Creating a strong personal brand is not a task that you can achieve overnight, however, but the effort you put into it is worth the hard work and it can help you accomplish your individual and professional goals.
Your personal brand what you stand for as an individual and it is the way others perceive you. It’s your true identity which makes you unique. Your personal brand will help you differentiate yourself in your career or in your life for that matter.
Think about Sir Richard Branson – he has a unique personal brand. He is known as a visionary and an innovative man. His projects – Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Records, Virgin Galactic to name just a few – truly reflect his entrepreneurial and visionary personal brand. His projects demonstrate that he stands for thinking out of the box and explore the unchartered territory.
No matter what you do, a personal brand can help you. Your personal brand reflects your values and showcase your strengths. When people look you up online, your personal brand gives them a feel of what you symbolize.
It’s a way of symbolizing who you are and your true character. When your personal brand echoes with you and your core values, you charm people around you.
In this age of social media, you can utilize available channels to build, nurture and maintain your personal brand. In the long run, your brand can establish your authority in the given field and help you endorse and market a product or service or differentiate you in your industry or society.
Once you establish a strong reputation, people will reach out to you for guidance. People would want to listen to you and they would trust the product or service that you endorse. It feels great when people show their respect and trust.
Here are a few guidelines that will get you going on your personal brand building journey:
- Begin with a story. Stories move the world. They evoke emotions, transport people to an idealistic world, and help others connect with you. How did you arrive at where you are at this time? What inspired you? How did you counter opposing forces and faced challenges? An insightful and genuine story will surely resonate with your audience.
- Articulate your brand promise. A brand promise is a declaration that sets the tone and builds expectations for your audience when they interact with you. It can be a catchy slogan or a tagline on social media but more importantly it should be genuine and true. Regardless of the end goal, what is the brand promise that will truly and effectively define your brand promise?
- Research. Knowing your audience is critical and research will be your main tool. It will also help you identify other competing brands and why people follow them. If you do this right, research can help you create lifelong fans and followers.
- Who do you want to influence? Who all constitute your target market or audience?
- Which other similar brands does your target market follow?
- What words, phrases, tone and emotions will you use?
- Ask people to highlight qualities that set you apart from others. Maybe it’s your frankness, positive attitude, compassion, selflessness, etc. How can you weave these characteristics into your brand personality to drive strength?
- Build your online presence. Start building your profile on digital platforms so that when people find you online, they can get all the right information about you.
- Build you website. Your website is like your digital personality that articulates your brand positioning, what you stand for and what you offer. It can also be the archive of your articles, video logs and other content that you uploaded.
- Social Media Platforms. Content you upload on social media reaches your existing followers and help you expand your audience. You can share across platforms to optimize reach.
- Email. Sending newsletters, blogs or video log links into targeted inboxes can create personal and intimate bonds with your audience.
- Attention to Details. A picture says a thousand words, use appropriate images and visuals that depict your brand personality. Consistency is the key here. Keep your communication consistent across all communication channels.
- Think long-term. Your personal brand is built over a period of time. Acknowledgment of this fact will encourage you to maintain a consistent behavioral pattern day in and day out. Stick to your brand purpose and be patient. Focus on the end game and how a strong personal brand will help you accomplish your career or life goals.
A strong personal brand is your most precious asset. Build it with passion, nurture it with commitment and guard it with care. It will prove to be the biggest realizer of your personal and professional dreams.
