The sixth book on your punch list is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. This book is designed to help you build a personal and business brand.
WHY THIS BOOK?
The online competition for attention and engagement has never been more intense. And the rapid rise of AI is exponentially increasing the tension, bringing things to a game-changing level. To stand out from the crowd and compete, leaders need to get their personal and business brands AI-ready.
Leland explains that AI language models (such as the hyper-popular ChatGPT) rely on large datasets of text from the Internet to learn and generate responses. “You have to teach Google who you are and what your company is about—across the net,” says Leland. “If you don’t have online discoverability, credibility and relatability, you can’t compete.”
PREPARING FOR AI
Leland explains that if you are looking to build thought leadership, do a capital raise, find investors, sell your company, entice potential employees or convert customers, not being on the radar becomes a huge opportunity cost. She recommends taking essential yet straightforward steps to prepare personal and business brands for AI.
1. Stop Avoiding AI and Embrace Education and Experimentation. Educate yourself with the abundant online resources and experiment to see how it could work for your personal and business brands.
2. Accept the Need to Create a Parallel CEO Brand. Many C-suite leaders believe they don’t need to create a parallel brand. “What they fail to understand,” says Leland, “is that they already have one. It is just a matter of if they want their brands to be by default or design.”
3. Consistently Create an Abundance of Online, High-Quality Content. AI models can better understand and generate contextually relevant and accurate responses as they become more advanced. If your content is visible on Google and considered an authoritative source, it is more likely to be referenced by AI models when generating answers to relevant queries.
4. Take a Fresh Look at Your Target Audience. Knowing whom you are trying to reach and their concerns is critical in being AI-ready. AI itself can be a good source of gaining data and insights about what your target audience is now wanting and needing. This allows you to create brand messaging and content that resonates with them.
5. Monitor Your Online Reputation Monthly. Keeping track of when you are mentioned online, by whom and what is said is necessary in today’s wired world. A whole host of AI online reputation management tools can help you stay on top of your personal and business brands and allow you to address any issues sooner rather than later.
CLOSING THOUGHT
Leland says the bottom line is that ignoring the trend of AI and chatbots in business and personal branding is a significant mistake. Remember that even if you are not preparing your personal and business brands for AI—your competitors are.
For More Information:
Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding and marketing strategy and implementation firm specializing in personal, business and CEO branding. For more, visit www.karenleland.com.
Modern Contractor Solutions, June 2023
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