I know there are a few misconceptions to what a personal brand really is, and do I need to build my personal brand if I have a ‘business’ brand?
Let’s start by defining what a personal brand is and what the difference between a personal brand and personal branding is. A personal brand is what people say about you, and personal branding is how you present yourself or what you communicate.
Personal branding refers to the process of establishing your public persona for your target audience. It involves carefully and accurately communicating your values, beliefs, goals, and purpose.
However, this doesn’t change your ‘business’ brand as that is your business, but as the owner and brand custodian of your business, your personal brand will definitely influence your business brand. So, the answer to the question above is, even if you are building a business, it is just as important to build a personal brand alongside this as they work hand-in-hand to grow your online presence.
But how do you build a personal brand?
- Start with your personality. It’s the most unique thing about you which will set you apart from your competitors and will give your audience a sense of authenticity, don’t be someone you are not!
- Conduct market research. Identify who your target market or niche is and what it is they want to hear and identify what other influencers there are in this space and understand what they are saying and how people are reacting.
- Determine how to use your strengths to project your values. Think about the skills and areas of expertise you have and how you can best use them to show people the parts of yourself you’d like to highlight because you don’t need to an expert in everything, and this goes back to being an authentic you.
- Never share without purpose. Make sure that you have a purpose when you share content with your audience. In other words, you should have a very good reason for posting a blog post, sharing something on social media, or otherwise interacting with your audience.
- Show up consistently on different platforms. Establishing yourself on numerous platforms is a sound personal branding strategy because it helps ensure you’re reaching the widest audience possible to build your credibility.
So, although this may sound like hard work, showing up as an authority in your niche, it is essential that you build a personal brand to help you build a strong business too. Let’s look at some of the other key benefits of building a strong personal brand.
What are the benefits of a personal brand?
- You are more visible online. If you continue to show up online with purpose driven content you will improve your online presence and grow your visibility.
- Your business will be stronger. Your personal brand can benefit your business brand and vice versa. While they are two distinct entities, they will intersect naturally because you take the lead in your business.
- You will build confidence. Personal branding can be scary so you might feel vulnerable when you put yourself out there online and make yourself more visible to your target audience.
- You are differentiated to your competitor. Because your personal brand is you, your personality and recipe for success, it can’t and won’t be like any other competitor so it will give you a competitive edge, that is if they even have an established personal brand.
- You are the go-to person in your area of expertise. Establishing a personal brand builds your credibility and in so doing your audience get to know, like and trust you.
- You attract ideal clients. A bit like the law of attraction right, what you put out is what you will get. So, if you are establishing a strong personal brand with intention to a specific target market then in return you should attract a specific client.
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