You’ve probably Googled yourself at least once in your life, and if you didn’t like what you saw, it’s probably because you never worked on your personal brand.
Creating the right personal brand can make or break your career, which is why it can be tricky to get started. Your personal brand is how you want to be portrayed by others, and if you can’t figure out how to do it, we’re here to help!
Keep reading to find out how you can level up your own personal branding in 2023 with some great tips we’ve prepared in this article.
Key Takeaways
- The meaning of personal branding is essentially building a brand around yourself and what you do, as opposed to building it around a business.
- Depending on your job type, your personal brand will differ. However, the main idea is that you are selling an aspect of yourself to a wide array of people.
- Creating a personal brand is important as it can give you more opportunities, make you stand out, and make you appear more trustworthy to customers.
- To develop your own personal brand, you need to stay genuine, tell a story, and create a good relationship with your customers both online and offline.
What is Personal Branding?
A personal brand is the definition of who you are and what you stand for as a person. It consists of all the experiences and skills you have acquired as well as any values you have as an individual.
As a social media influencer, entrepreneur, or freelancer, creating a good personal brand means being able to sell yourself and your ideas to potential customers. But for offices and everyday jobs, a personal brand might mean opening doors to new opportunities and getting a better understanding of your place in the workplace.
A good way to begin your personal branding journey is to ask yourself the following: “What do I want people to say about me when they hear my name?”
Why is Personal Branding Important?
Since nowadays people have a shorter attention span due to heavy use of social media and short video formats, it’s crucial to make a good first impression as quickly as possible.
It is believed that today’s attention span is around 8.25 seconds, so if you plan on working on your personal branding online, that’s how much time you have to sell yourself.
Although creating a personal brand can seem like too much work, it’s very important because, to use a business analogy, a successful company always goes hand in hand with a successful brand. That is mainly because people will feel more comfortable and trust you more if they know more about you and what you represent as a brand.
Why Should You Create a Personal Brand?
Here are the top 3 reasons why you should create a personal brand in 2023:
It Could Lead to More Opportunities
A great personal brand could lead to far more opportunities. That’s because your brand shows that you’re an expert in your specific field, which will make you more likable to the audience.
People will be more interested in working with or for you once they see that you have a solid personal brand. Take some time to define yourself and your brand, and you’ll set yourself up for more rapid career advancements.
Moreover, people appreciate people who are like them. If your personal brand is good, it will attract an audience that believes in the same things that you do. This will boost your business since you’ll have more referral opportunities.
It Makes You Unique
Since standing out in such a saturated industry is extremely difficult nowadays, it’s important to showcase what differentiates you from the rest. To do so, you need a strong personal brand. A personal brand is essentially what makes you unique, which is ultimately the best way to give yourself an advantage over the rest.
Once you figure out what your special skills, values, and experiences are, you’ll find it much easier to promote those traits and create a great image in people’s minds.
Additionally, you need to work on how you want to present yourself to the audience. You remember Steve Jobs and what he stood for because of the way he dressed, looked, and presented his ideas. That’s exactly what you need to figure out for yourself to stand out from the rest.
It Makes You Trustworthy
Creating a personal brand essentially means creating your identity. This includes everything from having a clean and consistent look to expressing a certain message to an audience. This is ultimately a great opportunity to prove your trustworthiness to your customers.
When people understand the hard work you’re putting into your brand, who you are, and what you’re trying to sell them, this personal relationship is what will make them trust you more.
Your personal brand also lets people know what to expect from you in the long run, which reduces uncertainty and attracts the right audience.
How to Develop Personal Branding
Let’s take a look at the best personal branding strategy to help you develop your own:
#1. Identify What Drives You
Make a list of what you’re good at and what you want to do in life, and explore the common messages in that space. Afterwards, break down the list into one singular thing you’d feel most comfortable doing. That will be your key message, and it’s important to stick to it.
People will definitely notice this passion and ultimately define you based on it.
Keep your message as simple and detailed as possible, and pick a specific niche, as this should target a specific audience.
#2. Be Genuine
The next step is to remain as authentic and genuine as possible. People can definitely tell when you’re being disingenuous and not passionate about what you’re trying to sell them.
Besides that, it’s always best to create your own unique personal brand instead of modeling it after someone else’s personal branding examples. You don’t want to be perceived as a copycat.
#3. Find a Theme
It’s crucial to stay true to who you are and what your brand represents. That’s why choosing a theme for your personal brand can be very helpful.
Choose a good color scheme and attention-grabbing fonts for your stationery and digital assets. Take your time and choose well since they will be representing you and your brand on every platform and medium (such as your website, social media, and business cards).
Additionally, you can go the extra mile and put stickers with your brand logo, font, and color scheme on your personal vehicle to amplify your personal brand theme.
#4. Select Stakeholders
If you are affiliated with a corporation or a similar type of business, one of the most important aspects of your personal brand is to understand what your stakeholders want and need.
They are the driving force behind your company’s success; they reflect both the company’s brand and your own, which is why you need to choose them wisely while also considering them and their needs when picking the aspects of your personal brand that you want to promote.
#5. Be Consistent
It’s way easier to be recognized for one niche if you stay consistent and focus on only one topic. Small inconsistencies can lead to clients not trusting you and your brand anymore.
That’s why you need to be consistent with how you appear to your audience and how you communicate with them. Stay true to yourself and your brand, and the customers will follow.
#6. Tell a Story
If you’re not telling a story through your personal brand, you’ll probably miss out on a lot of attention. Always aim for a creative and relatable story that any customer would want to hear about.
To do so, create content detailing your story in both written and video formats. It’s also a good idea to let your audience know that you’re interested in how they feel about the brand and what they like or don’t like about it. You can then draw inspiration from this to evolve your story.
#7. Be Socially Active
Needless to say, you need to constantly expand your network and be active in various social circles to build your personal brand. However, keep in mind that social media is where you can find most of your audience.
Many businesses and individuals use social media as a networking and advertising tool. Your brand should be no different. To reach a larger audience with your brand’s story, make sure to promote it through social media.
You might even consider hiring a social media manager to make publishing consistent, and that is a sure fire way of creating a strong brand.
7 Tips on How To Maintain Personal Branding
Let’s have a look at some personal branding tips that you should follow:
- Get a clear understanding of your personal brand. Define who you want your audience to be and what your competitors are offering at the moment. Share your personal brand by networking and posting about it online. Consistently promote your brand so your audience doesn’t forget you.
- Think of what your brand will be in the long run. Think of ways you can keep your audience on their feet and consistently engage with them. Be prepared to showcase a detailed plan of what your business will provide in the future.
- Create a website. A website can do wonders for your personal brand. It gives the audience a medium that you design and curate where they can access all the information they need to know about you.
- Be prepared to fail. Failure is definitely inevitable, so it’s okay to know that, at some point, your brand or business will fail. Failure is a great way to learn what changes you need to make in order to avoid future problems.
- Monitor your engagement and performance regularly. Keep track of your audience’s engagement and what they’re most excited to see from you. Collect negative remarks and use the constructive ones as feedback. Stay motivated and keep track of your performance regularly so you know what your audience wants.
- Connect with your audience. Whether it is online or offline, the most valuable thing for your personal brand is to connect with your audience. Talk to them directly to find out what aspects of the brand they would like to see you change.
- Build your personal brand on LinkedIn. In the business world, creating a comprehensive LinkedIn profile can go a long way toward helping you achieve your professional goals. Stay active and connect with your audience as frequently as possible. This way, you might land some great endorsements, attract new clients, and expand your professional network.
Final Thoughts
Your personal brand can definitely make or break your career. Therefore, it’s important to build a stable, relatable, and genuine brand that represents both you and your business in the best possible light.
A good personal brand helps you stand out and create trusting relationships between you and your audience. To build a great one for yourself, identify what your brand will focus on, keep an active social media presence so you can stay in touch with your audience, and remain consistent over time and through all media channels.
We hope this guide has helped you get the answers you needed, and we wish you good luck with your business!
