“Build your personal brand” is all the rage these days. Brands were once the domain of products, but that definition has expanded to people. Creating your personal brand is building the way people see you and what you are known for. It’s the message that you convey online and offline. “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Jeff Bezos – Founder of Amazon.com
A strong personal brand is the main driver that has propelled many of our favourite billionaires from the startup phase to the top of the food chain.
In fact, a personal brand helps you get noticed and brings the right people to your door for opportunities and progression. Does it sound like a daunting task? Not to worry. Here’s what you need to know to build your personal brand in 10 easy steps.
Develop Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is critical in developing a personal brand that people will naturally gravitate to. In fact, this is key to be able to successfully deliver your message to the world. A personal brand is all about you and your message. What sets you apart is your ability to cut through the clutter in an already competitive market. So, ask yourself: what makes you stand out from others? What’s the unique message you want to deliver or your value proposition?
You need to be able to match what you are putting out there with who you are. If your brand is incongruent with you as a person, it will show. Always be authentic. You need to make sure you are positive and inspiring, no one wants to follow a sourpuss.
Define your audience
The next step is to define your audience. Once you know yourself, finding the people that are your clients, fans, and customers is pretty easy. Once you know who you want to attract you can begin building your tribe.
Create an online and offline presence
To build your personal brand, Neil Patel advocates for creating an online and an offline presence. This means you need to live out your brand online and in the real world.
The first thing you need to do to create an online presence is to build a website. Now, if you are not techie this can seem daunting. But nowadays you can easily create a great looking WordPress website for less than $100. Michael Hyatt says that your website or blog is your home base. This is the first thing you need to get right. This is the main headquarters of your online presence and you need to own it.
This doesn’t take away from other social media activities such as being active on Facebook and LinkedIn. But, your website is your number one priority. At the same time, a great Facebook or LinkedIn profile can do wonders for your personal brand. In fact, if you have questions regarding LinkedIn, feel free to send me an email. Next to a website, a good LinkedIn profile is an online magnet for professional opportunities and a great way to network.
Your offline presence is everything about you that people see when they meet you. This includes having memorable business cards. It means taking care of yourself and making sure you’re exercising, eating right, and getting enough sleep. It also means having a wardrobe that is in sync with your brand. Look good, feel good.
Take the right picture
When it comes to your professional online presence it’s important to take the right kind of picture. You don’t want a random action shot or selfie (leave that for Facebook & Instagram). The right kind of picture is one where you are giving a full smile and looking sharp with a clear high-resolution image.
Own it
You also need to own your name. Now, if you have a unique name then this is not such a difficult thing. But, if you are one of the many Dan Miller’s out there then you need to really make yourself stand out from this Dan Miller and this Dan Miller or just look into buying danmiller.com
You want your tribe to hear your name and instantly associate it with your message. McDonalds does this really well, think back to when you were a child and the feelings you associated with McDonalds. It’s family, its playgrounds, its ice cream cake, donating to charities, birthday parties… it’s an overall sense of happiness. Essentially, this is what kept you going back for more – all thanks to effective branding.
Sync all your accounts
The next step you need to take is to sync your accounts. All of your accounts need to be saying the same thing. You need to have the same image and the same branding message communicated across multiple online platforms. Don’t let the “Twitter you” and the “Facebook you” be two different people. Consistency is the key when it comes to your online presence.
Connect with influencers
The next step in building your personal brand is to connect with the influencers of your industry. It’s important to not only think of yourself as a fan but also as a colleague. Take time to share and like the content that they are putting out. You can also reach out directly to them through email. You will find that most people will give you the time of day if you give them something and not come off as desperate and needy. So send a helpful article or offer to do something for them without any strings attached.
Share content
Your personal brand is all about messaging and what better way to get your message across than creating and sharing content? Whether that’s through blog posts or through social media. You can push content through Youtube videos or Instagram. If you are not providing value to your readers, it’s hard to be credible or recognised as an expert in your field. Provide free content that is filled with value for your user. This will do wonders to build your brand and promote natural engagement.
Think about how you can take your brand’s message and communicate across the different platforms at your disposal. Don’t be limited by text. There are so many ways to get your message across.
Dominate social media
Now, we just talked about sharing content as one of the steps to build your personal brand. This step is directly related to it. When building your personal brand you must dominate social media. As Grant Cardone says obscurity is the single biggest controllable challenge you have in your career.
How do you fight obscurity? You make sure you are known. Get on Twitter and start conversations. Get on SnapChat. Get on LinkedIn. When you are everywhere people will pay attention to you and your message – remember your message needs to provide value to your people.
In addition, read my blog: SEO and Social Media Marketing: A Winning Combination.
Don’t be salesy
The last step to build your personal brand is to not be salesy. This is sort of an unstep and the reverse of dominating social media. As you dominate social media be aware of not giving off the impression that you are just there to take. Your main goal is not to take but to add value. That’s what having a personal brand is all about. It’s about letting the world know the value that you are able to add.
These are a few tips just to get you started. A personal brand is something that you continuously work on and perfect. Be the best version of you, both online and offline – smile, be positive and project your message to the world. If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you. Contact me or See me here.
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