[Q&A] How to Use Webinars to Grow Your Personal Brand

“What is your action step?” – that’s the question Jamie Turner asked and highlighted in our most recent webinar session. Jamie is CEO of SIXTY and founder of top-notch business blog 60SecondMarketer.com. In a ClickMeeting webinar, Jamie explained how personal branding can help you stand out in a world of sameness and how webinars help serve that purpose. The webinar Q&A was buzzing, so we decided to collect the most important questions and post the answers here. Enjoy!

How long do I have to work to make my personal brand stand out?

It all depends. If you come up with the world’s most amazing solution and market it, you can become famous within a year. However, it often takes a lot of effort to build a personal brand, and you should expect to grow it over time. It’s a long process, so remember to continually work on it. And it’s not a thing that, once built, you can forget.

How can I create an authentic personal brand?

It may sound ridiculous, but making your personal brand flawless is an enemy of authentic personal branding. All the flubs that your audience sees while you’re speaking, make it easier for you to prove your authenticity. Whereas for them, it’s easier to identify with you and trust your brand. That’s why live performances are great – they prove authenticity. Also keep in mind that no live webinar will ever fully repeat itself.

Is there such a thing as a too-authentic personal brand?

Yes, you can be too authentic. Remember that, at the end of the day, you still have to be considered an expert. If you are too authentic, people may think of you as an amateur. And remember that oversharing is terrible and not professional. Sharing too much information that usually stays confidential can make your audience think that you aren’t able to run your business successfully. So remember about the balance. Try to humanize your brand with all the flubs and mistakes. But at the same time, prepare well for recording the video, webinar or an interview.

How can I come up with a way of communicating that is best for my audience?

You have to test your way through your audience. There is no single answer to everything. Each individual, circumstance and audience is different. Try out various communication channels. Live webinars are great for building your personal brand, showing authenticity and connecting with the audience. But remember that you can also record an on-demand webinar which you can send to your audience when they subscribe, for example.

If an attendee gets off the rails during my webinar, how can I suppress his negativity?

Start with, “Thank you for your input on that topic,” even if it is a hate speech. Try to embrace the fact that he’s entitled to his own opinion. Don’t let the person provoke you. And quoting Michelle Obama: “When they go low, we go high.” That’s good advice for all of us — Take the high road, in the end, it will all work out.

We hope these answers, in addition to the webinar, will help you build your personal brand. If there’s something you’d like to know, please leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Soon, you’ll have another chance to participate in an expert webinar, so if you missed it this time – heads-up! More info coming soon – stay tuned!