Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of AI
If you’ve followed me and been in my world for a while, you know how much I’ve been banging on about treating your personal brand as your most valuable asset and whilst it was a relevant topic 9 years ago when I got into it, it’s now more relevant than ever before. We now live in this digital-first world, with not only more noise and competition but also a constantly changing and evolving world of work.
When I finished the equivalent of grade 12 and decided to go to University, only a single digit had a degree so the belief was that once you have a uni degree you’re entering the elite group and you’re future-proof because you will have access to opportunities others don’t have. And whilst I’d love to say that was the case back in 2006 when I graduated, it wasn’t even back then.
For the first role that I applied for, which was an assistant brand manager job at Unilever, literally my dream job, 367 other candidates applied for it. I only know it so well because I ended up getting an interview and the GM back then let me know that on paper, I was less qualified than most of the other candidates but he saw that I had been a personal trainer since the age of 16, added being a PA for a mobile marketing company at the age of 19 whilst studying full time and he was curious to get to know me because I till finished studying my Masters in 4 years whereas back then, the average study time for a masters was 7.5 years. Anyway- long story short: whilst it was busy and competitive back then, I only competed with others who lived in close proximity whereas now we’re competing with global talent.
And not only that - knowledge has been democratised and simply having a degree doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a job / a career progression. Unfortunately I still see it so often that incredibly smart professionals go back to Uni to get their MBA because they think that this additional title behind tier name is the guaranteed door opener when in fact it’s not the case.
Whilst an MBA gives you more advanced knowledge and teaches you how to conduct research, how to think differently etc, it doesn’t equip you with personal branding, self marketing and network building skills which are equally important in the 21st century to get ahead
If you’re still not convinced yet- let me give you a few reasons why personal branding should get onto your priority list:
Digital Noise: We have access to more content and information than ever before. People don’t want more information, they want transformation and someone they can relate to. Your personal brand is the interconnection between your area of expertise (which is knowledge, degrees, qualifications, skills) and your experience (which is supported by your stories, case studies).
Personal branding helps you to cut through the noise and establish a clear, recogniseable and referable presence in the online but also offline world. Quick funny story here- a few weeks ago, my partner and I were invited to a winery tour for a friend’s birthday and we went to the hinterland of QLD- certainly not somewhere where I would know anyone. Anyway - at the last stop, there was live music and the singer looked and me and had the biggest smile on. Now I didn’t think much of it until he came up to me and asked if I was Petra.
You can imagine the others looking at my partner, asking him who I was there people would recognise me in the middle of nowhere as they were a group we usually don’t spend a lot of time with so they have never been exposed to my world at all. Funnily enough- turns out that the singer and I have been connected on LinkedIn for over 3 years and even chatted a few years ago.
I just couldn’t remember him as he is never active himself but he picked up on who i was because I’ve built my footprint with photos, videos, content, LinkedIn Lives, DM conversations and collaborations so my name pops up a lot. So if you’re doubting that building your brand equity is a waste of time, think again as it takes a while for people to pay you attention and pay more attention that they eventually recognise you and feel they have known you way before they’ve actually met you (online or offline). That brings me to my next point:
Trust and Authenticity: I feel like creating content becomes a little like university degrees and titles- it’s a lot easier to do and have which is why more people do it but that also highlights the importance of you building trust and authenticity through your personal stories that no one else has, your unique perspective on a certain topic you want to be known for that others don’t have and communicate it with your distinct tone & voice that others could never copy. This is also the segway into my next point and that is genuine:
Thought Leadership: True thought leadership comes from original thoughts you have based on your unique experience and the exposure.
Whilst AI can help identify trends and topics of interest in real-time, it’s your spin on this topic that establishes you as the Go-To, the Trusted Authority in that space. Stories are the connecting link between hearing information and remembering it because stories creates images in our heads and release hormones which makes us remember things and people.
This is why it’s so important when clarifying and defining your thought leadership, which supporting stories, examples or case studies can connect your area of expertise. Simply the reason WHY you got into this field, started this particular business or career and decided to work with this type of audience is what makes others relate to you.
Career Opportunities: Many employers and recruiters use AI-powered tools to search for potential candidates. A well-crafted personal brand increases your chances of being discovered by these tools, leading to better career opportunities.
Networking and Partnerships: As much as Ai helps us to enhance what we do and makes us more efficient, in the end- we still do business with people we like and a strong personal brand attracts like-minded individuals and potential collaborators.
Adaptability: As AI continues to evolve and impacts pretty much every profession and industry, showing different sides of you, going beyond your job titles and credentials is what makes you more adaptable in the market because people know you for more than just certain skills.
They know you for traits and characteristics which can be used and applied in various industries so if you either want to pivot or change direction or maybe you’re forced to because fo different market conditions or changes- having a strong personal brand makes it easier for you to make the move.
Whilst AI obviously enhanced the need to make your personal brand more of a focus and priority, it can obviously also help you on this journey. What it doesn’t replace though is the groundwork, the unsexy part as I always call it and that is to define what you want to stand for, who do you want to get in front of and be the Go-To for because being a Trusted Authority isn’t about being famous or an insta-influencer. It;s about being known by a particular audience for a particular area of expertise that is supported by your personality.
Once you know that, once you have the clear understanding, AI can fast-track the doing, from asking better questions on refining your ‘about me’ or drafting it for you to edit (depending on how far you are and where your sweet spot s. AI is excellent for first drafts - in any shape or form but relying 100% on its outcome is very risky as it isn’t there yet to make it completely sound like you.
But AI is also amazing for getting insights on what you audience (which you defined in the early stages of building your brand strategy) what they would be interested in to then creating content for the audience to analyse social media posts and see why they resonated or why they fell flat.
So we can use AI for automating and outsourcing some time consuming tasks but also to personalise it once we have a good understanding of what we actually want to achieve.
And this is also a reminder that the skills that are relevant to thrive in this AI world are shifting and have for a while- it’s less about having all the answers (as this is what we can ChatGPT or AI outsource these days) but it’s about asking more profound and specific questions that get us the better results.
I’ve said it many times before and will say it again as it’s such an important reminder: Your biggest asset 5 years ago can quickly become your biggest baggage if you don’t respond to changed market conditions, requirements and behaviours. Resting on your lorals from a few years ago won’t open you new doors and get you ahead. Embracing change for what it is - as a catalyst for creating your next chapter - this is where you can make waves.
AI should augment, not replace us, which is again why clarifying what you stand for, what you want to be remembered for, the feeling you want to give people when they have any interactions (online or offline) with you, and how your experience, background, and expertise can add value to them in a way that responds to those changed conditions becomes paramount. In this digital-first world, where algorithms and AI systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the ability to convey your unique human qualities and expertise effectively is a strategic advantage. Your personal brand becomes the bridge that connects your human essence with the AI-augmented landscape, making you not just a player in the game but a thriving, influential force.
My advice is to embrace AI as a valuable tool. Invest in AI education to understand its capabilities fully. Stay curious and open to innovation. And also remember that personal branding is an ongoing journey. You don’t do it once and ‘arrive’ magically somewhere. It’s a decision to continuously learn and grow, change if you want or need to and share your learnings along the way.
When you adapt and evolve alongside AI and other emerging technologies you ensure that your brand remains relevant and impactful.
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Want to become the Trusted Authority in your field by building and monetising your expertise?
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1.) Get your copy of my my book - Trusted Authority - From Technical Expert To Trusted Authority
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4.) Connect with Petra Zink on LinkedIn
Check out all show notes and further resources over at https://www.impaccct.com