In my previous blog, we discussed the importance of optimizing an online presence for executive candidates. We explored how digital footprints have become crucial in showcasing expertise and leadership. Today, I want to share my journey and challenges while re-establishing my online presence. My story will resonate with many executives and business owners who may find themselves in similar situations.

The Evolution of Personal Branding

From Traditional Networking to Digital Presence

I believe I was on LinkedIn and Facebook from the start. Just this year, a colleague and star networker reminded me that I had told her in 2008 or 2009 to create a LinkedIn profile. I laughed to myself. Using the cobbler’s child example, when the world moved to digital in 2020, I was a few years removed from a very personal and bad digital encounter, and I shelved my profiles. Then, in 2023, I decided to focus on coaching. Looking back, I could not have undermined myself any worse if I had planned it. I moved from my corporate stomping grounds, the NY Metro area, to Florida and everyone else. I took my website down, pulled myself from active digital engagement, and the world sequestered itself, so the natural or traditional networking I would have been doing was unavailable.

Building and Maintaining Digital Relationships

Starting from Scratch

In 2023, I started from scratch. First, I got the website back up, and then I started blogging on someone else’s site! I began speaking to fellow marketing professionals who remained in the digital space. I realized that what once had been enough—a monthly blog, guest podcasts, and weekly newsletters—would not cut through the noise. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, I kept hearing and seeing that 2–3-minute reels were necessary. WAIT! I was the CMO behind the successful CEO; I do not want to be out there! Then, I started to coach actively and had several CMOs in transition come to me because they felt that I understood where they were and could help them. I quickly realized that all of us were in the same place. We had spent years—no, make that decades—helping our brands and our CEOs stand out. We established our “network” reputations but had not spent time building and maintaining our own personal digital brands.

Leveraging Old Connections

The good news is that the personal brand is not gone. I have had several very old colleagues and acquaintances reach out, and those conversations have shown that a solid foundation is never wholly lost. So, I started blogging weekly, reaching out to contacts to re-establish ties—digitally, engaging on their feeds, and following what they are doing digitally. What has been incredible is that a sort of code exists. You had my back all those years ago; now I have yours. We each comment, like, engage, and share. Being social on someone else’s feed is a gift. I receive these gifts daily and encourage others to do so as well. I also make sure I am giving freely and frequently. I have found my topic of choice, networking and personal branding, and use it as my “soapbox.” This sense of community in digital networking is a powerful tool that we can all leverage.

Balancing Professional and Personal Engagement

Finding My Niche

I found my niche: mid-career professionals and six or seven-figure business owners. The topics are simple: time blocking, communication, social selling, teams, and leading vs. managing. These are the things I spent over thirty years practicing and refining. For the individuals I work with, these topics may not come naturally because they were never in that corporate job, or if they were in corporate, they had a format or formula they had to follow. Now, being a business owner presents an entirely new challenge. For mid-career professionals, it is a safe space to brainstorm and be strategic before tackling that challenging conference room with the over-inflated ego on the other side or discussing a topic with their boss that they never agree on. Personal branding is not just a concept. It’s a powerful tool that can empower and inspire us all.

Overcoming the Video Challenge

I have somewhat overcome the video challenge with professional help and encouragement. Next, I must overcome doing it on the fly and being motivational. After all the years in the corporate world of “time is money” and “getting to the point,” I find my biggest challenge is pontificating. I envy the person who can be given a topic and get up in front of a group and speak on it, even if they only have 5-10 years of experience with it. I still do better one-to-one, but hopefully, with those of you joining me on this journey to re-establish or even establish your digital presence, we can cheer each other on and grow together.

Practical Steps for Optimizing Online Presence

Rebuilding the Foundation

My brand is not gone. Old colleagues and acquaintances have reached out, proving that a solid foundation is never wholly lost. I started by blogging weekly, reaching out to contacts to re-establish ties—digitally, engaging on their feeds, and following what they were doing digitally. There is a sort of unspoken code among professionals: you had my back all those years ago. Now I have yours. We each comment, like, engage, and share. Being social on someone else’s feed is a gift. I receive these gifts daily and encourage others to do so as well. I also make sure I am giving freely and frequently.

Embracing Consistent Engagement

I have found my topic of choice: networking and personal branding. I use it as my “soapbox.” I have discovered my niche: mid-career professionals and six or seven-figure business owners. The topics are simple: time blocking, communication, social selling, teams, and leading vs. managing. These are the things I spent over thirty years practicing and refining. For the individuals I work with, these topics may not come naturally because they were never in that corporate job, or if they were in corporate, they had a format or formula they had to follow. Now, being a business owner presents an entirely new challenge. For mid-career professionals, it is a safe space to brainstorm and be strategic before tackling that challenging conference room with the over-inflated ego on the other side or discussing a topic with their boss that they never agree on.

Social Selling

This concept is somewhat new to me. In March 2024, I started working with The Business Advisory. Kelly Roach, the CEO, talks about “A Miracle Hour.” As I familiarized myself with her content and coaching method designed to help The Business Advisory clients, I realized that what Kelly shares is much of what I had been coaching for decades in the traditional space. She had found a formula that worked for her and her business online. I have adopted many of the habits she teaches, coached others on them, and still struggle to take on some myself—like creating reels and going live. However, I see that this method works. The actual “aha” moment occurred this past month while working with some clients. What is old is new. Businesses and professionals need to leverage both traditional and digital platforms to build their brands and gain visibility.

Those of you who follow me on my feed will see some of the subtleties of doing this with a team.

Conclusion

I have spent decades putting on the corporate image and may have pulled it all down with one blog. I aim to get all of you other executives to join me in optimizing your online presence and showing the influencers that those of us with experience can also influence. Better yet, we can get ourselves in the consideration pool for that new job, new client, or even your boss for that next significant role. Are you optimizing your online presence?

By sharing my journey and the steps I have taken to rebuild my online presence, I hope to inspire other executives and business owners to recognize the importance of a robust digital footprint. Together, we can navigate this digital landscape, leveraging our vast experience and connections to stand out and achieve our professional goals. Please come to my LinkedIn feed and share your thoughts and challenges!