I recently attended and presented at the ASID South Central Design Summit in New Orleans on Personal Branding: You are Your Logo. As I reflect on the conference, there are several things that come to mind: the process of how I came to be one of the keynotes at the conference and what I learned from presenting.
How I became the keynote is a cool story! It’s truly marketing at its finest. I met Shawn Thompson in fall 2022 at the AIA Arkansas Conference. She and I chatted for a few minutes but didn’t have a lengthy conversation. Then in December 2022, we both attended a holiday party and were sporting our bright PINK Christmas sweaters. (I knew we would be friends for life at this point!) We chatted more at this event and started building a relationship.
Fast forward to February 2023. Shawn texted me and asked if I would be interested in speaking at an upcoming conference for ASID. We talked on the phone, and she proceeded to tell me that she really didn’t even know what I did and just started looking for speakers on LinkedIn. My name popped up in her search, and she read my LinkedIn bio, which states I do present at conferences and associations. She immediately texted me to see if I would be interested in being one of their keynotes at their upcoming conference.
I tell you all this to say that having a thorough bio on LinkedIn describing what you and your firm do WILL get you projects and work. I’m not the type of person who is going to meet you and immediately tell you every single thing I do. (People HATE that.) People are searching and conducting research on LinkedIn. It’s important to have a complete and detailed profile of what you do in your business. It’s a great business tool that is underutilized in our industry.
Now for the other piece of the conference that sticks with me: the attendees. My keynote presentation focused on personal branding. Throughout the conference I interacted with many of the attendees, who were a mix of business professionals and students, and discovered each one of them had their own personal brand. We all do! They presented themselves well! I was excited to see attendees embrace their authentic selves. Everyone appeared to be very comfortable and willing to share, which is really what a conference is all about. More importantly though, personal branding is all about being genuine, honest, and helpful. There were two other speakers who had a strong personal brand and were comfortable in their own skin. It’s refreshing to see a room full of individuals who are embracing their own genuine selves.
Personal branding is important for the growth of one’s career. It takes years to develop and is something one must be intentional about. It’s not something we really think about, as I hadn’t really thought about it until it was brought to my attention several years ago. That’s what sparked my interest to take a deeper dive and learn more about it. Now I give presentations on personal branding and how professionals and students can build their personal brands.
If you are interested in learning more about LinkedIn, sign up for our LinkedIn Challenge or contact us today to set up a LinkedIn Workshop for your company or organization. We would also LOVE to come present on personal branding at your conference or firm.
