As a fervent content marketer, I’ve been asked to present to a mixed group of professionals on how content marketing can further your business growth as an entrepreneur and your professional career as an employee. 

Why market yourself when you’re not the owner of the business?

Most of the population today will tell you they do business with a realtor, attorney, mortgage broker, doctor, stylist, hairdresser, accountant or banker because of the person with whom they’ve developed a relationship. If the professional moved from Company A to Company B, they are likely to turn around and see their loyal customers and fans are following right behind.  

How can we improve our chances of a loyal following? 

We hear often about content marketing and blogging when you have to promote a business that you own, but rarely about marketing yourself when you are not the business owner. 

Even if you have a successful career in a corporation, firm, or organization that you love, you still need to “steer” your own course by allowing your contacts to see and hear who you are, what you know, and what you stand for. 

These days, one of the fastest ways to stand out in your competitive career is to be proactive and draw attention to yourself in the best ways and for the right reasons. 

And before we go further, we really should address the elephant in the room. This is not the 1960’s, when you were hired and stayed with a company from the age of 21 to your retirement at 65. Those days are long gone. No company is obliged to “keep” you and if they run their numbers and determine they can move forward quite nicely without you, they will not “feel bad” about letting you go.  

So – your career is ultimately in your own hands. Let’s look at these 3 paths: 

  • If you stay in your company for the long haul, that’s great – and your content marketing can help you move up the ranks. 
  • If you are “shown the door” or are proactively looking for a different career experience, then consistent and appropriate content marketing will help you become heard and known beyond any resume or LinkedIn profile. 
  • And if you decide to transition from employee to entrepreneur, you already have a branded marketing presence to give you a huge advantage to introduce your new path and turn fans into clients. 

So how does this work? 

Start where you are – use LinkedIn as your portal for publishing and sharing. Right at the top in the Home section, you’ll see “Write an article on LinkedIn” just under ‘start a post’. 

So write articles. Start with monthly and increase to twice a month and finally, weekly. 

Write about what you know. Share your expertise. Can you think of 12 things that you know about your profession? I’m sure you can think of hundreds! Use that as a springboard to writing a brief article on your professional experience with your product or service. 

Write about what you believe. News publications are full of editorials and opinion pieces. You can create your own. 

Write about what you’ve done. Share your experiences helping people with the product or service your company provides. Everyone loves a good story! 

The most important rule: show your personality!  

Make it personal so it’s about you and it doesn’t read like a textbook! Be honest, positive and respectful. It isn’t about being a professional writer, it’s about being real. 

Beyond LinkedIn, use other online presence tools in a similar fashion. 

And if you’re really serious about building your professional reputation and your career, buy a domain (your name, if it isn’t taken) and use that as your own personal branding headquarters. A brief 1 or 2 page website is all you need to own your own brand. 

All of this is do-able by any professional, no matter the circumstances. If done respectfully, positively, and with an intention to help and serve your audience, it will do wonders to establish you as an expert and an authority figure that stands head and shoulders above the rest.