For a company, its brand image is how the business is perceived by its various audiences (its customers, prospective customers, the general public, investors, etc.). Many companies spend significant energy and money on developing a very specific brand image that they want to convey. That said, an organization’s brand image ends up being how people perceive it, which may be in line with their own goals or may end up being quite different.
You may never have thought much about a personal brand, but much like companies, we actually have them whether we actively cultivate them or not. Your personal brand is simply how people perceive you. Before the advent of the internet, a personal brand was simply the reputation a person might have among family, friends, business associates, and other people who actually know them. But, with the coming of the digital age, personal brands have grown to include anyone who might connect with you online, etc.
Much like a company’s brand is important to the success of the business, your personal brand can be important to your own personal success in a career or in life. With that in mind, let’s look at a few steps to actually defining and building your personal brand.
Figure Out Who You Are and What You Want to Accomplish
How do you want to be perceived as a professional, as a person, etc? Deciding this is really your first step. Start by identifying your characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, and goals because you want your brand to represent you accurately. Think rigorously and be genuine. It’s OK to be a bit aspirational and project an image of who you intend to become. But, it has to be realistic. I may think it would be cool to have a personal brand as an NBA all-star, but since I don’t even play basketball, that would be pretty ridiculous to try to project. But, maybe you have a goal to become a thought leader in your profession. Even if you aren’t quite there yet, if you’re actually taking steps to make this happen, then it’s not a bad idea to make that your personal brand goal.
Determine Your Unique Value Proposition
Once you have an idea of what personal brand you want to establish, it make sense to identify what makes your brand different from others. One part of your personal brand may be to make yourself stand out from others who might be competing with you for a job you are applying for, or if your brand involved having a popular Instagram channel, who are other accounts you compete with for attention? Branding success requires actively capitalizing on individuality. You can’t have a unique personal brand if you look and act just like everyone else. Those who make a noticeable impact are remembered. So, identify what make you different and make sure you call that out in your personal branding efforts.
Define Your Audience
Since a key part of branding is conveying the image to an audience, you need to know who your audience is. If you’re a personal trainer with a YouTube channel, who are you trying to reach? Do you just want people who will watch your workout videos or are you trying to attract online clients? Those are likely different audiences. Make sure your brand matches up with your goals and the audience you want to reach Identifying your specialty and catering to your intended audience are both crucial steps. When starting a company, your interests and expertise must mesh well with the market’s needs. Your specialty should be related to a specific facet of your work if you want to establish a name for yourself and advance your career.
Optimize Your Personal Website and Social Profiles
So, you have your brand defined and you know who you want to reach. How are you going to reach them? Chances are the answer is going to involve multiple communication channels. Let’s say you’re a solo graphic designer. How should you be reaching your audience of potential clients? A website? Definitely. How about social media? Social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and others may offer great opportunities to reach your audience and demonstrate your work and your brand. So, one step in your personal brand strategy should be to give your online profiles a boost. Create ones that might be missing if you still need to create one. Although you can create a website at no cost using one of the many available website builders, you should invest in a domain name and hosting service. Similarly, ensure you have profiles on social media platforms that align with your brand objectives.
Develop Your Content Strategy
Particularly if you’re building a brand/business that will leverage the internet (and who isn’t) then one part of your strategy should involve the online content involved in your brand. Using the example of a fitness expert again, you might want to provide free content like workout videos or exercise tips on places like Instagram, where your audience can get an idea of your style and expertise before they sign up and pay. Giving up high-quality information that people may use for free demonstrates expertise in the field. In other words, it’s a great way to display your knowledge and skills and help convince people to become customers.
Build A Community
One last tactic involves building a loyal following that can turn into a community. For people to form a community, you must provide a setting in which they may interact with you and one another, learn about one another, and work together to solve problems. So, this goes beyond simply posting interesting videos on your website or social media platforms. Building an online community may leverage some technology platforms that allow you to invite people to a group where they can interact. Facebook offers options where you can create private or public groups of users that can interact on the platform. Consider this as another way to build your leadership position in your chosen industry or field, while inviting people to follow you and become part of a larger group.
