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If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound. And that is a metaphor for the importance of branding.
We've all heard this. if a tree falls in the woods does it make a sound . . . Well, the answer, of course is yes. The tree falls in the woods and no one hears it. does it make a sound? My apologies there? And the answer, of course, is yes. But the follow up to that is, who cares? Seriously, who cares if it made a sound and that's the truth around you and your career.
People don't know about you and your career. You're always trying to get noticed. No one reaches out to you except all the dregs who are reaching out to you on LinkedIn, trying to persuade you to take their crappy job.
Instead, you want to develop a brand for yourself where you are known in the market area that you want attention in. Let me clarify that in a second, for what it is that you do and who you are. Let me elaborate.
In the market that you want to be known it, it may be around the work that you do, the skill that you have, it may be around the industry, it may be around the locale that you're in, all three. Those tend to be the primary areas that people want to be known. Some people aspire to be globally known. That's a different market. But the question comes down to how do you become known for who it is that you are and what it is that you're capable of doing for someone. Now, in affect what I've created all these YouTube videos, as a coach, as someone who coaches people in their career, I'm working on my branding to fulfill what it is I'm trying to be known for--as someone who's an expert around job search.
Then, I have other material that's designed to help people understand that can help them in their lives and help them in their careers. So from your vantage point, you have to figure out what it is you have expertise in, how it is you can be known as the expert, and then promote the heck out of yourself on LinkedIn, through writing, through videos, a whole host of different means beyond simply waiting to be tapped on the shoulder because someone found your profile.
Play bigger. There's an opportunity to write on LinkedIn using their blogging platform. You can use the material on your own blog. You can create video podcasts, a lot of different ways that you can become known. But waiting as the quiet, competent person to be tapped on the shoulder. doesn't really work at that well, does it?