Stepping into a brand [new] role

I spent the majority of my career "hoofing it." I was a field reporter who pounded the pavement every.single.day. I was literally bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I first started in TV news. In my early twenties, I was living my pre-dream. My real dream, however, was to become an anchor. I would fill-in anchor whenever any of my bosses asked- even taking an anchor training course in my early days. I needed the reps, and as I was learning "how to be an anchor," my personality on the desk was slowly taking shape. It must have worked. After 15 long years in the biz, my boss promoted me to Saturday anchor.

This new role presented new challenges, and one big challenge was marketing myself to the viewing audience. Stations don't tend to promote the weekend anchors. These are not main shows, but I knew if I wanted to move to a Monday through Friday position, I needed to build up a following. I needed to promote myself!

One of the first things I did was incorporate social media into my newscasts. I started the "Saturday Shoutouts" for Facebook fans. My first shoutout was a faithful viewer who is still a Facebook friend to this day. The Saturday team and I incorporated social media comments in the show. At the same time, I was learning to be conversational with the viewer. I became more comfortable being my authentic self on television. I was serious when necessary. I said the things I knew people at home were thinking (within reason), and when it came to lighthearted moments, I developed a gift of gab that sometimes left us all in stitches.

Three years later, I became a morning anchor. It was strange being recognized almost everywhere I went, and while I never got used to it, I appreciated the fact viewers appreciated me.

You can do that, too.

So how do you brand yourself?

These three tips are just the start, but if you can master these three things, you are well on your way to developing your personal brand.