Everyone understands the secret value of effective branding for businesses, so develop a personal brand that represents you as an individual.
Personal branding may be your most valuable asset or one of a dozen astounding secrets if done properly. But how do you build a personal brand?
This article will teach you the secrets of personal branding and guide you through the stages required to build an amazing personal brand. Let’s start with a definition of personal branding.
Personal Branding Defined
Personal branding is how the public perceives a person. Branding is all about developing your reputation, projecting your image to the world, and promoting yourself. Your personal brand is the tale told about you while you aren’t there.
It’s not easy to conceive of oneself as a brand. However, everyone already has a personal brand. How is your job perceived? What adjectives do people use? Positive or negative?
Your story is online as well. What is being said about you online? You may actively manage your brand…or let it happen.
Built-in storytelling, specialist expertise, and a strong personal brand allow you to engage with your audience on a deeper level than just items and services.
‘Secret’ Branding Examples
Some business personas are larger than life. Gary Vaynerchuk, for example, effectively brands himself as Gary Vee, the boisterous businessman who tells it like it is and isn’t scared of self-promotion or stating his ideas loudly. Personal brands are omnipresent, and how one shapes theirs depends on the image and goals one wants to attain. Think:
- Oprah
- Cher
- Branson
- Beyoncé
- Ramsay
Go for Diversity in Personal Branding
Any successful YouTuber, blogger, or business owner with an online following will tell you that their personal brand is important.
Have a kind, trustworthy, and memorable personality. Their enterprises are created around them, making them inseparable from their businesses. That’s their best asset!
So, how do you develop a personal brand?
Identifying Your Own Brand’s Purpose
So, if you want to be successful, you clearly need a personal brand. But how will it assist you? Why do you desire a powerful brand? Clarifying your goals for your brand can help you plan your path to success, whether as a freelancer or attached to another organization.
A personal brand is vital for a freelancer who works on a project-by-project basis. Your personal brand will assist increase your visibility, reputation, and trust so more clients will seek your services. Finally, a strong personal brand attracts clients rather than you having to go looking for them, saving you time and money.
Personal Branding for Company Owners
You should be creating your brand as a business owner. You’ll need to define your brand’s mission and values, as well as the benefits your brand represents and how you distinguish it from your competitors. But there’s a personal brand involved, too.
Look at Branson. He has 11.3 million Twitter followers, compared to 556K for Virgin Atlantic, 171K for Virgin Galactic, and 0 for Virgin Media (225K). A “tie-loathing adventurer, philanthropist, and troublemaker!”
People are inherently curious about others and their lives. They want to know why you started your business, what you stand for, and your strengths and peculiarities. It will help you build deeper relationships and gain more visibility by humanizing your company and personalizing it.
As an entrepreneur, you may launch many businesses throughout time. One of your current business ventures may collapse. The idea is to create a personal brand that can be sold or transferred.
Performance, Secrets, Image, and Exposure
These days, hard effort and amazing ideas are rarely enough. Whatever you do, whatever your aim, control your P.I.E: Performance, Image, and Exposure.
If you want your personal brand to flourish, you need all three elements of your professional P.I.E. Of course, performance is vital. Your work must be of high quality. Image is how others see you — you are your own brand! Finally, exposure is about letting others know who you are and what you stand for. (More on that later.)
Find out where you can improve. Do you offer outstanding achievements but lack a fantastic image? Is your photograph good but underexposed?
“Classical columns supporting a ceiling.” Find your brand narrative and frame it. Never stop the narration. A compelling tale is constructed around pillars that support the overall goal of your personal branding activities. You must first determine the tale before you can begin telling it. To be known…for what? What will set you apart from your competitors? It’s critical to understand your brand personality and personal brand identity.
A personal brand framework, or story, includes crucial aspects like:
Brand Goal
- What is your “Why?” This is no time for secrets!
- Why do you get up and go to work?
- What do you want to achieve?
- You want professional success or the success of your product or service.
Values
- Today’s brands are value-oriented, and so must be your personal brand.
Defining Your Values
- Do you have ideas?
- Honesty and esteem?
- Identify five (5) fundamental values.
Brand Benefits, Secrets, and Beliefs
A brand’s practical and emotional advantages to customers must be evident.
- What are your personal brand’s hard and soft skills?
- What makes you special?
- Writing, coaching and mentoring, public speaking, workshop facilitation, company planning, branding, and marketing are examples of hard talents.
- Motivation, strength, independence, quickness of thought, and open-mindedness are soft talents.
Next, think about the evidence you have to back up your statements.
- What honors do you have?
- What credentials or references?
Make a list of your degrees, honors, qualifications, testimonials, media appearances, and notable work samples, perhaps a YouTube channel with your best speaking engagements or a professional blog that features your top writing examples.
Branding Components
Finally, a brand has a name, logo, colors, and fonts — your brand design. What makes up your own brand?
- Online, this includes your website’s colors and design aspects.
- For business cards, websites, and other marketing materials, many freelancers get a customized logo designed.
- Offline, personal branding includes your physical look, clothing, voice, and any unique personality peculiarities!
