Keen to find out how to build a personal brand? It doesn’t need to take forever or break the bank. Here are six quick tips to help you show the world who you are.
What does your personal brand mean?
First things first. What is a personal brand? Well, not to get all middle-management speak but think of it as your promise to the world. It’s a definition and distillation of who you are, what you do and what you represent. And it gives you a lens through which you present yourself.
Examples of personal branding
Lots of people tend to think of their social media channels as their personal brand. That’s true to a certain extent, but it’s an incredibly narrow definition. The reality is that personal branding encompasses everything from the clothes you wear to your email signature; from your logo to the way you interact with people; from your beliefs about your profession to the headshot you use in your display pic.
Personal branding strategy
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to defining or creating your personal brand. Where do you start? Firstly, don’t panic. Asking yourself a few simple, but important, questions will help you create a personal brand that is honest, genuine and resonates with the right people.
Here are six tips.
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Identify your strengths
The first step is to identify what you are good at. That includes both soft skills such as listening and leadership as well as functional, vocational skills such as illustration, engineering or web development. Before you sell yourself, you need to figure out what you’re selling.
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Find your target audience
The next step is to think carefully about the different groups of people, organisations and businesses that would benefit from your particular skill set and expertise. Once you know who you are talking to, it’s far easier to build a personal brand that grabs the attention of all the right people.
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Set your values in stone
Next, it’s time to consider your personal and professional values. What do you stand for? What do you stand against? What do you love about the way you do business and hate about the way others do business? Write a list of values and principles that set you apart and keep them firmly in mind when creating your personal brand.
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Create your digital presence
Okay, now it’s time to start getting creative. For a standout online presence you should generally be looking at a tidy website, a logo and one or two professional headshots that elevate you above the rest and help you to establish your credibility. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and you don’t need a black belt in web design. There are dozens of tools out there for building a professional-looking personal website. Professional headshots meanwhile are far more affordable than you may have thought and can be sorted in one afternoon. Worth it.
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Don’t limit yourself to online
Looking great online? Brilliant. Just don’t forget there’s a real world beyond the digital one. People do business with people. So remember to embody your brand values whenever you find yourself in a business context.
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Remember, it’s all about you
Creating a personal brand can be daunting. But just remember that you have one major thing going for you. Nobody else is better at being you than you. Stop comparing yourself to everyone else and let your inner strengths shine. It’s your brand, and you call the shots.
