Cultivating a 'village of support' for your personal brand

Trevor Young | PR Warrior

CULTIVATING A VILLAGE OF SUPPORT FOR YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

www.trevoryoung.me | @trevoryoung

It’s one thing to have a network of professional contacts to make introductions on your behalf or invite you to corporate events …


… it’s another matter entirely to have a vibrant and engaged ‘village of support’

underpinning YOU.


And not just you, the person, but BRAND

YOU and all that comes with it – your

reputation and standing within the

professional community.


Your village of support is way deeper than the simple exchange of business cards (do people still do that anymore?)


It represents the groundswell of people who know, like, respect and trust you … and you, them!

These are people with whom you have a DEEPER CONNECTION because …



… you have contributed value to their lives – relentlessly, over time – without the

expectation of getting anything in return!

HOW HAVE YOU BEEN

ABLE TO DO THAT?



First and foremost, you have a GENEROUS HEART.


You have:


SHOWN UP and been 100%

genuine about everything you’ve

done (online as well as in real life).


… and both would be better off for the experience of having known each other.

CONNECTED individuals with one another if you felt there was common ground …


ATTENDED other people’s events, tweeted proceedings or maybe even given up your time to speak.


CONTRIBUTED to online conversations (offline, too).

Answered questions on

Quora

Participated in hashtag

Twitter chats

Provided comments

in LinkedIn Group

discussions

Commented on other people’s

blogs

TIRELESSLY CREATED rich online content that has

struck a chord with people (so much so they’ve shared your stories and ideas with

their friends).



INSTIGATED coffee catch-ups with people whom you’ve developed an online rapport.


INVOLVED yourself with community-based

committees and working groups, and

freely shared your experience and advice.

SHONE the spotlight on other people’s work, stories and ideas via social media.



COLLABORATED on cool projects that have created buzz in the community and attracted like-minds.


AGAIN, YOU’VE DONE ALL THIS WITHOUT THE EXPECTATION OF GETTING ANYTHING IN RETURN.


Anyone can develop, build and cultivate a vibrant and rich village of support.


It’s not a case of being born into the ‘right’ family or going to the ‘right’ university.

The combination of social networking technologies and online publishing platforms means that anyone can develop and nurture a meaningful village of support based on trust and mutual respect with scale, in real-time, and virtually for free (personal effort notwithstanding).



But there is a special ‘secret sauce’!


YOU NEED TO GIVE IN ORDER TO GET BACK!


Leverage the power of social media to give relentlessly, without the expectation of getting anything in return. That will happen, it always

does. It’s known as the Law of Reciprocity, and it’s what fuels

your village of support.


START TODAY! Build your village with heart and purpose. It will serve you well over your professional journey.

TREVOR YOUNG

* Blogs at PR Warrior * Tweets at @trevoryoung * Podcasts at Reputation Revolution * Speaks on a stage near you J

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Cultivating a 'village of support' for your personal brand