It’s no secret that personal branding is the key to today’s world of heavy competition. It has the power to shift you from a red ocean full of competition to a blue ocean full of endless opportunities.
In 2024 and beyond, people will be making their buying and hiring decisions based on the brand of the person behind a product or service. They want to see if the person backing the product has a reliable personal brand that has authority in the industry. It doesn’t matter if you are an entrepreneur, executive, or freelancer. You need to have a great personal brand if you plan to move ahead in life.
Your personal brand should clearly define and promote what you stand for as an individual. Your personal brand is the culmination of your experiences, skills, and values that differentiate you. It should clearly illustrate who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique professionally.
Some of the biggest benefits of building your personal brand are: money, recognition, networking opportunities, position, higher productivity, confidence, etc. It requires you to define your target audience, have a clear idea of who your target audience is, and what they want in life. What are their biggest aspirations? What are their biggest fears? What are their main problems and roadblocks to overcoming those fears, etc.?
The key to building a brand is to stand for something and create a movement by representing something that is unique to your personality and instantly identifiable to you. Remember to always be original, even if at times your opinion might not be considered or valid. Also, establish a culture around your brand by creating a mini-manifesto, which will help you list down all the values, mission, and vision of your brand.
Building your brand shouldn’t be with the sole aim of making money, because the pursuit of money and everything that you think about money is really not the pursuit. The pursuit is to find who you’re supposed to be in the world, figure out your gift, and share it with as many people as possible. And when you do that, I can only guarantee you one part of the equation: you’ll be happy.
Have a brand logo? Personal branding is a process that involves both textual and visual content. Have a brand logo that imbibes the ethos and values you stand for. Create something that stands out and communicates your message visually in the best possible manner. Treat the logo as a way of making you stand out and get identified in front of your target audience.
You may now start creating your content based on your products or services. Select the best keywords in your industry and start creating consistent content around them. See the demand in your industry and create assets to address those demands. Also, focus on SEO because it is a great way to get qualified organic traffic. This traffic will consist of people actively looking to get information in your industry and thus qualify as high-value leads.
Be omnipresent online, which simply means being visible everywhere, be it your blog, relevant social media channels, or other major platforms in your industry, both online and offline. The more omnipresent you are, the more sticky your message will become. Also, explore new social media channels quickly. You will have an exponentially higher chance of becoming an influencer there, as there will be very little competition. Repurpose your content like a pro, learn from top influencers in your industry, reverse engineer, emulate their online strategies, and do yours in a unique and different way.
Basically, bask in who you are and get comfortable with accepting it. Alignment with yourself is key, which gives you the ability to reflect on authenticity and live without fear of being yourself. It sounds so simple, but the majority of people are scared to be themselves for fear of judgment, losing friends, family, etc. But this is essential to not only living a life of fulfillment but, of course, attracting your target audience.
The ability to be different and unique will lead to the successful building and maintaining of your personal brand. When everyone is doing this, don’t do it; just do this other thing. If everyone is doing a linear thing, do a curvy linear thing. If you want to be able to stand out, you just simply have to do things differently from the crowd.
Personal branding is about your personality, not the language or product, and to build a strong personal brand, become a Twitch streamer and a tribe leader.
Personal branding is like choosing a water bottle; without a label or story, it’s hard to stand out. Design, narrative, and presentation are crucial for differentiation. Likewise, sharing your story isn’t self-serving; it’s about attracting the right audience. It builds trust, engagement, and authority.
Fame and skill aren’t always linked. We often associate popularity with expertise, even if it’s inaccurate. Be mindful of this bias because the power of tools can be misused. Storytelling and marketing techniques can have negative consequences, even with good intentions. Consider the wider impact.
You shouldn’t undermine the importance of building a successful personal brand because your interpretation shapes your results. Take action based on what resonates with you, not someone else’s story. Be an action-taker and use knowledge for good.
Expand your network by connecting with other members of the industry on social media, typing your industry keywords on your social media channels, and joining all the top groups that come up as results. Once there, start giving real value without the intention to sell or appear too salesy.
And, remember who you really are. That is what your audience wants to connect to, the realness. Your audience wants to connect to how brave you are. As Maya Angelou said, ‘as you shine you unconsciously allow others to do the same.