Personal Branding Examples - Dennis Yu & Logan Young

Summary

The video transcript offers actionable advice on building a personal brand, emphasizing the importance of consistency and starting early. It features Logan, who, despite being a student, has gained significant recognition, including an encounter with Mark Zuckerberg and a CNN interview. The speakers discuss the process of identifying interests, creating content, networking, and leveraging social media to establish a professional presence. They stress the value of quality relationships over quantity and encourage viewers to take small steps towards personal branding, such as setting up a website, making one-minute videos, and engaging with experts in their field. The transcript highlights the benefits of personal branding for future career opportunities and the power of investing in oneself.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Start building your personal brand early, even as a student, to open doors for future opportunities.
• 📈 Personal branding is a process, not a quick scheme. Consistency is key to building a strong brand over time.
• 🤝 Networking is crucial. Building quality relationships can lead to job opportunities and valuable connections.
• 💼 Your personal brand is an investment in your future. It's about creating opportunities, not just financial returns.
• 📝 Identify your interests and start creating content around them, such as blogging, making videos, or writing reviews.
• 💡 Leverage social media to amplify your message. Use platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to connect with others in your field.
• 📈 Use advertising strategically to boost your online presence and reach a wider audience.
• 👔 Dress professionally and present yourself well when meeting with others to build a strong personal image.
• 🎥 Learn to create one-minute videos and conduct interviews to build your brand and establish yourself as an authority.
• 🙏 Show gratitude and acknowledge the contributions of others by thanking them for their advice or insights.
• 🌟 Don’t wait until you’re famous or an expert to start. Begin by leveraging what you already know and build from there.

Q & A

What is the key takeaway from the transcript regarding personal branding?

The key takeaway is that personal branding is a process, not a quick scheme. It requires consistency, starting with identifying interests, creating content, and building quality relationships. It's about investing in your future by growing your network and opportunities.

How did Logan manage to get a picture with Mark Zuckerberg?

Logan started putting in consistent effort into building his personal brand, which led to opportunities such as meeting Mark Zuckerberg and getting a picture with him.

What is the significance of being interviewed by CNN in terms of personal branding?

Being interviewed by CNN significantly enhances one's personal brand by showcasing their expertise and increasing their visibility to a large audience, which can lead to more opportunities.

What are some initial steps a student can take to start building their personal brand?

A student can start by identifying their interests, blogging about them, writing product reviews, acting as a journalist, and interviewing others in their field of interest.

Why is consistency important in building a personal brand?

Consistency is crucial because it demonstrates commitment and reliability. It helps in steadily growing one's online presence and reputation over time.

How can someone use social media to boost their personal brand?

One can use social media by creating content that reflects their expertise, sharing it on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and running ads to increase reach and visibility.

What is the role of quality relationships in personal branding?

Quality relationships are essential as they often lead to referrals and job opportunities. They are built through meaningful interactions and maintaining a professional demeanor.

Why is it beneficial to start building a personal brand while still a student?

Starting early allows students to gain a head start in their career, open doors for future opportunities, and avoid the stress of job hunting post-graduation without a strong network.

How can someone leverage their personal brand to secure job opportunities?

By showcasing their expertise and network through social media and online platforms, individuals can attract potential employers and job offers based on their established brand.

What is the advice given for someone who wants to reach out to industry experts or mentors?

One should do their research, connect on social media platforms, and reach out with a personalized message expressing gratitude for their work and asking for advice or an interview.

How can someone monetize their personal brand?

By establishing themselves as an authority in their field, they can charge for services such as consulting, speaking engagements, or coaching.

What is the importance of taking action and starting the personal branding process?

Taking action, even with small steps, can lead to significant opportunities and experiences over time, as demonstrated by Logan's journey.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Building a Personal Brand as a Student

The first paragraph discusses the importance of building a personal brand from a student perspective. It emphasizes that personal branding is a process, not a quick fix, and highlights the journey of Logan, who went from being a student to having his photo taken with Mark Zuckerberg and being interviewed by CNN. The speaker encourages students to take actionable steps towards personal branding, such as identifying interests, blogging, and interviewing others to gain recognition in their chosen fields. The paragraph also stresses the importance of consistency and professionalism in building a personal brand.

05:02

🤝 The Power of Networking and Quality Relationships

The second paragraph focuses on the effects of personal branding, such as receiving job offers and the peace of mind that comes from having a strong professional network. It discusses the strategy of reaching out to professors and industry experts to build quality relationships. The speaker advises on how to approach and connect with these individuals, suggesting that making a one-minute video and tagging them can initiate a meaningful interaction. The paragraph also touches on the concept of 'network is your net worth,' emphasizing the quality of connections over quantity.

10:05

🚀 Accelerating Personal Brand Growth with Investment

The third paragraph delves into the idea of investing in one's personal brand as a means to secure future opportunities. It suggests creating a Facebook public figure page and using it to run ads to accelerate brand growth. The speaker shares personal experiences of how reaching out on social media led to significant opportunities, including traveling and speaking at conferences. The paragraph also discusses the importance of surrounding oneself with positive and like-minded individuals who can contribute to personal and professional growth.

15:06

🌟 Taking Action for Personal Brand Success

The final paragraph is a call to action, encouraging listeners to start building their personal brand immediately. It shares the speaker's personal story of taking small steps towards personal branding, which eventually led to significant opportunities. The paragraph stresses the importance of taking action, even if it's just a few minutes a day, and using social media platforms effectively to create content and connect with others. It concludes with an invitation to connect with the speaker on LinkedIn and offers support for those starting their personal branding journey.

Keywords

💡Personal Brand

Personal brand refers to the unique image, reputation, and impression that an individual projects in their professional and social interactions. In the video, it is emphasized as a crucial aspect for career development and networking. The speaker illustrates its importance by sharing personal experiences, such as how building a personal brand led to opportunities like being interviewed by CNN and meeting Mark Zuckerberg.

💡Consistency

Consistency in the context of personal branding means maintaining a regular and persistent effort in projecting one's image and values. It is highlighted as a key to success, as the speaker mentions that opportunities like meeting Mark Zuckerberg came from consistent efforts in building a personal brand over time.

💡Networking

Networking is the process of building and nurturing relationships with others, especially to further one's career or business interests. The video stresses the importance of networking as a means to open doors for job opportunities and to gain referrals, which are often the basis for job offers.

💡Content Creation

Content creation involves producing various forms of media such as blog posts, videos, and social media updates to share knowledge, express opinions, or tell stories. In the video, content creation is presented as a method to establish expertise and gain recognition in a particular field, which in turn can enhance one's personal brand.

💡Social Media

Social media platforms are online channels used for communication and sharing content. They are pivotal in personal branding as they allow individuals to reach a wide audience, connect with others in their field, and promote their personal brand. The video discusses leveraging social media for personal branding through creating public figure pages and running ads.

💡Expertise

Expertise refers to a high level of knowledge or skill in a specific area. The video suggests that individuals do not have to be experts to start building their personal brand but should focus on areas of interest and gradually develop expertise through consistent content creation and engagement.

💡Investing in the Future

Investing in the future, as discussed in the video, is about taking proactive steps to secure opportunities and success later in life. This includes building a personal brand, which can lead to various opportunities and job offers, providing a sense of security and a competitive edge in the job market.

💡Quality Relationships

Quality relationships are meaningful and mutually beneficial connections with others. The video emphasizes the importance of building quality relationships over quantity, suggesting that having a few strong connections in one's field can lead to more significant opportunities than having many superficial ones.

💡Professionalism

Professionalism involves conducting oneself in a professional manner, which includes dressing appropriately, behaving respectfully, and maintaining a professional online presence. In the context of the video, professionalism is key when building a personal brand, as it can influence how others perceive and engage with an individual.

💡Online Platforms

Online platforms refer to digital environments where individuals can interact, share content, and build their presence. The video discusses using online platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to connect with others, share content, and grow one's personal brand.

💡Mentorship

Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or knowledgeable individual guides another. The video mentions the impact of mentorship on personal branding, as having a mentor can provide valuable advice, connections, and opportunities that can significantly enhance one's career trajectory.

Highlights

Building a personal brand is a process, not a get-rich-quick scheme.

Logan's experience with Mark Zuckerberg and CNN interviews came from consistent efforts in personal branding.

Consistency is a key factor in personal branding, similar to exercising.

You don't have to be famous or an expert to start personal branding; it's about leveraging what you already have.

Identify your interests and start blogging, talking, and writing product reviews about them to build your brand.

Treat personal branding professionally; dress appropriately and conduct interviews to build your reputation.

The fastest way to build a personal brand is by creating content about your experiences and sharing it on various platforms.

Advertising on platforms like Facebook for as little as a dollar a day can significantly boost your brand visibility.

Start building your personal brand early, don't wait until you graduate or need a job.

Personal branding is about investing in your future and not just becoming famous.

Building a personal brand can lead to more job opportunities and a stronger professional network.

Logan's personal brand has led to numerous job offers and the ability to charge a premium for his expertise.

Quality relationships are crucial in personal branding; focus on building meaningful connections.

Use online platforms to connect with industry experts and build relationships that can benefit your career.

Creating a Facebook public figure page and running ads can accelerate the growth of your personal brand.

Investing in your personal brand is an investment in yourself, which can yield returns in opportunities and relationships.

Your personal brand is what other people say about you; start by writing about topics you're passionate about and creating content.

Take action today and start building your personal brand; even small steps can lead to significant opportunities in the future.

Transcripts

hey guys let's talk about what it's like

to actually build a personal brand I

wish when I was Logan's age that I had

this kind of advice did you know that

just a couple months ago that CNN

interviewed him live on Mark Zuckerberg

testifying before Congress on senator

we've run ads so how does someone like

Logan go from being a BYU student to

having Mark Zuckerberg come up to him

and say can I take a picture and then

later be on CNN interviewed live in

front of millions of people we want to

talk to you about what those steps are

so that's realistic for you as a student

even though you think there's a million

miles between you and Ty Lopez and maybe

you're still quite aways from figuring

out what you want to do as a career or

you're not famous or known for something

there's actually steps that you can take

and we want to talk about that for the

next few minutes what's that like like

Dennis said it's definitely a pretty

sweet experience I think the biggest

thing about personal branding I want to

talk about is this a process right this

is not a get-rich-quick scheme it's not

you start today

and you have results tomorrow so being

on ski and then having a picture with

Mark Zuckerberg really cool experiences

but I got those opportunities because

you know I started putting in that for

making one maybe owe some things we

talked about you know I really put forth

the process right I was doing them

consistent he's just like exercising so

I'm excited to kind of talk about that

so it's nothing special about me right

it's something that anyone can do

consistency is a huge key though yeah

don't think that you have to be famous

there you have to be an expert that you

have to know a lot of things the key to

personal branding is what you already

have right here and you're gonna learn

in other expert sessions on how you can

make one minute videos Ben's gonna teach

you on how you can set up your website

we're gonna talk about how you assemble

content because I remember when I was in

college 20-some years ago I didn't even

know what I wanted to be I didn't know

what I stood for I didn't have any areas

of expertise I didn't even know what

kind of major I was gonna be doing I

thought you know I could just as easily

be like a doctor or I was gonna go work

on Wall Street right in Goldman Sachs

and so it's kind of tough because to

have a personal brand you have to first

decide on a few things that you're

interested in so low

a big fan of LeBron James so then when

LeBron moved from Cleveland to LA now

we're big fans of LA right unfortunately

yeah and what else

think about like right now pause this

video for a second think about what

things you care about do you like to

play fort night

do you like to surf at the beach do you

really like to play golf are you a big

fan of the Nissan 300 350 z are you like

what are those different things and when

you make a list of these things and you

start blogging about them start talking

about them start writing product reviews

when you act like a journalist and when

you start interviewing other people

that's when you start to be known for

these kinds of things and treat it

professional right put on a nice shirt

when you meet let's say for example your

parents maybe they know some people that

are successful you can interview them

and that's building your personal brand

the fastest way to build your personal

brand is you take this thing out and you

just say hey Logan that thing like I'd

love to hear about what that was like

when you were with Mark Zuckerberg can

you tell me right now and one minute

like what was that like hanging out with

Mark Zuckerberg right and literally you

just do this you need to master how to

do this in building your brand when you

take that content where you stand for

certain things and you put that on your

website you put that on your Facebook

page

you put that on LinkedIn your classmates

will see it and comment you start to

boost that for a dollar a day you can

advertise on Facebook for a dollar a day

right off of your page now your profile

off of your page that's the key to

building a brand and you're going to

need it now don't wait until you

graduate don't wait until it's too late

and you have that regret where it's like

oh crap it's time to find the job I

thought I could take this degree and

turn it in at the window for a job I had

that horrible feeling when I was

graduating

when I was at SMU for my undergrad in

Dallas and I thought that because I had

all these good grades and I was a full

scholarship student that I could I want

to work at Nike I applied there they

wouldn't even interview me I applied to

work in American Airlines because I

really wanted to travel I thought that'd

be really cool I couldn't I had the

first round of interviews and all these

other kids they got in a you know second

round interviews got jobs I

a horrible situation for me because I

was just like I'm never gonna get a job

I don't maybe you can identify with that

right yeah I think definitely and

personal branding is not just about

becoming famous but like you were just

talk my dentists about you know

investing in your future because think

about how jobs happen right a lot of is

referral it's all about who you know so

if there's a new opening and some

company they're gonna ask the people I

work for the company well do you do you

know anyone that can do Facebook Ads

these different things so you probably

heard the statistic that the average

person changes jobs seven times within

the span of their career and by building

your personal brand growing your network

you're investing so that if you need to

change jobs you'll have a lot of

opportunities and for me for example

there's effects of having pictures of

Mark Zuckerberg being on CNN I've had a

lot of people approached me with

different job offers but one of the

reasons among many why I haven't taken

them is because working with list

metrics gives me the chance to continue

working on my personal brand and I'm

happy working here but I also have peace

of mind knowing that if anything ever

does happen you know because of the

brand I built for myself I won't have

any problem finding work in the future

right so you want to build that same

investment for yourself so that as you

get starting your career you know you

you're opening doors for yourself

opening pasteur yourself right now like

I just mentioned you know now is the

time to get started

and you know you've probably heard your

network is your net worth so it's not

who you know it's who knows you so Logan

by actually reaching out while he was a

student to his professors to other

people that maybe have come in to guest

lecture by you guys reaching out to

Logan or reaching out to me feel free to

do that and we don't bite you'll find

that people that you meet in the

community if you just reach out to them

connect with them on LinkedIn read their

stuff before they come and speak 90% of

them will say yes and if you do that

homework I mean don't try to reach out

to Richard Branson or Elon Musk or

something like take that baby you know

take like a b-level celebrity and then

say hey I'd love to interview you for

one minute don't just take a picture

with them because anybody can take a

picture with Tai Lopez or whoever make a

one-minute video but do your research in

advance I can't tell you how important

that was like for me the way I got my

first real job because of personal

branding is I was able to I was mentored

by

Casey who is a CEO of American Airlines

and so I worked at American Airlines as

my first real job and if I didn't build

a connection with him and he was able to

pull some strings because I was

definitely not qualified there were

people that were way smarter they worked

harder I mean maybe they'd have better

grades I'd really get grades because I'm

Asian right but think about all the all

the things that you can do now in terms

of the people that you could meet and

when you have that personal brand like

the very fact that Logan has things

where he's on CNN and there's pictures

of him and Zuckerberg he now can charge

a thousand dollars an hour can you

imagine that

I remember one when I was in college I

thought like 20 bucks an hour was like a

lot of money because everyone else like

if you're working and in and out or

something what are you making like nine

bucks an hour maybe you know with tips

and everything like 15 right but imagine

like $1,000 an hour I mean it doesn't

that sound ridiculous sounds pretty

appealing I think someone you mentioned

is really keen Oh Dennis was talking

about how he was mentored by Al Casey

and whenever I think of personal

branding and having a following there's

two things right there's quantity and

quality

most people think first about quantity

when they think personal branding knows

how many connections I have on LinkedIn

or how many followers I have on Facebook

you know I have 5,000 some followers on

my Facebook page I know some people have

two million right but it's about the

quality so as you interact people maybe

meet someone at an event or in the field

you're interested in maybe you want to

becoming musician and you meet someone

that teaches guitar right for you that's

a quality relationship so whatever

vertical your interest in whether it's

you know four-night video games fashion

music whatever it is start building

these quality relationships and it's

like any kind of relationship it takes

multiple lightweight touches so you want

to connect these people first online so

I get someone's business card in event

or I have a conversation with them I

can't just like hope that you know

destiny makes our pass intermingle again

so connect on LinkedIn connect on

Facebook connect on Twitter you can send

them a note saying hey you know thank

you so much for reaching out especially

if they do some kind of service to you

make sure you reciprocate that learn to

say thank you and over time you can

build those quality relationships you'll

have to always be pestering them like

everyday like hey Dave hey Dave hey Dave

like you know or hey Mark can you help

me with this right you know that's gonna

put you in the bad light but you want to

follow up right it's just like dating

you know you don't just

talk to a girl one time you have to

initially introduce yourself then maybe

after you talk to her a few times you

ask her out whatever it is so it's the

same thing here you have to build the

relationships so think about who those

quality relationships are for you and

think about how you can use these online

platforms to start building those

relationships and then you guys might be

thinking but I don't really know these

people yet how do I reach out do I like

tweet at them or do I just go up to them

and you know be like one of those crazy

fan crazy people but here's here's what

you do so let's say that there's another

professor another industry expert giving

one of these stupid expert sessions and

you've learned so much as soon as you're

done watching that session pull out the

phone and say hey I just wanted to give

I you know I like Trevor so much and

here's a I just wanted to tell you here

are three things that I learned right

about your session or wow I learned so

much about Logan let me tell you how

awesome that was for me and I'm gonna

take action by saying thank you to other

people I'm going to get my website set

up like Ben talked about I'm going to

create my Facebook page I'm going to

start making one-minute videos thank you

so much that is awesome

if you literally do that you are going

to be ahead of 99% of all these other

people that aren't going to do anything

literally if you do that and then you

you make a video about what you've

learned from Logan and you tagged him

and he notices that that's setting the

ball in motion then you can ask him a

question saying hey I've got an article

on the ten things you need to know about

Facebook Ads in 2018 can you contribute

one tip and then Logan's gonna say white

shirt blah blah blah blah blah and then

you go and you ask all these other

people hey can you give me one tip on

this particular topic

so whatever that topic is that you care

about who's authoritative who's

well-known can you get a quote from them

well first you have to create a summary

or some kind of thank-you video about

their content and then they're likely to

reciprocate because so few people are

writing those reviews and saying thank

you you will stand out definitely I

think another big thing too a lot of

people aren't taking advantage of when

it comes to your personal brand if you

really want to invest in your future

people are okay with the concept of like

investing in stocks or stuff because

they want to get some return on it

there's multiple ways to get return

investments write returns not just about

financial return in terms of personal

branding you know it's more return in

terms of opportunities so if you're

serious about this the first step like

we've talked about go create a Facebook

public figure page different from your

profile write a profile you have friends

on page have followers and from a page

you can run ads so if you have a really

good video telling your story about why

you're so passionate about whatever it

is music video games marketing

advertising reading you know writing

books you could create that video and

then just put a few dollars out there

you know just to boost it and run as an

ad it's really simple right you know put

a dollar a day against it and you get

more reach right so that's one way to

kind of accelerate the growth of your

brand so if something a personal

branding something you really want to

actually take seriously that's the

biggest way to accelerate the growth get

more followers get more relationships

that way and I think few people are

doing that because there's this

hesitancy we're like oh you know I don't

want to put spending as my own personal

brand but again think of it as like an

investment for which the return isn't

necessarily money but it's opportunities

which could be financial can be

relationship there's a lot of different

ways but it is like a true investment

and Warren Buffett said that the best

investment you can make is in yourself

because Uncle Sam can't tax that like

some kind of asset and someone else said

that you are the average of the five

people you spend the most time with so

it's not like you're gonna ditch your

loser friends but think about who is it

that you want to spend time with where

they're making you better other positive

people that are moving in the same

direction that you are where you can

make these different videos together

because whether you like it or not I

learned this the hard way you're going

to be judged by the people that you

spend the time with and if people see

let's say that you want to get mentored

by so-and-so or you want to work at this

other company really want to work at

this other company if the people at that

company see that you're hanging out with

these various people you're interviewing

them there's pictures of you with them

you don't have to be on CNN or hang out

with Mark Zuckerberg if you're 19 and

you're still you're like a freshman or

sophomore in college don't think that aw

it's too early for me now is the time

you want to start you do not want to be

a senior year graduating like crap I

should have listened to along and had to

say now like dang it

if I put in the time if I put on too

busy I got a final tomorrow put in a

couple minutes a day you will be so

happy you did that's the key to personal

branding it's not about you in front of

pictures like Lamborghinis and

pretending that it's yours and what kind

of food you ate

that's what other people are doing on

social media you are a business person

you are using it to get a job to build

your business to increase these other

opportunities even if you don't know

where you want to go that's the advice I

wish somebody had told me 20 years ago

your personal brand is what other people

say about you the best way you get that

started is you set three or four topics

you can change your mind later like

Logan said right start writing about

those topics start making one-minute

videos if you're not really good at

writing okay that's fine right and when

you interview other people and you take

it seriously like you're a journalist

but you just use your iPhone you don't

need fancy equipment right you'll be

surprised how that puts you ahead of 99%

of these other people yeah and just and

you know we're coming up against in this

lesson I want to talk about my own

personal story and for me I grew up in a

home that was not about technology you

know three years ago I honest didn't

even know who Mark Zuckerberg was but as

I was finishing up school at BYU I took

a social media class and I took some

baby steps towards working on my

personal brand where I just start

reaching out to people on Twitter and

just sending a messages I basically said

hey you know I I saw you have quite a

bit of following and advertising which

I'm studying I'm trying to get my feet

wet as I'm getting ready to graduate do

you have any advice for me any articles

I should read or videos I should watch

and one of the guys AJ he reached back

out to me he introduced me to Dennis so

it was by just like taking that little

baby step starting to work my personal

brand that's led me to be able to have a

job now where I've traveled to six

different continents over the last two

years I've seen five and then seven

natural wonders of the world

you know the speak at conferences be on

CNN on TV a few times and have all these

amazing opportunities so just do

something today right the big thing is

take action but I'm definitely hopefully

you guys got some value out of this

understand the power bill and your

personal brand and love to connect with

you guys online let us know on LinkedIn

we would love to help you and see how

you're doing