Building a personal brand is a strategic process that requires constant commitment, a clear vision of your goals and resilience, especially in the tech sector that is very crowded.
It’s not enough to curate your own Linkedin page or tweet (xare?) about the latest trends: the essential thing is to establish and spread an authentic, recognizable and distinct professional identity.
Define your niche
The world of technology is vast, and is becoming increasingly so: this is why it is essential to clearly define your areas of expertise. You don’t have to be too generalist or overly precise, but rather focus on a specific but broad enough flexible sector where you know you excel, for example artificial intelligence, cybersecurity or data analysis.
Gary Vaynerchuck, for example, has managed to build a powerful personal brand in the field of digital marketing. Initially he focused only on oenology, but slowly shifted his attention to the broader field of digital platforms, becoming an authority in the sector. His well-defined niche has grown into a personal empire.
Build a solid portfolio
The portfolio is the starting point for any personal brand, because it demonstrates your skills and shows the projects you have worked on and in which you have been successful. Include here contributions to open-source projects, technical articles, or innovative solutions you have developed. Without a solid portfolio, you will certainly face a certain lack of credibility and trust and a difficulty in differentiating yourself, accessing opportunities and building a reputation. Chris Coyier, for example, founder of CSS-tricks, uses his website where he shares web design skills as a portfolio, blog, and community resource.
Share your knowledge
Blogging and public speaking are powerful tools for building your brand. These two communication channels offer unique opportunities to express expertise, share knowledge and build a solid reputation within your industry. Writing articles, tutorials or insights on topics you are an expert in allows you not only to demonstrate expertise, but also to offer real value to readers.
Public speaking adds a personal dimension that gives the opportunity to connect with the public, establishing a more direct and authentic contact, and offers the possibility of presenting oneself at industry events as a thought leader.
Scott Hanselman, a Microsoft engineer, for example, manages a technical blog and a podcast and, thanks to these tools, he is now an authoritative voice in the tech community.
Create an authoritative presence and an effective social media strategy
Linkedin is a real tool for building and transmitting your personal brand, and not just a networking tool. You should always maintain and update your profile, balancing the amount of professional and personal posts you publish, and actively participate in discussions in your industry. Therefore, don’t use Linkedin just to connect with other professionals: instead use it to share case studies, projects and results obtained, to stand out from the crowd and show your real impact in the field.
It is important, therefore, to build an effective strategy for LinkedIn and other social media, always keeping in mind which ones are better for your sector. Dev.to for example is a social platform for developers, where they can participate in discussions, share contributions and ultimately become thought leaders.
Contribute to the Open Source community
Contributing to open-source projects is an effective way to not only build your personal brand in the tech industry, but also improve your technical skills and build a reputation in the tech community. Working on these projects allows you to face real challenges and collaborate with developers around the world, demonstrating your skills in a public context. Furthermore, open-source can give you access to job opportunities and collaborations, as many companies look for talent within these communities, since they recognize the value of pro-active contributions.
Participate in community life
The community doesn’t just happen online: this is why it is important, to build your personal brand in the tech sector, that you participate in conferences, events and trade fairs in the sector in order to establish connections and grow your authority. By doing so you will be able to expose yourself to new ideas and trends and interact directly with other people, making yourself and your work known. There are many events in the tech sector in Europe: one of the most important is certainly the Web summit in Lisbon, where industry leaders, startups, companies and investors meet to exchange ideas and establish connections.
Constant commitment
A personal brand in the tech sector requires an expensive construction process, but it is not enough. In fact, you will have to work consistently and without time limits to maintain its success. It is not a process that can happen overnight, but it will bring you enormous satisfaction, professional opportunities and the possibility of recognization as an expert in the sector you choose.