EPISODE 135
Personal Branding Tips You Need to Know in 2024
with William Arruda
The online business world has seen some major shifts in the past few years, but one thing hasn’t changed: the power of a strong personal brand.
Today’s guest on the podcast is Personal Branding Pioneer William Arruda. William is a branding consultant, speaker, and one of the world’s leading authorities on the topic of personal branding.
He is the bestselling author of Digital YOU, Career Distinction, and Ditch. Dare. Do!, as well as a senior contributor to Forbes, where his column has received over 20 million views. His company Reach Personal Branding has 1,000+ certified coaches in 49 countries and their products are used by nearly two million people worldwide.
The Evolution of Personal Branding
When William founded his company in 2001, most companies were hesitant to invest in personal branding. Digital marketing wasn’t a consideration. Instead, William helped his clients book speaking gigs and tell better stories.
Around 2010, when LinkedIn started to take off, people started thinking more critically about how they showed up online. At the same time, organizations began to invest more in their employees. The rise of Diversity and Inclusion invited everyone to bring their authentic selves to work.
The last major shift was the increase of purpose-driven entrepreneurs–those who start their businesses not just to make a profit, but because they want to create a positive impact in the world.
Now in the age of AI and influencer marketing, new trends are beginning to emerge.
Tips for Personal Branding in 2024 and Beyond
Technology has come a long way since William started his company in 2001, but personal branding is more important than ever. When AI can create content in minutes, it’s the human side of your brand that makes your business stand out. Consumers want brands that are real and believable.
There’s a common misconception that to grow your business online, you need to gain more followers or post more often–but that’s not what people connect with. At the end of the day, it’s more important that you tell stories and have a message that resonates with your audience.
William predicts that the most successful businesses will be those that marry the personal brand of their founder(s) with the company brand.
Enjoy this episode with founder William Arruda…
Quotes
“In 1997, I went to my assistant’s desk and Fast Company magazine was on it. It was The Brand Called You Manifesto by Tom Peters, that was the cover story. I read the article, I put it down, and I said I’m going to start the first-ever personal branding company.”
“I had no intention of being an entrepreneur.”
“I was talking to anyone I could, literally, about personal branding. I took any speaking opportunity I could get–most of them were free. I would literally talk to anyone about the topic and that was my thing. Somebody needed to get personal branding to be known and it seemed like it was going to have to be me.”
“My connections have been the most valuable. Connecting on a real deep, human level–and I could probably be even more successful than I am if I did more networking.”
“I devoted a year and a half to answering one question: what does it take to captivate online?”
“My fear is that it [AI] will give people permission to be someone they’re not because technology can create that for them.”
“I think that’s the biggest misconception now is that it’s all about size and volume and not about value and quality and a focused audience–the smaller you make your target audience, the larger your brand will be.”
“People believe people, they don’t believe companies.”
“Personal branding is more important than ever as there are more and more people moving from the corporate world.”
Links mentioned in this episode:
Podcast Resources
Visit William’s website: http://www.williamarruda.com
Connect with William on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamarruda/
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