How To Develop Personal Brand
What’s Your Personal Brand? Even if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you have one already; whether you know it or not, and whether you like it or not, someone out there has an impression of you that’s based on how they perceive your personal brand. Of course, how much of this perception comes from your own personality versus how much of it is based on what other people think about you is up to you. Nevertheless, developing your personal brand will help ensure that all the impressions others have of you are positive ones that reflect well on your brand as a whole.
How Develop Personal Brand
1. Define your goal
Having a goal is an important part of developing your personal brand. Whether you want to get into a certain school, make more money or simply be happy in your career, determining where you’re going will help you figure out how to get there. You may even find that your goals will change as you work towards them—and that’s OK. The key is knowing what matters most to you and keeping it top of mind as you build your personal brand. Be specific about what your goals are; after all, vague goals are often difficult (if not impossible) to achieve!
2. Get out there
It’s easy to feel isolated as a freelancer or sole proprietor, but becoming a personal brand is about much more than developing a snazzy social media persona. The most successful brands, after all, involve genuine connections with others. For example, attending local events and meetups where you can share your experience and knowledge with other people is not only beneficial for building your brand, it can also be great fun and will strengthen your community ties. In fact, any time you find yourself engaging with people in real life—either online or off—you are developing and building on your personal brand.
3. Choose words carefully
The first step to building your personal brand is choosing words carefully. Words should make it clear that you have a real personality and are an actual human being, not just a marketer. In fact, it’s best if someone doesn’t even realize you’re trying to build a personal brand for yourself; ideally, you will simply be known as an expert in your field who does things differently from others. That kind of reputation attracts followers on its own, which means less work for you when it comes time to build your network and promote yourself.
4. Add value with stories
Stories are powerful tools, because they add value by expanding on points and helping readers visualize an experience. Whether you’re writing a research paper or pitching a client, consider including stories in your presentation. When we read stories (not unlike real-life ones), we allow ourselves to feel what others might have felt in that situation—and it makes it easier for us to understand them, which leads us to accept their ideas more readily. This is particularly helpful if you’re trying to pitch a new idea or convince people of something they might not be sure about; by explaining your idea through a story, you can help them visualize how things would work out.
Steps of Creating Personal Brand
5. Use visual media
Whether it’s on social media, in your emails or on your business cards, it’s important to find ways to feature a photo of yourself as part of your personal brand. This gives people an idea of what you look like and can help others identify you at networking events or conferences. It also helps establish trust, because people will be able see what you look like (and read your name) before they decide whether they want to work with you. When selecting a photo for social media profiles or emails, try not to use one with other people in it—it’s best if potential clients are connecting with just you.
6. Create content people want to share
The first step in building your personal brand is learning how to create content that people want to share. Create a page on your website with all of your content, and use social media as a way to get people following you online. Once they’re following you online, they’ll be more likely share content from you on Facebook or Twitter. The key here is to make sure that everything you do has a reason behind it. You don’t have to always be promoting yourself; instead, try creating interesting content around topics related to your industry and find ways to tie it back into what you do. For example, if you run an SEO company, write articles about SEO tips for small businesses rather than just writing about SEO tips for yourself. By making everything relevant—and useful—to others, they will feel compelled to share it with their friends and followers. If done correctly, these types of posts can easily go viral without much effort at all!
7. Connect with influencers
When developing your personal brand, you’ll want to connect with influencers in your industry who have experience being an expert. They can give you advice on what you need to do, as well as ways to make yourself more visible. One way to get connected is by following these people on social media and commenting on their posts. You can also reach out directly and ask for some feedback about how you can develop your personal brand. Another great way is by attending conferences and networking events where you might be able to get a few minutes of one-on-one time with an influencer or other experts in your field. You should also consider joining online communities like LinkedIn or Quora where you can ask questions or post articles related to your industry that will help develop your expertise and visibility.
Branding A Person
8. Invite conversation
Are you currently developing a personal brand? If so, how do you think it can benefit your career? Leave a comment below and let’s talk about it. What advice would you give to people who are just starting out on their own? I’d love for us all to help each other grow our brands and make them even better. Thank you for joining in!
9. Gain experience
When you’re trying to create a personal brand, it’s important that others get a good sense of who you are and what your skill set is. Part of that means having developed those skills and honing your professional experience. If you’re looking for a career in sales, for example, don’t wait for someone else to bring you along—get yourself in a position where someone would want to work with you on an entry-level job or internship at their company. Demonstrate commitment and passion by showing initiative even if it isn’t directly related to your goal area, as well as curiosity about your desired field.
10. Become an expert
When building your personal brand, it’s important to know what you want your brand to represent. The first step is for you to decide if there’s something about yourself that makes you an expert in a certain area. For example, are you a health expert? If so, it might be helpful for other people who are interested in fitness and nutrition follow your journey with weight loss. Or perhaps there’s another topic that resonates with you. From there, start sharing with others: go online and write blogs or develop social media content based on your expertise. Over time, as more people notice your work, they’ll see that you’re knowledgeable and consider following along with you on social media or subscribing via email or RSS feed so they can continue learning from you as well.
