I’ve been blogging and building a personal brand for a decade, and if you’ve been following my blogs, I rarely ask for anything in return. In fact, I’ve discovered I don’t need to sell anything. I get phone calls and emails within minutes of publishing blogs from professionals wanting to work with me. These leaders value what I share and how I’ve carried myself in the digital realm for a long time, and that is the most powerful sales tool we all have today.
Therefore, when it comes to the ROI of blogging and building a strong personal brand – I can assure you, it works, it works, it works.
Andrea is the best Personal Branding and Content Marketing mentor I’ve had the fortune to work with. Wherever she goes, she empowers.
Nishan Weerasinghe, CMO, IBM Systems for Cloud
One thing I do get asked a lot is to run public personal branding workshops. I can’t do this very often, because my calendar is choc-o-bloc full of corporate commitments and travel this year – I know, I’m very lucky and grateful. However, I do want to share this message more widely (because I really believe in it) with those who want to understand and embrace this opportunity for themselves and their business.
I am passionate about my work because I know it completely changes the game when you get it right. I always start my workshops finding out who the cynics are in the room and there are always a few. They tell me they feel this way because they don’t see examples within their communities of people building brands with integrity, a mind-set of service and authenticity. Instead, people are doing too much self-promotion. It is turning them off.
Andrea understands content and what to do with it better than anyone and her strategic, common sense and realistic approach on all things ‘social’ is a breath of fresh air. Above all else, she’s a communications professional who knows how to have an impact and be effective over the long term. Andrea is a very positive and generous person with a genuine passion for what she does. She’s terrific.
David Cook, Global Communications Director at GE
I completely understand this point of view and agree with it, which is why I have been building my training program over a number of years to address those very concerns. Because it’s not about that at all. Personal branding, in the digital realm, is an act of service. It’s about being humble. It’s about giving all you have to your audience to make their lives better. It’s about being a real contributor in this digital world.
How do you become a Social Leader in Singapore?
My goal is to help attendees understand how to do it right and with integrity. That’s the heart of it.
That’s what this course focuses on – finding the meaning each of us has behind building a powerhouse personal brand. Because it must have meaning. Without it, social just feels like a megaphone for people’s opinions (and dietary preferences), and it is so much more than that. So much more.
At this workshop, we’ll start with identifying our focus (what we want to be known for), and then we’ll go step-by-step through how to get set up, where to focus, how to get started, and then, how to build a powerhouse personal brand.
Andrea ran a Social Media training – it was both very insightful on the importance of Personal Branding and very helpful in navigating through the multiple platforms. Her delivery was fun and authentic using her own life and work experiences in social media and personal branding. Highly recommend Andrea for any advice on Social Media or Personal Branding.
Judith Jamieson – Regional People and Culture Director South Asia Pacific at World Vision
I love delivering this course. I have watched people’s lives completely transform. That is such an honour for me and can you imagine the impact it has on my life, knowing that little old me is capable of doing that for people? It really is incredible and humbling.
This course is not fluffy stuff. It aims to get to the heart of who you are and the magic you have within you to offer the world. I know magic sounds fluffy, but 1. I love fantasy books and 2. we all do have magic within us. We’ve got to embrace our magic.
My goal is to help you draw yours out and then most importantly, find the self-confidence to embrace your voice on social media. Self-confidence and belief is definitely the biggest inhibitor to getting started.
I met Andrea 12 months ago when we were seeking a professional trainer to help RBS employees update their LinkedIn profiles to improve job search opportunities. I cannot say enough about the impact Andrea has had on the 200+ employees that have attended her sessions. More than updating LinkedIn, Andrea is getting people to tap into what they stand for and she encourages them to go out into the world as an ambassador for themselves first, and their business second. I have watched people’s lives completely change from this training, as they come out inspired, impassioned and ready to take ownership of their future through the amazing tools we have available to us today on social media.
Andrea lives and breathes this stuff, but more than anything, she passes her passion on to her audience and considering the vast cultural mix of our employees, it’s saying something that she can touch so many with her message. I enjoy working with Andrea immensely, and if you are seeking to train your employees to be ambassadors for your brand, or are going through changes and want to help your employees find new work, I could not recommend a professional more. Andrea is great to work with and I promise you something else – you’re going to have a lot of fun working with Andrea too!
Kylie Barry, APAC Recruitment Manager: Finance, Technology, Operations, Audit, Risk, Legal & Marcomms, HR – Royal Bank of Scotland
If this is something you really want to do, come. If you are struggling financially, please reach out to me privately. I don’t want money to be an inhibitor, as I’ve been in that boat and know how hard it is to break out. Additionally, if it’s something you want to do for your business but you’re unsure, come and attend to see if it’s a match.
As you can see in the testimonials, big companies value this message, but equally, I know it’s still a hard sell to most businesses. Many companies haven’t realized it should be a priority – yet. They will.
So, I’ve learnt that the best way to understand it’s impact, is to experience it. When I first started out, I offered companies the first course for free. I did that because I knew that when they experienced it, they could understand the opportunity for their business. Getting employees engaged, with integrity at the core, is a core tool of disruption.
And for entrepreneurs, well I am one. This is how I’ve built my business and I want to share that journey with you, so you can do it too.
IBM engaged Andrea to train senior executives, sales and technical personnel on personal branding and social leadership. And boy, did she deliver! She has a powerful gift of bringing out the human side even in the most unflappable of people. She connects with them in deep and meaningful ways, and they treat her as a personal friend and confidante. I am proud to say that I am one of the lucky few!
She has cutting edge knowledge in her field and so far, not one person she has trained has not found value in what she has to offer. She has the rare ability to make people delve deep into themselves and realise their own personal magic.
In today’s era of apathy, disruption, and the unpredictable, Andrea can point your organisation in the right direction of being human, empathetic, and using your gifts to uplift the world.
Sunny Panjabi, Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing Manager, IBM Innovation Services, Asia Pacific
Professionals building powerhouse personal brands will become a core recruitment requirement soon for everyone, but more than that, it will change how we do business and make it more open and transparent. The passion behind what I do is about moving businesses into this future faster. It’s time for a new world of business, and I know that what I share is the core of that change.
I promise there’s something for everyone and I hope you’ll join me this week in Singapore. If you’re in another country and want to do it, let me know? I’m happy to run this anywhere, as long as someone is willing to get it together. That’s why I’ve partnered with the incredible team at The Wedge Asia for this – Stephanie Dickson and Trish Mascarenhas. What amazing women. I can’t do what they do.
We’re almost sold out, but come if you can. Time to be a super hero. I look forward to meeting you if this got you over the line.
Cheers
Andrea
Superhero image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Join me
The How to build a rock star personal brand workshop is happening in Singapore, 30th August. Check it out. Even if your company is not ready to unleash you, I can help you leap ahead of the curve.
It’s your right and it’s time.
Thank you so much for reading my blog. I really appreciate it. If you like it, I’d love a comment, or perhaps you can share this with someone you think might be interested? Of course, please feel free to share with your communities, because that’s what this is all about today – sharing and giving to each other.
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