Our perception of personal brands
We tend to think of brands as businesses or products — think of McDonald's or Apple iPhones. However, anyone can be a brand.
As an individual, your personal branding is framed in the content and achievements that you share on social networks and everywhere else online.
Take a look around at personal brands.
People who launch new podcasts have a personal brand. Influencers who speak at conferences have a brand.
Influential bloggers and people who contribute to industry publications — all personal brands.
The secret: personal branding is easy, but almost no one does it.
Building a personal brand requires you to share your skills with the world.
Do this regularly and you'll be creating your own personal brand in no time.
This guide covers the best strategies to use to create a personal brand that will help you reach your goals this year.
First, let's discuss the definition of successful personal branding.
What is personal branding?
Personal Branding is about finding your mission and sending messages to the world to achieve a specific result.
Your personal brand is a combination of skills and life experiences that make you a unique individual.
It highlights what you stand for and differentiates you from others in your field.
It's very similar to finding the meaning of your life with a tool like Japanese Ikigai:
Personal Branding reinforces your reputation. According to a recent study:
- Global leaders attribute 45% of their company's reputation and 44% of their company's market value to reputation of their CEO.
- In addition, a CEO's reputation plays a critical role in attracting employees to a company (77%) and in motivating them to stay there (70%).
In a world where the digital “you” tells your story and will outlive your biological body, a personal brand helps create a legacy that supersedes a career.
So how do you create a personal brand? How do you continuously create (and publish) content you're passionate about on your own digital platform? Below are seven easy ways to create a remarkable personal brand.
How do you create a personal brand?
1. Find your unique superpowers.
When building a personal brand, you first need to find your unique superpowers. You can also call them your passions, your goal, or your”Pitch elevator“.
Can you say what you are in 20 words or less?
If not, you need to start defining what you're passionate about and what unique skills you want to share with the world.
Your unique superpowers are the starting point for your own business and personal brand. You need to ask yourself:
- What seems effortless to me?
- What do people tell me I'm good at?
- What is the one thing I am ready to fight for?
- When do I feel fearless?
- What can I see more clearly than others?
- What is my only message to the world?
After answering these questions, here's a quick exercise for harnessing your superpowers.
- Make a list of your top ten passions. These might be things you're good at, enjoy doing, get lost in, or who you They bring in money.
- Choose your two or three main passions that are in your “sweet spot.” They should be at the intersection of what you know how to do, what you love to do, and what you can do to help others.
- Write a 20-word mission statement that summarizes your goal.
A clear definition of your purpose and strengths should form the foundation of your personal brand strategy, and is the key to an effective personal brand strategy. But passion is not enough. You may be passionate about tennis or surfing, but that passion does not automatically translate into success.
Instead, study the needs of people in the areas you are passionate about.
What are their difficulties and what are their pain points?
What are they trying to achieve in their lives?
Consider how you can best help your audience and readers in your own way.
2. Create a personal brand statement.
Find examples of a personal brand statement, which consist of one or two sentences explaining your value, who you serve, and your unique value proposition.
When you prepare your personal brand statement, make sure it's memorable, a bit short, focused on your audience, and that it comes from your authentic voice.
With a personal brand message, you are the strategist and you control your message in real life, at a deep and personal human level.
Whether you live in New York (or in the middle of nowhere in Kansas), you can use your professional and personal experience to dominate the job market.
3. Build your brand online across multiple platforms.
To share your voice with the world, you need an online platform. Les social networks are a good starting point, but you should also create a website, because it is a platform that belongs to you.
This will give you a place to host all of your content, and you can create your own digital marketing strategy and SEO authority over time.
First, make sure you know your audience.
Depending on your sector of activity, your platform for creating your online personal branding will be different.
For example, my personal brand is located on:
- My blog
- Social media profiles
- Other articles have been published in forbes, Entrepreneur, and Business Insider.
- My business cards
If you don't have your own website, you need to create one.
Many so-called branding experts and social media profiles rely too much on third-party platforms that they don't control, like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or Quora.
You can take advantage of these social media platforms, but what happens when one loses popularity? It's too risky to rely solely on social media, which is why you need a personal website.
Once you have chosen a domain name, choose your web hosting, create a site map and start planning your personal brand strategy.
This content strategy should include your unique value proposition, a site map to know what web pages you'll need, your blog post ideas, and some strategies for digital marketing to get more visibility.
The more personal branding tools you use to your advantage, the better positioned you will be.
4. Create content that focuses on personal branding.
Now that you know your unique superpowers and have a digital platform, it's time to refine the main purpose of your site.
It's critical to refine your niche and use content marketing to your advantage.
Create a content reservoir of focused, related ideas that you can rank in search engines.
For example, if you want to be known for videography, you can write blog posts on the following related topics:
- Corporate video
- Shooting commercial spots
- How to add animations to your videos
- Choosing the best camcorder
- Post-production tips for YouTube videos
And the list goes on.
Once you've started writing content and blog posts, ask your audience for feedback so you can understand their main pain points and refine your content to give them what they want.
Write articles that are useful, engaging, optimized for search engines, and that solve a problem in your niche.
The key is consistency and the aim of writing a little bit every day. Just 300 words a day is equivalent to a 400 page book in a year.
5. Practice networking and creating relationships.
Even if you write great content and post it on your website, that doesn't mean everyone will see it.
Just as you build authority in the real world, you need to focus on SEO And the Guest blogging to create an online domain authority (DA).
You can't expect to be found online without building genuine relationships and creating your DA. Instead of focusing most of your initial efforts solely on writing new content, build relationships and get backlinks instead.
After all, to create your brand strategy, you need to take part in serious networking. Remember that effective networking is not just about “you,” it's about bringing value to others.
Start with simple networking: you can share someone else's content or thank them for their article.
These can be small connections on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
This direct approach does not require much effort but does not bring much in return.
Then work on strengthening your ties. True networking is about building strong relationships with others in your field that you want to work with.
This includes face-to-face interactions, email exchanges, and understanding everyone's needs in the marketplace.
Once you've established contacts with others in your field and know them personally, you help each other with SEO, link building, guest posts, and outreach.
At the end of the day, relationships are very valuable and dofollow backlinks to your brand's website are a huge factor in determining your search engine rankings.
The key is to be as useful as possible, write fantastic content, and network with others to build your credibility. In the end, be so valuable that people literally feel bad if they don't help you.
6. Be authentic.
“Don't be afraid to present the real you to the world,
Authenticity is at the heart of success.”
- Unknown
Your personal brand is simply personal. Be authentic and develop your own brand image in your writing style.
Authenticity is about being vulnerable, having values, and staying true to them. If you know your target audience and effectively communicate an authentic message, you gain the trust of your readers and become an expert in your niche.
Your writing style is also a reflection of your values.
Do you write seriously or informally? Are you informative or comical?
Are you relaxing or are you focusing on professionalism?
It will always depend on your niche, audience, and blog strategy.
But be sure to stay consistent in your writing style, and you'll find that you're developing a unique brand voice that resonates over time.
7. Become the personal brand you want to be.
Personal Branding is an investment in you and your future.
The time you spend developing content, networking, and sharing your ideas with the world will pay you dividends that you can't yet imagine.
You need to think long term.
Your personal brand won't become famous overnight.
However, if you're committed to the long term, start writing like the person you want to become. Each piece of content will strengthen your reputation over time.
You'll meet more important people in your niche, have better career prospects, and have a platform to share your ideas with the world. Ideas that will last long after you're gone.
FAQ - Personal Branding
How important is it to have the right mentors when creating your own brand?
Building your own brand and working with the right mentors is critical when starting your own brand.
Likewise, being a thought leader and contributor in your industry is critical to success. Access to a wealth of knowledge and resources will help you succeed.
What should you pay attention to when creating a personal brand?
When creating your own personal brand, you should pay attention to the following questions about the foundations of personal branding:
- What are your unique selling points?
- What are your goals?
- Who is your target audience?
- What are your values and what do you stand for?
- What differentiates you from other players in your sector?
- What are your skills and strengths?
What are examples of personal branding?
Strong personal brands include
- Oprah Winfrey
- Steve Jobs
- Richard Branson
- Martha Stewart
- Elon Musk
Why is it important to have personal branding?
Your personal brand helps you create your reputation and credibility.
If you are in the business world, your trademark also contributes to strengthening the credibility of your business.
Having a personal story linked to your career success can help the average citizen get closer to you and be more likely to do business with you.
Why is uniqueness important in creating a personal brand?
When creating your personal brand, it's important to be unique and to differentiate yourself from everyone else.
It will help you stand out and be memorable.
Creating quality content and being active on social media are great ways to create your brand and make it stand out.
Summary.
Building a personal brand is a process, not an event.
Developing your brand strategy takes a lot of work, dedication, and time. However, the benefits are immense and long-lasting.
Start by focusing on creating quality content, networking with others in your field, and being authentic.
These steps will lay the foundation for a successful personal brand.
Do you have ideas about personal branding?
Do you find that creating a strong personal brand is something you need to actively work on or does it come naturally over time?
Let me know in the comments below!
Other recommended reading: To start building your personal brand, check out my free and easy guide to How to start a blog this year.
