How Digital Communication Shapes Your Personal Brand at Work
As a new way of working has settled in for companies, Slack, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Viber, Lark and dozens of instant messaging (IM) channels have taken hold as an easy and efficient way of communicating with each other throughout the day. And that’s why we’re often asked:
Can your personal brand take shape on an IM channel?
The simple answer is yes, and I think it’s happened over and over again as managers have become more dependent on the channels.
- Similar to meetings, people who monopolize a channel can seem like “know it all’s” and come across as arrogant.
- Similar to meetings, people who don’t contribute and remain silent can come across as uninvolved or unsure.
People who offer guidance seem helpful. People who are long-winded seem scattered. There’s a lot of similarity between in-person impressions and IM impressions.
If you’ve doubled your use of it, then you’ve probably also raised your awareness of what people like in this format and what they don’t. Cut and pasting information vs a link is frowned upon because it takes up a lot of space. Short sound bites are valued, keeping the chat informal and to the point.
But the flow of communication is more transactional. It’s tied to task and inputs and less to connection and touch points. As we’ve asked people about their experiences with IM channels, some say that they notice wit and humor in co-workers’ personalities as they add a little levity to a stream of inputs. And in many cases, it‘s a few personalities that come through an uneven representation of all personalities in the chat.
And that’s when the question should really become: Are IM channels enough of an impression? And that answer is probably not. Chat and short form conversations are best used as a supplement to live conversations, not a replacement for them.
Here’s why.
True connection requires a response from someone. People have found some connections with each other on IM channels, but they tend to align with people who think just like them or agree with them, rather than a different perspective or different approach.
It’s harder to work through differences without true connection and non-verbal signals from each other. Engagement is still about give and take and that means a live conversation with a view of the other person.
And when engagement hasn’t really occurred, we don’t get as vested in each other. And that may mean we don’t promote each other as much as we could. We’re not as likely to call out someone’s effort or even fully notice it. And we’re already seeing some consequences from the limited communication channel.
The biggest consequence is employees and managers don’t know each other very well. Future opportunities come from expanded conversations and a more relaxed connection with a manager.
An employee can become somewhat invisible if they don’t have a regular cadence of face-to-face connections. When relationships are limited, trust can’t develop as it has in the past.
So, what do you do to strengthen your brand in this new way of working?
If you’re trying to establish your brand in a company, make sure that you encourage face-to-face communication at least once a week. It doesn’t have to be in-person; it can be over a virtual network. But make sure that you become a visible presence with your manager. To succeed in a company, you’re going to need a champion. Opportunities are created by people, and managers recommend people that they know and trust. You need to make sure you’re building a relationship with a manager, more than one is even better, and not just a transactional conversation.
If you’re managing people in a virtual setting, remember that people tend to stay at organizations because of their connection to other people. If you allow a team to work too independently, they never truly engage with co-workers and they seek connection somewhere else. Impose the face-to-face interaction among the team. If they never get together in the same location, you’ll have to work harder to initiate relationships across the group. You can do this with small group projects, pairing team members together for new ideas or solutions, and adding intention to discussions and virtual meetings so that everyone gets heard across your team.
Impressions take shape in all formats, so your brand does take shape across IM channels. But it’s not enough to build relationships that will lead to opportunities.
There’s a reason that leaders at most companies are saying “come back in the office” and “we miss seeing you around here.” They know that those virtual impressions only take connection so far. And as we’re all working to find the right balance of virtual, in-person and hybrid working, it will take a little more intention on the connection side to make sure that trust continues to grow with managers and teams.
If you’re trying to strengthen the connection and value within your team, we can help. Through team building experiences or work on personal brands, we’ve helped many groups reset and rethink how they work together. And we’d welcome the opportunity to explore what your team might need.
How Digital Communication Shapes Your Personal Brand at Work
Your personal brand at work is not something you create once and announce. It develops gradually through the impressions other people form about you. Those impressions come from what you contribute, how you communicate and how consistently you show up.
Today, many of those moments happen through Slack, Teams and other digital channels.
A short answer may communicate efficiency, or it may seem dismissive. A detailed explanation may be helpful, or it may overwhelm the conversation. Responding quickly can demonstrate reliability, but responding to everything can make it appear that you have trouble identifying priorities.
The communication channel does not create the impression by itself. Your choices within that channel do.
That is why building a strong personal brand at work requires more than being active online. It requires an awareness of what colleagues need from you and how your digital communication is likely to be interpreted.
What Does Your Digital Communication Style Say About You?
Your digital communication style gives colleagues clues about how you think and work. Even a brief message can suggest confidence, preparation, judgment, curiosity or concern.
Three elements have an especially strong influence on these impressions.
Clarity
Clear communicators make it easier for other people to understand what is happening and what they need to do next.
Before sending a message, consider whether the reader will know:
- Why you are contacting them
- What information matters most
- Whether you need a response
- What action should happen next
- When the action is needed
A message does not have to be long to be clear. In fact, clarity often requires editing. The strongest digital communicators make information concise without removing the context their readers need.
If several people regularly have to ask follow-up questions, the problem may not be their attention. The original message may be missing a decision, deadline or clear request.
Contribution
Your personal brand is also shaped by what you contribute to digital conversations.
Someone who only points out problems may develop a reputation for resistance. Someone who agrees with every idea may seem supportive but may not be viewed as a strategic thinker. Someone who consistently adds context, asks useful questions and offers possible solutions becomes known as a thoughtful contributor.
You do not need to comment on every exchange. Strategic visibility comes from adding value when your experience or perspective can move the conversation forward.
Before contributing, ask yourself:
- Am I clarifying the issue?
- Am I adding information the group needs?
- Am I offering a different but relevant perspective?
- Am I helping the group reach a decision?
- Would this contribution be more effective in another format?
The goal is not to be the most visible person on a channel. It is to become someone whose contributions are useful and credible.
Tone
Tone is one of the hardest elements to manage in digital communication because the reader cannot hear your voice or see your expression.
A message that sounds direct to you may feel abrupt to someone else. Humor may strengthen one relationship and create confusion in another. A one-word response may communicate agreement, impatience or distraction, depending on the reader and the situation.
You do not have to make every message overly formal. But you should consider the existing relationship, the sensitivity of the topic and the impression your words may create.
When the stakes are high, clarity is more valuable than cleverness.
Why Slack Cannot Build Professional Relationships by Itself
Slack and Teams are excellent tools for sharing information, coordinating tasks and solving immediate problems. They are less effective at creating the depth of connection that develops through conversation.
Relationships grow when people have room to ask questions, explain their thinking and learn more about each other. A quick exchange may complete a task, but it rarely reveals someone’s broader interests, aspirations or capabilities.
This distinction matters because professional opportunities often develop through relationships.
Managers advocate for people whose abilities they understand. Colleagues seek out people they trust. Leaders assign important work to employees who have demonstrated not only competence, but also sound judgment and an ability to work effectively with others.
Digital visibility can help someone notice your work. A relationship helps that person understand your potential.
Look for moments when a message should become a conversation. If an exchange requires repeated clarification, involves a meaningful disagreement or could benefit from a more personal connection, suggest a call.
The shift does not have to be dramatic. “This may be easier to talk through. Do you have ten minutes?” can prevent confusion and strengthen the relationship at the same time.
Personal Brand at Work: Use Content, Style and Situation in Digital Communication
SW&A evaluates communication through three connected dimensions: Content, Style and Situation. The same framework that applies to meetings and presentations can help you make better choices on digital channels.
Personal Brand at Work: Content: What does the reader need?
Strong content begins with the audience.
Consider what the recipient already knows, what they need to understand and what you want them to do. Then organize the message around those needs.
If you are sharing a recommendation, lead with the recommendation. If you need a decision, state the decision clearly. If you are providing an update, distinguish the essential information from the background.
Do not make the reader search through a long message to discover why it was sent.
Personal Brand at Work: Style: What impression will the message create?
Style is how your communication comes across.
In writing, style includes word choice, sentence length, organization, punctuation and responsiveness. It also includes the habits other people begin to associate with you.
Are your messages consistently clear? Do you acknowledge other people’s ideas? Do you sound calm when pressure rises? Can you disagree without making the exchange personal?
A strong professional communication style is not about sounding polished in every message. It is about communicating in a way that is consistent with the impression you want to create.
Personal Brand at Work: Situation: Is this the right channel?
Not every conversation belongs on Slack.
Routine questions, quick updates and simple coordination may fit the channel well. Performance feedback, emotionally charged issues, confidential information and complex disagreements usually require a richer format.
Before sending a sensitive message, ask whether the channel gives you enough room to communicate with context and care.
Choosing the right situation is part of communication judgment. Knowing when not to send a message can strengthen your personal brand as much as writing the message well.
Personal Brand at Work: How to Strengthen Your Professional Visibility at Work
Visibility is not the same as constant activity. It is ensuring that the right people understand your contribution, interests and potential.
Start with your manager. Regular one-on-one conversations should include more than project updates. Use some of that time to discuss what you are learning, where you want to grow and what you are noticing across the business.
Develop relationships beyond your immediate team as well. Participate in cross-functional projects, share useful expertise and make time for conversations that are not limited to an immediate request.
When discussing your work, connect activity to impact. Rather than listing everything you completed, explain what changed because of the work. Did the team make a faster decision? Did a client gain clarity? Did a process become easier? Did you identify a risk?
This is not self-promotion. It is helping other people understand the value of your contribution.
Professional visibility also grows when you recognize the contributions of others. Giving credit demonstrates awareness, generosity and confidence. It strengthens relationships while showing that you understand how collective results are achieved.
Personal Brand at Work: How Managers Can Create More Equitable Visibility
Managers influence whose work is noticed.
In hybrid and distributed teams, the most vocal or digitally active employees can become the most visible. But activity should not be confused with impact. Some employees may contribute more effectively in smaller conversations, through thoughtful written work or by quietly solving difficult problems.
Managers should create several ways for people to contribute and be recognized.
Invite input before meetings so employees have time to prepare. Rotate presentation and project leadership opportunities. Use one-on-one conversations to understand interests that may not emerge in group channels. Recognize work with enough specificity that others understand the contribution.
Managers should also pay attention to who receives informal access. If some employees have more opportunities to interact with senior leaders, create intentional ways for remote and hybrid employees to build those relationships too.
A strong team culture does not require every person to communicate in exactly the same way. It requires leaders to understand different styles while maintaining clear expectations for participation, responsiveness and collaboration.
Personal Brand at Work: A Personal Brand at Work Checklist
Periodically review how you are showing up across communication channels.
Ask yourself:
- Are my messages clear about the purpose, action and timing?
- Do I add value instead of adding volume?
- Does my tone reflect the impression I want to create?
- Do I recognize other people’s contributions?
- Am I responsive without appearing constantly reactive?
- Do I know when to move a conversation away from Slack?
- Am I developing real relationships beyond transactional exchanges?
- Does my manager understand my contribution and career interests?
- Are my digital and live communication styles consistent?
- Would colleagues describe me in the way I hope to be described?
Your personal brand at work will form whether you manage it intentionally or not. Slack, Teams and other digital channels are now part of that process, but they are only one part.
Use those channels to communicate clearly and contribute thoughtfully. Then create opportunities for richer conversations that allow colleagues and managers to understand not only what you do, but also how you think, collaborate and lead.
If you want to better understand the impressions shaping your professional brand, SW&A’s Strengthening Personal Brand & Impressions program offers a practical way to explore how your communication influences the way others experience you. Talk with SW&A about the right development experience for you or your team.
As always, call us when you need us.
Want a free 15-minute consultation with us to see how we can help you or your leaders? Book a call now!