Reputation Revolution - Diy Personal Branding For Aspiring Thought Leaders

Michelle Gallaher is the Creative Director of The Social Science, a social media advisory firm that specialises in the highly-regulated field of biotechnology and medical science. In this episode of The Reputation Revolution, Michelle chats to Trevor Young about how she made the switch from life sciences to social media (ultimately building a business that sits at the intersection of both); she discusses the importance of the elements of niche, language and network, and lets us in on how she approaches the content curation process.

Michelle McQuaid is a best-selling author, workplace wellbeing teacher and playful change activator. In this chat with Trevor Young, Michelle discusses her journey from a senior corporate marketing role to what she's doing now - helping people discover their strengths, move beyond their fears, and finally discover what it truly takes to flourish with confidence. Michelle discusses the importance of elevating your personal brand credentials, and why she decided to grow her business more slowly and deliberately because it was more authentic (and true to herself) to do so. Other topics include tapping into the power of earned media (the story behind how Michelle got to become a contributor to Huffington Post is a ripper!), rapid prototyping, and the importance of creating pieces of IP and then 'sweating that asset'.

Darren Rowse has been blogging for over 10 years; his two blogs - Digital Photography School and Problogger - collectively attract some five million unique readers a month, so you could say Darren knows a thing or two about this blogging caper. Oh, and he also publishes books, produces a podcast, runs conferences and events and is a speaker and author.  In this chat with Trevor Young, Darren discusses the power of blogging with heart and purpose, and how to use a blog effectively to tell the story of your business and get more people to know, like and trust you as an individual and a brand.

Mark Schaefer is a globally-recognised author, speaker, educator, podcaster and business consultant who blogs at {grow} – one of the top marketing blogs of the world. He is also the author of five best-selling books, including Social Media Explained, The Tao of Twitter and Return on Influence.  Mark's clients include Dell, Adidas, and the US Air Force. He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious events all over the world including SXSW, Marketing Summit Tokyo, and the Institute for International and European Affairs. In a world where people are quick to label themselves experts and gurus, Mark is a bona fide thought leader, always willing to provide well-considered perspectives as well as lead debate on trends and issues associated with social media and marketing in today's ever-evolving digital world. In this chat with Trevor Young, Mark details his own personal brand journey from classically-trainered B2B marketer to one of the world's most respected voices on social media; he also discusses the importance

The PR Warrior Trevor Young kicks off episode 60 by recapping the lessons learned from the first six months of the Reputation Revolution podcast. That out of the way, Trevor then riffs on what he calls the social media 'triple threat' - the three online platforms aspiring thought leaders should focus on to build their professional personal brand.

Lucy Whittington is a UK-based author and 'Manager of Business Celebrities'; she helps people 'find their thing' and get famous for it. In this interview with Trevor Young, Lucy skewers the personal branding concepts of 'unique selling propositions' and 'finding your niche', preferring that people instead focus on finding their 'thing' - what they're brilliant at - that innate talent that sets them apart from everyone else. And for many people, this is not as easy as it sounds! Lucy also walks us through her five-stage process of becoming a business celebrity: Find your thing, have a 'fame name', interesting stories sell, nothing is impossible and get in your spotlight.  

Lisa Petrilli is passionate about visionary leadership and true empowerment; she is an experienced corporate executive having run a $750 million business within a Fortune 1000 company, and named a Top 20 CMO by Forbes for social influence. In this interview with Trevor Young, Lisa discusses how she weaves several themes into her personal branding narrative - visionary leadership, self-empowerment and introvertism - and how doing that differentiates her from other experts and thought leaders operating in a similar professional space. Lisa also chats about the power of using Twitter strategically (and authentically); the professional benefits associated with of hosting a regular hashtagged Twitter chat (Lisa was a co-founder of the original #LeadershipChat on Twitter); and the intellectual clarity that comes with regular blogging.

Business ghostwriter Derek Lewis has worked with thought leaders from five continents, spanning leadership, technology, and economics. His clients work with the International Monetary Fund, SAP, DaimlerChrysler, Walmart, Microsoft, Disney, and the Red Cross. Derek is also the author of 'The Business Book Bible', the authoritative source on how to write business books. In this interview with Trevor Young, Derek explains how he helps turn business experts into authors, and outlines his 5-step process for effectively producing a successful business thought leadership book. "It's a wonderful time to be an author," Derek says.

Kate McCombs is a sex and relationships educator, blogger, speaker and workshop facilitator whose mission is to help people lead happier, sexier and more connected lives. Kate is the founder of Sex Geekdom, a community for folks like her who delight in having meaningful conversations about sexuality. There are Sex Geekdom hubs hosting meet ups in cities all over the world. In this interview with Trevor Young, Kate discusses the personal branding side-benefits that come with building a grassroots community, and the role blogging and social media play in growing profile, influence and authority.

David M. Hobson is a trainer and speaker on how to use LinkedIn for business development, joint ventures and building trust in your personal brand. In this rapid-fire interview with Trevor Young, David says a big mistake many professionals make is that they undervalue the power of the LinkedIn platform; discusses the need to grow your network in order to maximise the 'amplkification effect', and shares active, passive ands automated strategies for getting the most out of LinkedIn. Other topics covered include tactics for increasing engagement on LinkedIn, and whether or not you should pay money to become a premium member of the network.

Trevor Young goes solo in this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, riffing on a topic dear to his heart, and that is the importance of generosity in building one's personal brand. Trevor believes building one's professional authority in a particular industry or niche area requires a generous heart - give freely your knowledge and expertise through blogging, podcasting, social media and public speaking; share your ideas and stories with the broader world; shine the spotlight on others in your industry, including competitors - all without the expectation of getting anything in return.  

Victoria Rose is a leadership speaker and trainer who specialises in self-empowerment and resilience. Seven years ago at the age of 58, Victoria started her own business and today she continues to build her personal brand through blogging, social media, speaking and book publishing. In this interview with Trevor Young, Victoria discusses the power of legacy, on moving from 'now to wow' (there are five steps), staking out your niche, creating content from one's experiences, and the importance of being clear on what you value in life.

Two years ago Kath Walters was neck-deep in her career as a highly-regarded business journalist; today, she has taken her journalistic skills and transitioned into a new venture focusing on content marketing strategy and training. In this interview with Trevor Young, Kath chats about how she made the leap from journalism to content marketing, the importance of undertaking pratical training and the power of capturing your own IP.  Kath also provides tips on how to create what she calls 'sticky content', and how to create impactful and relevant headlines that are "simple, direct and urgent".   

Bec Derrington is the founder of SourceBottle.com, a free and easy-to-use platforms that connects bloggers and journalists with knowledgeable sources - specialists, subject matter experts and thought leaders. Given she has literally helped thousands of storytellers (from the media) connect with informational experts, the people who tell the stories, Bec is well placed to see what works and what doesn't when it comes to matching journalists and broadcast producers with informational experts. In this interview with Trevor Young, Bec discusses the power of earning third-party endorsement from the media, the advantage of building a digital footprint and why it's important for subject matter experts to have an opinion which they stick by.

What does it take to become known as the thought leader in a particular niche or business category, globally, and do it in under eight years? How can you build a global platform for your personal brand and leverage that into a flourishing business that employs 28 staff and continues to grow year-on-year? Well, Joe Pulizzi has done just that. Joe is the perfect modern-day example of how to build a trusted personal brand on a global basis. As the founder of Content Marketing Institute, he has probably done more than anyone else on the planet to educate the marketplace on the fast-growing discipline known as 'content marketing'. In this candid interview with Trevor Young, Joe explains how he got going in content marketing, the importance of going 'all in' on a content niche (including on social channels such as Twitter) and why the three keys to building a personal brand are having a blog, a book and speaking in public.

Twelve months ago, Mandy Johnson - aka 'The Accidental HR Revolutionary' - was a self-confessed "social media dinosaur". Today, however, Mandy's a convert to social media and is active on both Twitter and LinkedIn; indeed, her presence on both platforms is having a positive impact on her personal brand-based business. In this discussion with the PR Warrior Trevor Young, Mandy outlines her approach to Twitter, including how she participates in hashtag conversations and the importance of using the medium to build relationships on a global scale. Mandy talks about the power of blogging and why expressing ideas that you're passionate about is a surefire way to attract an audience on social channels.

Gavin Heaton aka blogger 'Servant of Chaos' is a thought leader in the area of digital marketing and business innovation; he's a speaker, strategist, startup advisor and pioneer of Australia's blogging and social media scene. In this interview with Trevor Young, Gavin explains his approach to blogging, and how he uses Twitter and LinkedIn to build his profile and influence; he also discusses how he crowdsourced content for his popular three-book series called 'The Age of Conversation'.

Leading vintage lifestyle blogger and self-confessed "multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur", Candice DeVille, has consistently maintained an authentic personal brand over many years and across online media platforms (not to mention offline as well). In this interview with Trevor Young, Candice discusses the importance of projecting a consistent image across multiple channels if you're going to be publishing content and using social media to build your brand and your business. She also explains the power of personally being authentic and true to yourself, and chats about the various social mediums she uses to build and maintain her community of fans, followers and supporters of her brand.  

Oscar Trimboli is a Sydney-based leadership coach, mentor and speaker; over the past seven years he has coached, mentored and advised people in a wide range of roles from founders, CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, CTO and a variety of other leadership roles in financial services, technology, professional services, education and not-for-profits. In this chat with Trevor Young, Oscar discusses the power of 'pause', of creating space for yourself; he talks of personal mission statements, and explains the importance of examining your purpose not just with a 'microscope' (details) but a telescope (broader horizons).    

Podcasting has been getting a bit of positive press of late as the public catches on to the advantages of listening to audio-on-demand. Entrepreneur Suzi Dafnis has been podcasting since 2010 and regularly produces two shows - herBusiness and Social Media for Small Business - under the banner of her business, the Australian Businesswomen's Network. In this chat with Trevor Young, Suzi discusses why podcasting is a powerful way to get your message across and demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. She also provides tips and strategies for those thinking of starting a podcast as part of their content marketing program.