As more and more entrepreneurs, social media influencers, and freelancers rise to the surface, the need for branding has become more important than ever. It does not matter which industry you belong to; you must establish a unique identity to stand out from the competition.
If you are new to the concept of personal branding, you have come to the right place. To create a powerful personal brand, you just need to do the following:
1. Find Out Who You Are
One of the keys to starting your personal branding journey is finding your true personality, values, and things that make you excited. Remember, your personal brand is mainly the essence of your personality. For instance, if you are someone who pays attention to detail, well-read, and keeps up with the trends in your industry, then that is your personal brand. Similarly, if you are a witty entertainer who is loved by an audience, then that is your personality, and it makes your personal brand.
Once you have got a better understanding of yourself, you can carve out a personal brand rather easily. Most importantly, this personal brand will make instant connections with the target audience if you take the right steps.
2. Work on Visual Appeal
Visuals play a huge role in personal branding on the Internet. So, you need a premium website, high-quality animations and special effects in your videos, and other content. At the core of all this, lies your branding. And one of the most things that make this branding is an attractive logo.
All major brands, such as Apple, Nike, Walmart, etc. have unique logos. If you want to build a personal brand you also need a logo. However, you don’t have to go to the expense of the big brands you can create a logo cheaply using modern logo design tools. However, if you have money to spend on a top-quality logo all the better.
3. Identify Your Target Audience
It is a common mistake that entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals commit- trying to impress everyone. The truth is- you cannot impress everyone. In fact, this approach is a recipe for failure. Instead, you should try to identify your target audience- a particular age group, gender, geographic parameters, etc. By focusing on only a small portion of the total market, you stand a better chance at converting leads into customers/clients.
It’s not easy to define your target market. However, you can take help from Google Analytics, run surveys, monitor your social activity, and many other things to identify the perfect audience.
4. Create a Content Strategy
Content marketing is incredibly powerful and if done right, it can help you a lot in building a personal brand. But how do you do that? Well, by sharing useful, informative, and engaging content with your target audience, for free, you can win their trust and make a name for yourself over time.
When you provide value to people, they connect with you and start to admire you. This is a simple but powerful way to market your brand. Of course, you can’t do it without taking care of a few things, such as keeping with the top content marketing trends, monitoring your rivals, and listening to the needs of your audience.
The following are some common content types that you can focus on to engage with your audience:
- Article and blog posts
- Videos
- Infographics
- eBooks
- Online courses
- Case studies
- Webinars
5. Become More Visible
To make your personal brand stronger, you need to be more and more visible to the people. For this, you can try a wide range of things such as guest blogging, interviews and PR, public speaking, and other public events, etc. It is also a good idea to collaborate with influences, especially those who work in the same domain as yours.
If you are unsure which is a good collaboration for your personal brand, you can keep the following in mind:
- Look for collaborations that provide you opportunities to showcase your talent and expertise.
- Make sure that you join hands with individuals who have an audience that is interested in your niche. If their audience is not relevant to your business/domain, your collaboration will not get satisfactory results.
- It is important that you team up with people who are genuine, good-natured, supportive, and have a good work ethic.
- It is always good to do repeat collaborations with those who create similar content as yours
6. Know Your Industry Inside Out
You should try to build thought leadership- it encourages others to take you seriously and spread your personal brand. However, this cannot be done unless you know your industry inside and out. You need to stay on top of the latest trends, news, and your rivals. The Internet can provide you all the information you need for this. All you have to do is make the effort.
The following are some effective tips on how you can become a thought leader:
- Create quality content on a consistent basis. You can cover new trends and news with your own unique take on them.
- Pay attention to your online reputation, especially on social media. You can use social listening tools to ensure that your name is mentioned on social media with positive sentiments only.
- Be humble and generous with the way you interact with your audience. These attributes should also be reflected in your content.
- Be a problem solver. Share fresh and innovative ideas with others. If you are able to strike a chord with other authoritative figures, you can greatly push your personal brand.
- If you have a truly great idea or knowledge to share, reach out to the media. Top media channels can easily take you to the masses if they see potential in your ideas.
7. Try 2-Way Networking
Many people make this mistake of focusing on their own needs and benefits when they network. You should avoid it and practice two-way networking instead. In this, you try to also keep the needs of others in mind. So, when you meet a like-minded individual who can spread your name i.e. personal brand around, be sure to give them an opportunity to benefit from networking with you. This can go a long way in building strong and secure connections with others.
Building a personal brand does not have a herculean task. If you are committed to the task, passionate about your work, and willing to be patient, then you too can build a unique and powerful personal brand. Just apply the techniques above, and you are sure to see some remarkable results. Good luck!
