We can so easily recognize and identify with top company brands, that have, over the years, built credibility and trust, for quality, performance, service, and experience. They use slogans, and with a few words can tell a story and influence how people perceive their company. These types of slogans set the tone for how companies communicate and identify itself to the broader market. We can easily recognize the company behind slogans like, “Just do it” -Nike; “Think Different” – Apple; “Open Happiness” – Coca-Cola, and many others.
We mistakenly think brands only belong in the world of companies and not to us as individuals. This is not the case.
The job market is far more competitive than ever before. Whether you are looking for a job, or currently in a job, it is critical for you to craft your personal brand strategy and build it to advance your career and your life.
It can be tough to set yourself apart from your competitors. You want to be memorable and create meaningful connections, like the brands above, by learning from their marketing hype and creating your own personal brand for your own success.
So, you may ask, ‘What is a Personal Brand?”
Like a company brand above, a personal brand is not just a slogan. It is who you are, what you stand for, the values you embrace, the way in which you express those values, your experience, expertise, competencies, actions, or achievements within a particular industry sector, or the marketplace.
Simply put, your personal brand is a story about “who you are”. You want to find that special thing that is YOU and make your personal brand all about that. This is not something you make up; it has to be real.
The first important rule of a personal brand is to be authentic. There is no use trying to be someone other than yourself. Your brand must reflect who you are as a person, and this must be consistent across all social media platforms.
7 Top Tips for Developing Your Personal Brand
- “Who Are You?”
In building a personal brand that accurately reflects your personal and professional identity, it is important for you to firstly know, ‘who you are’. This requires a bit of introspection by asking yourself what your strengths and weaknesses are. Ask yourself:
- “What motivates me?”
- “What’s my area of expertise/specialisation?”
- “What skills/competencies/expertise/experience others know me for?”
- What personal characteristics do others like/admire in me?
- “What do I enjoy doing most of the time, without feeling overwhelmed or exhausted?”
- Determine what’s your competitive advantage?
Your personal brand is not only about who you are today but rather as to where you are heading. Where’s your point of differentiation to your competitors? You could be in the same industry as your competitors, but your area of specialization can be in a particular niche within the industry that makes you stand out as an expert in that area/niche. Prepare a powerful, compelling, Elevator pitch of 30 – 60 seconds. Don’t sell your product or service, highlight your personal brand in the Elevator Pitch.
- Identify and define your target market/audience
Further to point 2 above, if you want to stand out from your competitors, it is important to identify and define your target market/audience. What’s your area of expertise or specialization? Is this something your target market/audience is looking for? Who, specifically will you be targeting, HR, CEOs, Recruiters? The sooner you know this, the clearer you will know how to craft your personal brand and elevator pitch. Also, your LinkedIn and other social media profiles must be in alignment with your personal branding, as discussed below. Avoid trying to be everything to everyone and becoming impatient. Building your personal brand takes time and requires lots of patience and consistency.
- Connect and Collaborate
As you continue to develop your ideal personal brand, it’s important that you connect and collaborate regularly and effectively with other professionals within your target market and related markets that are in synergy with your target market. Connect with peers and industry thought-leaders, industry groups, professional associations.
The more connections you make, the more authentic you are, the more value you can add to conversations, the more people will recognize your personal brand.
Show your expertise by contributing interesting articles or other information about your industry, request to speak at events about a subject matter that you are an expert in, contribute to forums, or participate in panel discussions.
By building a solid network to grow your professional profile and exposure, you become known as the go-to person for all matters relating to your area of specialization or expertise.
- Build your online presence
As mentioned before, your messaging must be consistent across all social media platforms. While the look and feel of the platforms differ, the messaging must be consistent for you to be authentic and build trusting relationships. Remember, your personal brand is everywhere, not just online only. Everything you say and do, whether at home, on your daily commute to the office, or the gym, reflects your personal brand. Your reputation is the hallmark of who you are. Networking is a great way to continue building your online presence.
Try to keep your personal and social life away from your professional life. However, your personal values need to be consistent.
Build networks with peers and seniors, and professionals from other industries, even if they are in competition with your products or services. Typical platforms are LinkedIn, Twitter; Pinterest; Facebook.
- Follow in the footsteps of an expert you admire
As you continue to build your own personal brand, identify the experts, and thought leaders in your industry or niche. Read about them; what made them successful; read their articles and blogs, their industry associations, and their connections on LinkedIn, and follow them on LinkedIn. Knowing who’s all out there, gives you a good idea of what your benchmark is and what you need to do to get to the top. Consider how you can emulate them and do something different or better.
Consider approaching some of them and have an informal chat over a coffee. Most people are happy to share knowledge and experience about their life and success stories.
- Start blogging and/or create podcasts
One of the best ways to build your personal brand is by blogging. It gives you more opportunities to help others and connect with key stakeholders in your industry sector or niche. It also helps you improve your ranking on search engines.
Blogging is not only about generating sales. It is also a way to build authority on your area of knowledge, expertise, and experience which, in turn, helps you to build your personal brand awareness. This is how your content can go viral, making you more popular.
By creating thought leadership content, you are able to build trust with your audience, or client base.
Podcasting for your personal brand creates a unique opportunity for you to build intimate connections with your audience, and trust over time, even if you haven’t met them in person. They feel they know you, can identify with you, and can resonate with what you are sharing with them. Ultimately, they must feel they’ve learned something new.
Over and above blogging and podcasting, you could also try public speaking and using videos.
Below, is an Infographic of the 7 top tips you can implement to develop your personal brand. You can use the information above as a guide to complete the template below.
