What is a Personal Brand?
You know what a brand is. McDonald’s, Apple, Lexus, Levi’s, and Rolex are all brands.
But do you know what a personal brand is? And, even more importantly, do you know how to build one?
If you answered, “No,” to either of those questions, then read on.
Now, more than ever, you need a personal brand. If you want to stand out from the competition, attract new clients, and build a thriving business, it’s important to create a powerful, thriving personal brand.
If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s critical to devote at least some time each week to strengthening your brand. As you’ll understand later, your personal brand is one of your biggest assets.
Your personal brand can take your business to places you never thought possible.
But you have to know how to build one.
Unfortunately, most business owners don’t know how to build a personal brand. They feel fuzzy on exactly what steps to take and what’s involved in creating a brand around themselves.
That’s what my course How to Build Your Personal Brand is all about.
In this article, I’m going to give you a bit of an introduction.
● What is a personal brand?
● Why you need a personal brand
Ready?
Let’s dive in.
What Is a Personal Brand?
First things first. Let’s ensure we’re all on the same page in terms of what a personal brand actually is.
A personal brand is much more than a flashy logo or a color palette. A personal brand goes far beyond having a nice-looking business card. A personal brand is not just about having a website with your name on it, although that’s certainly part of it.
A personal brand is much bigger and all-encompassing. It’s about who you are and what you do.
Your personal brand is how you present yourself, both online and offline, to your ideal audience.
Your personal brand is the image you put forth. It’s what you stand for. Your values. What you’re all about. The core of who you are as a person. Your personal brand is your secret sauce – the thing that sets you apart from everyone else. It’s what makes you unique.
Your personal brand includes your:
● Values
● Unique skills
● Experiences
● Stories
● Personality
● Image
And each of these must be presented in an authentic, honest way to your audience.
Your personal brand centers around you as an individual. It’s about what you bring to the table, the value that you offer. It involves the specific ways that you solve people’s deepest pain points and biggest frustrations.
You may be tempted to think that only big companies are brands, but that’s not true. Thanks to the internet and the power of social media, every person can be their own brand.
● Everyone can constantly put themselves out in front of their audience.
● Everyone can add value to their audience.
● Everyone can communicate their message loud and clear.
We all have the tools to build powerful personal brands.
In fact, you might say that every person is now a brand. The question is whether you are actively taking control of your brand.
As Influencer Marketing Hub puts it:
You can either ignore your personal brand and let it develop organically, possibly chaotically, beyond your control, or you can help massage your personal brand to depict you as the person you want to be.
In other words, you’re going to have a personal brand, whether you want to or not. Everything you share online, every email you send to your audience, every blog post you write, every live event you host – they all are part of your brand.
They all shape the way people think about you and the image your put forth.
The question is whether you want your brand to develop on its own, with no guidance from you, or whether you want to be actively in control of the process.
To state the obvious, it’s always better when you’re in control of the process.
So how do you actively build a personal brand? How do you get in control of the process? How do you ensure that your brand is helping to build your business?
Once you’ve identified the core of your brand, as well as your target audience, it’s time to start treating yourself as a brand.
What does this look like practically?
You ARE Your Brand
In every communication with your audience, whether a blog post, email, podcast, social media post, etc., you stay true to your brand message.
You constantly speak about the problems you solve, constantly encourage your audience, constantly voice the message of your brand.
Just like Nike wouldn’t suddenly start talking about camping, so you must not go off brand with your communications. You constantly reinforce what makes you and your business unique in everything you do.
It also means creating a strong, compelling website to serve as your home base for all your online activities.
It means creating a media page or media kit on your site for media inquiries.
It could mean not answering emails yourself, but having an assistant answer them (or answering them under a pseudonym).
Your goal is to portray yourself as a strong, compelling brand, not just a normal person. You have to treat yourself like you truly are: a powerful brand that has a powerful message.
Take the Course to Learn More
HowToBuildYourPersonalBrand.com
A Message from Norma... In case you're curious, I started working online in 1997 - in the dinosaur days of the internet. My purpose here at HomeFreeMedia is to help YOU build the business of your dreams by developing and recommending top quality products and tools. This will also result in profit and affiliate commissions for me, so we both win!
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