“If there was ever a group of people who benefited most from social media it was shy people.” Jeremy Waite, Head of Digital Strategy @ExactTarget, Salesforce. If you’re shy and you have a product (or services) you want people to buy, it is likely that -- just as everyone else -- you seek a wider audience. However, you don’t want to compromise yourself in the process. You see others “pimping” themselves and find them foreign, if not unappealing. You want your products and services to sell better without having to degrade yourself with selfless promotion and being obnoxiously loud. You want to be successful without feeling embarrassed about how you get there. Shy versus introvert Shy and introverted people are too often dumped into the same box. Research shows there is a dramatic difference between the two. Shyness is a learned behavior of discomfort and anxieties. Introversion is a trait whereby people recharge and gain energy through “alone time.” Introversion is not a barrier to success or to building a strong personal brand. According to USA Today, roughly four in 10 top executives test as introverts. As Susan Cain pointed out in a Psychology Today blog, Bill Gates is introverted but not shy. He is quiet and bookish, but is not bothered by what other people think of him. Dorie Clark, a marketing strategy consultant who is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Forbes, says, “As an introvert, I've learned to play to my strengths in building my personal brand." Shyness, on the other hand, is a barrier to being successful. Shyness stops people from taking action because they are essentially scared of what others will think. Shy people can tend to believe their material is not worthy of promotion. Assuming there is sufficient value in what you offer, there are techniques to overcome shyness and build your personal brand simultaneously. Full article on Social Media Today: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/personal-branding-shy-people

1. Larry Page & Sergey Brin!
Founders, Google
Mark Zuckerberg!
Founders, Facebook
Jack Dorsey!
Founders, Twitter
Personal Branding for Shy People

2. “If there was ever a group
of people who benefited
most from social media it
was shy people.”
!
Jeremy Waite, Head of Digital Strategy
@ExactTarget, Salesforce.

3. 4 in 10 top executives test as introverts
USA Today

4. SHYNESS is a learned behavior of discomfort and anxieties.
INTROVERSION is a trait whereby people recharge and gain energy through “alone time.”

5. Shyness is a barrier to being successful. There are techniques to overcome it.

6. You may be an
introvert, but
you still strive
for success,
have great
ideas and run
your own
business.

7. If you’ve got products or services to sell…

8. … you want to attract more customers.

9. You see
others
“pimping”
themselves
and find it
unappealing.

10. You don’t want to be obnoxiously loud and
degrade yourself with selfless promotion

11. “You are what you share”
Charles Leadbeater, former advisor to Tony Blair

12. *We are NOT using the word “Brand” under the definition
”a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name"
!
!
We are using “Brand” defined as
"a particular identity or image”

13. When you are your brand, you attract like-minded people who want to hire you or
buy from you because your brand is an honest expression of who you are.

14. Now 8 steps
to build your
brand despite
shyness

15. 1. Define what
you are shy
about:
!
Your voice?
Your appearance?
Eye contact?
Colleagues?
Strangers?
The unknown?
Your failures?
Your successes?
Your aspirations?
Your values?
Other?

16. 2. Who are you NOT shy around?

17. 3. What do you want to achieve
through a stronger personal brand?
!
• Get hired?
• Expand your network?
• Get recognized for an area of expertise?
• Sell x more products / services?
• Increase the price of your products / services by x?
• Reduce your advertising costs?

18. 4. Your brand is who people think you are
!
• Who do you want to know about your brand?
• What do you want people to know you for?
• What do you want customers / employees / colleagues
/ friends to say when they talk about you?

19. 5. Understand what
works best for YOU
!
• What do you naturally do online?
• What is your default behavior?
◦ Creator?
◦ Conversationalist?
◦ Critic?
◦ Collector?
• What is your preferred mode of
communication?
◦ Writing?
◦ Speaking?
◦ Visual?
◦ Performance?
◦ Music?
◦ Data?

20. 6. Have fun creating
content, curating
and sharing

21. 7. If Social Media was
your magic wand,
what would you want it
to do for you?

22. 8. Get help: you’re
not alone!
!
• Read books about social media
• Hire a coach or a consultant
• Join networks and communities
• Get an intern

23. Noam Kostucki
Coach @noamkos
Author of You are Your Brand
www.about.me/noamkos
Minter Dial
Consultant @mdial
Founder of The Myndset
www.myndset.com
9. Ask us questions. Tell us what you want your brand to do for you.