact on twitter. Staying balanced between sending your own messages and retweeting and replying to others is a good approach that will help build your brand.
For example, don’t be afraid to follow HR Managers on twitter and take polls asking if others in your cohort are dealing with a similar problem. Give others a shoutout for a relevant tweet, or retweet an interesting article that someone else shares. What goes around comes around, and you’re likely to get a few shoutouts of your own!
Figure 1. Pam Ross uses professional keywords in her Twitter Bio
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Linkedin: The Professional NetworkWhile Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ can be used in both professional and personal contexts, Linkedin is strictly business. While the site offers great resources for finding a job, it can also work wonders to advance personal branding for those who already have a career.
As with Twitter, HR Managers should pay careful attention when setting up their Linkedin profile in order to ensure that it enhances their personal brand.
ADD A TAGLINE
Usually, the tagline on your Linkedin profile simply comes up as your current job title and the company you work for. However, it’s possible to change this to something more relevant.
There are a number of approaches to take. You could use the tagline that you developed for your website, add more specific expertise, or choose a few keywords relevant to your title.
Figure 2. Pam Ross uses relevant keywords as her LinkedIn tagline
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MAXIMIZE YOUR SUMMARY SECTION
With a 2000 word limit, there’s plenty of room to get descriptive in your Linkedin summary. This appears near the top of your profile page, so it’s prime real estate for getting your audience engaged enough to read more of what you have to say.
Using keywords here can also help you rank better in Linkedin search results, but don’t go too crazy - most search engines penalize pages for keyword stuffing.
Figure 3. Meghan M. Biro has a descriptive summary that incorporates professional keywords
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JOIN A GROUP OR TWO
Linkedin also offers a number of open and closed “groups” that allow members to share ideas and discuss relevant interests. Joining relevant groups is a great way to connect with others in your industry. Furthermore, the groups you join are displayed on your Linkedin page, and can add to your personal brand.
For example, HR Managers might want to join groups such as Human Resources (HR) & Talent Management Executive or Linked:HR.
STAY CONNECTED
You might lose a business card, but your Linkedin connections are here to stay. Increasingly, connecting via linkedin is the norm for maintaining professional contact. Plus, as you connect to more people in your industry, you’ll see more posts and status updates about professional ideas that are relevant to you and your brand. This can also help you learn the interests of your target audience.
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Go PublicIt may seem like we’ve covered most of the bases when it comes to personal branding, but Nanton and Dicks have one more suggestion that could help - public speaking.
As an HR Manager, you’ve likely had to give your fair share of speeches explaining new company policies or reporting to the management team, so additional opportunities to practice speaking in public can’t hurt! As Nanton and Dicks suggest, public speaking adds a certain amount of weight and credibility to your personal brand. They also claim it’s like “networking on steroids,” since the biggest fans of your talk will likely seek out afterwards.
If you do get the opportunity to give a public speech, here are a few tips to help you make the most of the opportunity:
» Choose a familiar topic. There’s no sense getting nervous over something you don’t know!
» Baby steps. Try a professional group or an organization like toastmasters to get yourself started. Then move on to bigger speaking engagements like SocialHRCamp.
» Record, record, record! It’s the only way you’ll be able to review your talk properly and take note of what to improve the next time around.
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IN CONCLUSION
No matter what stage you’re at in your HR career, personal branding can go a long way to developing yourself as a professional.
It might seem like a waste of time at first, but that couldn’t be further from the truth - connecting with your target audience via your personal brand will expand your experiences and open up that many more connections and opportunities.
As an HR Manager, you need to talk to people all day, so why not go the extra mile with a consistent personal brand? Likely, it will make your life easier. And who knows, by reaching out, maybe you’ll make a connection that changes the course of your career!
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