Key takeaways
When you hear the phrase "personal branding," you might think it's only for big businesses, athletes, or celebrities. But that’s just not the case anymore. Today, like it or not, personal branding is for everyone since a lot of personal and professional success depends on helping others to see your value.
Personal branding involves creating an identity for yourself as an individual or a business. But brands aren’t born overnight; they take time to create, nurture, and promote to achieve optimal results. So, how do you get there?
Let’s take a deeper look at branding, how you can personalize it, and ways to get it in front of people so they can learn more about you.
For most professionals, this is a similar challenge: How can I stand out among others in my field, many of whom already have impressive online presences and big followings?
It starts with showing the world who you are and what you do. Suppose you're a freelance graphic designer. You can start building your personal brand by setting up an online gallery that showcases your best work. You can announce the presence of your gallery on your personal blog and social media channels.
Then, start networking with other designers and potential clients. both online, such as on LinkedIn via groups, and offline at graphic design-specific networking events.
That might sound like a lot of work, but building your business takes time and effort. Putting all of the steps together cohesively and memorably is what creates a brand. A graphic designer or any other professional can build a personal brand by having this mindset:
You're defined by the values, expertise, and unique qualities that set you apart. These are your brand attributes, the reason for your brand’s existence, and why people want to engage with you.
People don’t just want to hear a sales pitch. They want to hear your brand story – why did you start this business? Why are you passionate about it? What is your mission? The answers to these questions will help you attract your ideal audience.
Getting your content in front of your ideal audience allows you to build relationships, trust, and loyalty with the people most likely to purchase and engage with your brand. Let’s dig a little deeper and see how you’ll define your audience and use it to establish thought leadership in your space.
First, we’ll review how to find your ideal audience, and then we'll talk about how to leverage your online presence to develop a strong personal brand.
Identify your target audience
Establishing your target audience is key to developing an effective brand. It involves knowing your audience's demographics, interests, and preferences. Having a good understanding of your audience will help you tailor your messaging and content.
If you're a marketing consultant helping small businesses, for example, your audience might be entrepreneurs looking for cost-effective marketing strategies. Knowing their needs, like limited budgets and time constraints, helps you create content that solves their problems.
Align your message with a memorable visual identity
Developing a consistent visual identity helps create recognition and reinforces your brand message. This includes choosing appropriate colors, fonts, and imagery that align with your identity.
Let's take the example of a wedding planner. Their visual branding might include a soft color palette, elegant typography, and beautiful images of romantic settings. Creating this visual brand would evoke emotions associated with love and elegance, attracting soon-to-be-wed couples who resonate with these aesthetics.
Visual branding is not a one-and-done process. It requires ongoing refinement to stay on-brand and remain attractive. From logo design to color palettes, here’s a checklist to help you nail visual branding.
Establish your online presence through thought leadership
You’ll need a well-designed website to brand yourself as a professional online. You can express your brand identity throughout your website, especially in the About Us, Company Culture, Mission Statement, and Vision sections which give visitors an inside look at your company. For maximum effectiveness, this content must reflect the essence of who you are and should contain a mix of media including text, audio, images, and video.
How can you establish yourself as a thought leader? Be your authentic self. Your story, expertise, and personality are yours alone, and you can take advantage of those strengths to establish yourself as a thought leader. Your audience will trust you if you are relatable, and a personalized approach will give you a distinct advantage over others who simply wish to sell.
As you build trust, you will use content marketing to establish yourself as a thought leader. Next, we’ll get into content marketing and its relationship to thought leadership.
Content marketing establishes you as a thought leader
Not everyone knows how to use content marketing to their advantage, and maybe you’re wondering if it's for you. Content marketing can play a pivotal role in establishing someone as a thought leader in their respective field. Thought leadership is not just about showcasing expertise; it's about consistently delivering valuable insights, ideas, and perspectives to your targeted audience. Through content marketing, you can position yourself as an authority by creating and putting out high-quality content that addresses industry challenges, offers innovative solutions, and sparks meaningful discussions.
One key aspect of content marketing is consistency. Thought leaders maintain a regular content schedule, whether through blog posts, videos, podcasts, or social media updates, to stay engaged with their audience. This consistency builds trust and credibility over time since the audience begins to rely on the thought leader as a go-to source for information and inspiration.
Also, thought leaders often challenge conventional wisdom, bringing fresh perspectives to the table and encouraging critical thinking within their industry. By doing so, they stand out as innovators and visionaries who are shaping the future of their field. In essence, content marketing allows people to share their knowledge, insights, and unique viewpoints with the world, ultimately solidifying their status as thought leaders who influence and inspire others in their domain.
So, create content that answers questions and solves problems. If your content offers solutions to problems instead of hard sale pitches, your audience will be more likely to engage with it.
One way to show people you have solutions is by engaging people on social media and answering questions and concerns in real-time. Let’s review how to leverage social media as a tool to establish your personal brand.
You might think posting on social media is mostly about self-promotion in the form of telling people to visit your website or check out your latest project. But, on the contrary, some of the best posts share something your audience can enjoy, like this designer who shares the beauty of an old Swiss light switch with her followers. And here we see how @TheMomLawyer doesn’t just invite people to a webinar, she tells them what value they’ll receive.
Social media platforms offer incredible opportunities for connecting with others, which establishing thought leadership requires. You can showcase your expertise and build relationships with like-minded professionals by participating in relevant discussions and forums.
The more active you are, the more your following will grow. When you establish yourself as an expert in your field, you build your personal brand and attract more clients. You can also leverage your connections to ask for referrals and recommendations. This can help expand your reach and increase your opportunities. Additionally, you’ll be able to share relevant resources and content with your audience to build trust and credibility.
You now know some of the tactics you can use to build your personal brand, so let's look at how you can make them even more effective.
Being consistent with your messaging, networking to build relationships, and maintaining a mindset of continuous improvement will help you connect meaningfully with your audience. Here are some ways to implement these strategies:
Be consistent with messaging
Ensuring consistent communication across all platforms is crucial to creating a memorable identity. For instance, if one of your key brand values is being approachable and friendly, ensure that this is reflected in the tone of your website copy, social media posts, and how you engage with clients or customers during networking events.
Network to build relationships
Networking – we’ve all heard how important it is, but does it really help you get the connections you need to make yourself memorable and relatable? Absolutely. Meeting and collaborating with other professionals gives you exposure and opens doors to new opportunities. The more often you do it, the more chances you’ll have for meaningful conversations and collaborations.
Maintain a continuous improvement mindset
Seeking feedback from mentors and peers is vital for personal growth and brand development. By soliciting constructive criticism, you gain valuable insights into your strengths and the areas that need improvement. Incorporating others’ feedback helps you refine your brand and deliver an even better experience to your audience.
So, you have steps to put in place and a plan to execute, but there’s a bit more to do to ensure you distinguish yourself from all the other people who are trying to get their brands to stand out. You have a unique brand and a special vision and mission. Let the world know it!
Some people think they must be renowned experts to build a personal brand. Not at all! You have a unique way of viewing the world and specialized expertise that your audience values. Take small steps every day toward sharing your passion and knowledge with your community. Post what motivates you, even if you're still figuring it out. Authenticity and vulnerability will attract the right people. Stay consistent and true to your values. Over time, you'll build real connections and establish yourself as a leader.
Developing a distinctive voice requires commitment and perseverance. The best brands are rooted in genuine passion and purpose; people will follow you if you lead from your true self.
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