The Global Me
The basis of one’s work usually tends to define the reach of one’s brand, but in today’s world, any brand can easily become a ‘global brand’.
With the advent of Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, the world has become an interconnected web of people, as well as their thoughts and ideas.
I know that the type of career that I want to pursue will demand that I develop a global brand. As a foreign correspondent, it is absolutely imperative to be just that— a global brand/entity.
I could be covering issues in Brazil, while someone in Indonesia keeps up with what I’m reporting, and at surface level, this seems exciting and positive, but building and developing a global brand also has its risks.
Being, or having, a global brand makes it that much easier to be targeted. Having a global audience means that you’re not necessarily going to appeal to everyone all the time. Stepping on toes, and disagreements will inevitably occur, but it will all come down to dealing with those situations amicably, or rather, picking your battles.
Someone I look to for building a global brand is Christiane Amanpour. I think she’s set a great example for what it means to build a global brand as a journalist who specializes in foreign correspondence.
Amanpour does a great job of clearly defining her brand on Twitter, and is a good model of what to do. Something else I admire about Amanpour, is her admission of biases. Her pinned tweet refers to ‘truthful, not neutral’, which seems like a clear branding technique.
Beyond corporations that have global brands, more and more, people will have to brand themselves globally, especially journalists. While establishing ourselves as global brands is already difficult enough, I believe it will be tougher to maintain that status, but worth a try.
I like how you identified a foreign correspondent whose global brand you admire to use as a possible model for how you develop your social presence. I agree with you that it’s difficult to establish a global brand, but it is imperative to do, especially when pursuing a career reporting abroad.
The choice of Christiane Amanpour who is truly global brand in journalism is an inspired one. She has set the bar high for you and others who look up to her as a model. The Emmy-winning new correspondent for CNN provides authoritative analysis of important global issues. Her illustrious career in journalism spanning three decades in some of the world’s major hotspots makes her a good example of a global branding in journalism.