Faculty Development Session: Building Your Professional Brand

The shift from remote to in-person conferences and events offers faculty an additional impetus for establishing a unique and memorable professional brand. On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement hosted an online session entitled, "Building Your Professional Brand," with executive coach Patricia Hayling Price. Faculty participants learned strategies for developing and leveraging their existing online presence to position themselves as thought leaders in an offline context.

For those interested in improving their social media presence, please watch the recordings of our sessions on Twitter and Linkedin.

Branding - Why make the effort? Zoom screen with photo of Patricia Hayling Price screen shot

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

    For serious academic professionals, the concept of branding can feel forced or fake, like product marketing. Your brand is the total experience of having a relationship with you. Everyone has a reputation, but the difference is that some allow others to define their brand, and some decide to tell their own story.

    Your reputation has to be maintained; it is a living, dynamic thing. This takes time, focus, discipline, and strategy. Branding is elevating your credibility, differentiating yourself, building a larger sphere of influence, and creating more impact.

    FInd your uniqueness, build your reputation, package yourself, and message this to convey your value.

    Why is branding worth the effort?

    1. You can improve your influencing power
    2. It shapes the story you wish to tell
    3. You can garner greater research funding
    4. It can lead to greater opportunity
    5. It can increase net worth
    6. It can increase prestige
    7. It can differentiate value
    8. You can leap over competition

    Role vs. Reputation
    Your role consists of the activities that you participate in. Your brand is your reputation and your capabilities.

    Self Awareness - Human Being vs. Human Doer
    Your human “being” is made up of your values, your disposition/temperament, your emotional IQ, your personality, leadership, authenticity, empathy, communication, reputation, and trust.

    Your human “doer” is made up of your title, awards, point of view, affiliations, expertise, social media, publications, speaking engagements, news feeds, and your presence in the sector.

    How can I increase my ROI (return on investment) for attending in-person conferences?

    • Find out who is attending; who is presenting
    • Who do you want to meet and why
    • Find a logical connection point
    • Determine three action items that you want to complete during the course of that meeting
    • Wear same color each day so people can easily find you
    • Change your seat each day to meet different people
    • Go to the bar to socialize even if you’re tired. Order a soda if you don’t drink
    • Follow up with your connections within 48 hours  

    How can I build my brand in academia and in the public domain?

    • Conferences on target of work
    • Conferences for intersectional synergy 
    • Academic - speak at other institutions
    • Moderate or appear on panels - create your own! Keywords are spot on
    • Public domain - take esoteric subjects and simplify them for nonacademics 
      • Medium.com
      • Guest essays
    • Hot topic - share your view through the lens of your area of expertise
    • Social media is important! LinkedIn and Twitter are two key platforms.

     

     

    Headshot of Patricia Hayling Price

    About the Presenter
    Patricia Hayling Price is President of Live Work Strategize LLC, an executive coaching and leadership development consulting practice supporting individuals and organizations wishing to reach higher levels of effectiveness and reward.