“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. And in today’s competitive world, personal branding is key to differentiate you in the marketplace.” Jeff Bezos
Personal branding is the process of defining and promoting what you stand for as an individual. It allows you to differentiate yourself from others in your field, showcase your unique skills and strengths, and cultivate a reputation that can lead to career advancement, business opportunities, and personal fulfillment.
By creating a strong personal brand, you can build trust with others, demonstrate your expertise, and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
Here are five ways to guide you to build a good personal brand.
Define your brand and become an expert. Take the time to do some soul searching and determine exactly who you are and what makes up your brand. The use of certain words such as cooperative, resourceful, flexible, forward-thinking, connected, diplomatic, intuitive, precise, enterprising, ethical, genuine to describe your persona, and outlook will set you on a good path. You should focus on becoming an expert in your field and establish an expertise that’s relevant to your mission, goals, and vision.
Establish a presence. You’re being Googled by friends, colleagues, and potential customers, so make sure your branded content is what people find when they Google your name. One way to do this is to build a basic online presence through websites or blogs. If you cannot own one yourself, you can churn out great content or articles about your expertise and share on these platforms. Social media is a great platform to use to build your personal presence.
Generate brand awareness through networking. You should be connecting with other professionals in your circles with great brand personality. Using social networks and commenting on their blogs, posts and content is one of the best ways to network and become known in the industry. Attending interactive events where your targets will be present will also help with brand awareness.
Clarity, Consistency, Loyalty. Be true and transparent in who you are. Don’t pretend to be who you are not. Express your brand across all communications mediums using the right content, pictures, tone of voice and language.
Be intentional and consistent in building your brand. Determine where you want to fit in (industry and niche area of expertise) and then remain visible to your target audience.
Get feedback from those who know you best—at work, at home, anywhere. The true measure of your brand is the reputation others hold of you in their hearts and minds. Notice how they introduce you to others. Enquire from them what your top brand attributes and core strengths are. If they can easily tell you, then you’ve succeeded in branding you.
Overall, personal branding is an essential tool for anyone looking to succeed in today’s competitive and ever-changing world, so be unique and stay true to yourself every day! This is what will set you apart from the rest.
