Ghalib Hassam

Kurogo

I build busy CEOs\Founders' personal brands and position them as an authority in their market.

I've worked with CEOs\Founders from the DACH, MENA, and the UK.

With a well-positioned personal brand, you can:
 
- Grow a community.
- Get inbound leads.
- Attract talent.

Here's what I do:

- Communicate with CEOs\Founders and their marketing teams.

- Come up with a strategy that is aligned with their Personal Branding goals as well as their business\company goals.

- Form a community of professionals (networking is key)

First, you create demand for you and your services.
Second, you capture that demand in the form of a growing network, more leads, and attracting talent to your company.

All inbound.

Personal Brand Manager.

notus

• Copywriting - Creative.
• Account management for clients.
• Content Strategy.

Personal Brand Manager

Bahcesehir University

BAU Global Representative.

‣Marketing the university along with its campuses abroad in the BAU Global network.
‣Reporting directly to the head of international relations.

Marketing International Student Assistant/Masters Student Assistant

ZTE Corporation

Intern

I recently made the transition from being an Engineer to pursuing a career in marketing. 

I want to help others who are going through similar experiences in life and take that leap of faith, by sharing my experiences and how others went through the same thing, just like all of us.

A month after I made the career transition:

1. I landed a Personal Brand Manager role at a Berlin/NY based agency, where I:
-Worked on building personal brands for Tech-Startup CEOs/Founders from Germany and Switzerland.
-I worked on Content Strategy - Copywriting - Creative - Account Management.

2. Three months later, I accepted a full-time Personal Brand Manager role at Kurogo, a London-based personal branding agency, where I am currently working on:
-Content strategy for CEOs/Founders to leverage their personal brands.
-Copywriting.
-Communication between clients to come up with an apt solution to their personal branding end-goals.

If you want to know more or get in contact regarding the services I provide, you can always reach out to me via DM or through email: ghalib@kurogo.co.uk

9 months ago I got sick of working for a large corporate.

Here are 9 ways I took matters into 'my own hands':

1. Began building my personal brand on LinkedIn.
2. Grew my network with intent(specific industry)
3. Began shooting my shot(smart outreach)
4. Reached out to ‘unreachable’ names.
5. 'Offered' volunteer work to learn.
6. Made sincere relationships.
7. Kept growing my network.
8. Did marketing courses.
9. Left my comfort zone.

The ROI?

A full-time role in my desired industry & startup.

The takeaway is a lesson I'll never forget:

Things change when you take responsibility for yourself.

I Attract Leads\Talent For Companies By Building Personal Brands | PBM @ Kurogo

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Last year I applied to 40 jobs in 150 days on LinkedIn.

I wanted to test cold vs personalized applications.

Here's what the experiment taught me:

You'll forever be stuck in a queue if you rely on others.

- 0 companies invited me for an interview.
- 1 came back to me with a rejection.
- 39 didn't even bother.

Here's what happened when I leveraged my Personal Brand/Networking ↓

- 3 internship reach outs - 2 secured.
- 1 full-time role reach out - 1 secured.

If this doesn't show you the advantage of building your personal brand, I don't know what will.

But it's not just the rejections that hurt...

- Every rejection makes you want to stop the search.
- You start feeling that you're not good enough.
- You feel like you're not 'cut out' for this.

Nobody wants to go through that.

Start building your personal brand today.

A boy from a small village in Pakistan.

2022 February - Finishing a degree I hate.

2023 February - PBM at UK's leading personal branding agency.

My experience of changing careers:

It all started with taking responsibility.

I wanted things to change but I was lacking accountability.

Expecting things to change magically = Being naive.

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I couldn't do it in a flash so I decided to design my life for it instead.

• Hung out with successful people.
• Networked my way into marketing.
• Upskilled myself (through free certifications)
• Pitched myself (through content and convos)

Eventually, I landed 2 internships and then a full-time role.

And now I am working towards the next step of my career.

By using the same 4 steps that I followed earlier.

If a boy from a small village in Pakistan can do it?

Then you can do it too.

It's Ramadan.

But as a Muslim, I hesitate to talk about my faith.

I fear that I'll be judged, looked down upon, or not treated the same way as others.

This may or may not be true but all these years of Islamophobia (still ongoing) have instilled this in the back of my head. 

I wish I had a bigger platform and a wider reach to raise this issue but it makes me feel good when big creators, just like Jasmin Alic, talk about it.

I believe we all have a moral responsibility to debunk false narratives\raise awareness and some people are actually doing this right.

Happy Ramadan to everyone celebrating.

For others reading this, this is an amazing opportunity to learn more about my faith.

I quit my 'dream role' after 4 months.

A major leap of faith - but it paid off.

I left because of 2 reasons:

1. I had a terrible boss.
2. They didn't think their marketing was 15 years behind.

An awful boss = Being miserable.

• Constant feeling of walking on broken glass.
• Made felt 'you're not good enough.'
• 'Stamping' authority 24\7.

Now, let's talk about the marketing part...

Our target audience was primarily Gen Z.

And the marketing channels that were being used?

• Radio.
• Television Ads.
• Newspaper Ads.

Here's what I suggested:

• A content series on Instagram\TikTok.
• A weekly podcast. (In this case, the school's alumni)

Gen Z trusts their peers\idols more than a freakin newspaper?!!?

These were just a couple of suggestions.

But what happened next?

I was told off.

I was shut down.

However, I tried to convince them for months.

And when that failed, I tried to continue 'just for money.'

I couldn't do that either.

So, instead of quitting and being unemployed, I designed my life for a different role at a different company.

And here we are today.

I quit once I had a backup.

I thought I'd be spending 10+ years at that job.

Funny how things can change.

2010 - Collect emails\numbers and do outbound to people that don't want to buy yet.

2023 - Let's do the same thing and pretend that buying behaviour hasn't changed at all.

This approach is costing companies a lot.

Buyers are much smarter now.

1. They have access to information which empowers them to navigate\make buying decisions on their own.

2. They can rely on the internet (dark social) & their network and not depend on a cold call to them.

3. They have become independent.

Adapt your marketing (content) strategy today.

Reap the benefits tomorrow.

Leveraging my personal brand after my career change was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Leverage your Personal Brand.

Give me 1 good reason why you shouldn't be creating content.

It doesn't matter if you're:

• An individual.
• A 1-person business.
• A small company (1-10 team)
• A bigger company (10-100 team)

Your content is your leverage for the next 5-10 years.

Use this unorthodox method to generate more leads: 

1. Find 3-5 team members.
2. Encourage them to post content.
3. Give them free reign to post their POV.

And most importantly... 

4. Give them time, a budget, and support. 

Your competitors are too lazy to do this... 

P.S. We've generated 50m views and £££ in rev for Kurogo doing this.

Here's why you're not getting a job off of a DM: 
 
You're not blunt enough. 
 
Here's how 1 DM changed my life: 
 
My career change left me searching for a meaningful job. 
 
- Countless LinkedIn applications. 
- Endless scrolling. 
- Misery. 
 
Then one day, I decided to shoot my shot. 
 
I saw a hiring post. 
 
I liked it and went straight into the DMs. 
 
Here's what the DM looked like: 
 
1. I mentioned the post that led me to his DMs. 
2. I mentioned my recent career change. 
3. I mentioned that I have 0 experience. 
4. I mentioned my soft skills. 
5. I added humor. 
 
- That DM led to an interview. 
- That interview led to an internship. 
- That internship led to a part-time offer. 
 
That part-time offer & consistent posting led to a full-time offer at another start-up (you can guess) 
 
Be purposeful in your approach here. 
 
Once you get your foot in - things start to settle. 
 
P.S. Some might find this DM desperate - it's true. I was desperate for a job. No shame in that.

How to revamp your company page's content strategy:

Revamp your company page's content strategy.

A ridiculously simple way to attract talent/leads:

Encourage top to bottom personal branding.

Here’s how I’d approach this for a company:

1. Start with the C-Suite.

- What do they stand for?
- How do they treat their team?
- What is their ‘Why’ for the business?

Get the top-level execs to post their POV online.

2. ‘Pick’ the business’s SMEs.

Your CEO is not always the SME.

It could be anyone in the hierarchy.

‘Choose’ someone with knowledge AND personality.

Make a recurring content pillar out of them:

(Video should be the priority)

- Podcast.
- Webinars
- Live series.

Gather feedback.

Respond with content that answers it.

3. Bottom-up Evangelism.

‘Pick’ a few team members.

Encourage them to post online.

(They don't have to be SMEs either)

- Show the company culture.
- Get their unique POV out there.
- Showcase wins/losses through the content.

This is just the basics of how this can be done.

Companies that adapt to this will be winners.

And you don't wanna be on the losing side.

The global creator economy is worth $104.2 billion.

As a business, you should ask yourself:

"What role am I playing in it?"

Note: Your gated e-books don't count.

You're shooting yourself in the foot if you're not participating.

Because your buyers are where the creators are.

• Purchasing decisions aren't the same.
• There is an abundance of information.
• Buyers are 'smarter' than ever now.

Here's what you should do instead...

• Leverage 'dark social.'
• Start giving, stop gating.
• Publish content frequently.

Evolve or die.

Your obsession with 'immediate' ROI is costing you $$$

The goal of your content is to build trust+familiarity.

And this takes months.

But once you've established that trust...

The byproducts start rolling in.

- Inquiries $
- Demo requests $$ 
- High-intent leads $$$

And also...

- Interest in your company $$$
- Access to great talent $$
- Zero recruitment fee $

Start working on your content strategy today.

And if you already have one in place?

Be patient with it.

99% of marketing teams of CEOs\Founders that I've worked with didn't know how to measure dark social(or LinkedIn, in this case)

They're all just waiting for a direct lead asking to buy from them.

Your LinkedIn presence isn't a direct channel - it's a touchpoint.

Most companies only rely on visible touch-points in a buying journey (their attribution software reports)

And they completely ignore touchpoints that can't be measured by their attribution software.

It's not my job to run their dark social marketing strategy - but I can't help but think if proper attribution isn't set in place then wanting dark social to work is a waste.

Because how do you know if it's working or not?

My job is to make them aware of how they 'could' measure it ('How did you hear about us', asking customers why they chose you, etc.)

But if it doesn't get implemented in the end - it's just a shame.

Most of these CEOs\Founders want to build their personal brand on LinkedIn to gain more business. Who doesn't?

Yet they don't know or they don't want to make necessary changes in their marketing departments for it to work properly.

There's a lack of awareness\understanding at the C-suite level.

Open yourself to being educated - only then should you invest in a LinkedIn strategy.


You’re lucky if your leaders are actively creating content.

It’s a signal that they ‘probably’ understand today’s marketing landscape.

And this saves you a lot of time too…

You won’t have to make them understand how buyers are acting these days.

This, in return, gives you a lot of room to execute your content strategies with minimum resistance.

Buyers don't make decisions after a google search.

They make decisions after consulting with their peers.

Buying decisions are made in places that can't be tracked.
 
• Podcasts.
• Gatherings.
• Word of mouth.
• Facebook/Slack communities.
• Instagram/LinkedIn/Twitter content.

Most companies are still completely relying on their attribution software.

Here's the problem with that:

Software tells them that it's the website that converted the customer.

While in reality, the website only captured the demand.

The buyer had certain touchpoints that can't be tracked in any way (Dark Social)

One way to get insightful data is to include a "How did you hear about us?" open-text field in your conversion forms.

You'd be surprised how inaccurate it can make your attribution software look.

Spend time where your customers get their information and then re-direct your resources according to this new data.

CEOs\Founders planning to build their personal brands:

Don't measure LinkedIn's success by direct leads.

Measure its impact as a touchpoint in your buyer's journey instead.

People don't buy from you because they read 1 post.

It just doesn't work like that.

When they buy - they've already been through the buyer's journey.

And one of the touchpoints was probably LinkedIn (if you had a strategy in place)

Leverage LinkedIn as a touchpoint to understand your buyers better.

To make this work, you'd need qualitative attribution in place.

Talk to your customers:

• Ask them how they heard about you.
• Ask them if\what impact LinkedIn had in buying.

And then - double down\change according to their feedback.

This doesn't apply to creators whose marketing channel is ONLY LinkedIn.

If an early-stage startup that doesn't have a marketing department expects direct business from LinkedIn because it's their only channel, then it makes sense.

But if that's not you - then stop treating it as a direct channel for business.

Measure it as a touchpoint instead.

3 ways to reach your target audience 8x faster:

(companies generate over 60% of pipeline with this)

1. Get your C-suite to start posting on LinkedIn.

- What values do they hold for the business?
- What do they do for their employees?
- What is their ‘Why’?

2. Choose your subject matter experts.

Pick an SME with personality.

Get them to record:

- Podcast.
- Webinars
- Live series.

Gather audience feedback.

And then answer it with new content.

3. Give everyone 'free reign' to post their POV.

- No restrictions.
- No 'please promote our blog.'
- No micromanaging their content.

Note: This is a long-term play.

Don't bother if you'll scratch this strategy in a month.

P.S. Did you find this post valuable? If so, follow me and hit the 🛎 button!

Does your company 'get' marketing?

And no, even if they say so doesn't mean it's true...

Here's what I'd look for if I wanted a marketing role:

1. Are the leaders\C-suite actively creating content?

This is a good indicator that they have an idea of how the marketing\buyer landscape is right now.

2. How is the success of marketing measured?

You need to stay away from places that still only believe in attribution software and give no weight to self-reported attribution.

Because 'all leads aren't the same.'

3. What does their content strategy look like?

Only blogs and ebooks aren't going to cut it.

It means they haven’t realized & adapted to how buyers make purchasing decisions.

Working for a company that isn't afraid to adapt to change is so much better.

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