A personal brand refer to person, who have some identity that’s can impact or influence on people. Where brand represent expertise, experience, competencies, achievements and/or actions within a community, industry, or marketplace at large.
What is a Personal Brand?
A personal brand is a brand that represents you. A personal brand is a widely-recognized and majorly uniform perception or impression of an individual, based on their expertise, experience, competencies, achievements and/or actions within a community, industry, or marketplace at large.
Do’s of Personal Branding
Find your unique value proposition
Ever heard that popular quote, “ you are unique and that’s your superpower” ? Well it definitely holds true in the case of personal branding. You are a unique entity and that’s what makes you stand out from the rest. When trying to build your personal brand, you must first find what is your unique value proposition. Identify what you’re offering and who you are offering it to.
Be present actively
You represent your personal brand, therefore you must be present actively at all times. This adds the much needed personal touch to your brand. People like people, not brands. They like to interact with real humans. So you must be present actively to represent your personal brand.
Maintain a synchronized brand identity
You must maintain a brand identity that remains consistent and synchronized among all social media platforms. Make sure to use the same brand colors, tone of voice, etc. across all platforms. The idea is that when people see your content on other platforms, they must be able to easily recognize that it’s you.
Do get a blog and share your knowledge
If you’re considering personal branding, you can not ignore the power of blogging and sharing your knowledge. Sharing your knowledge through a blog is the best way to display your expertise.
Define your own brand voice
Your brand voice is something that makes you unique. Having a distinct yet powerful brand voice makes you memorable and influential.
Be intentional
Just because your personal brand is all about you, does not mean that you can post about anything and everything. You have to be strategic and intentional about the content you post. Your content must represent what you do and work towards establishing you as an expert in your field.
Be authentic
In a world that glorifies perfection, being authentic is a real deal. Focus on being authentic and people will fall in love with your brand. We want to see real things, not just pretty pictures and happy stories. People love to read real stories, be it a success story or how your failures shaped your life. So don’t shy away from sharing your own mistakes, failures, successes and accomplishments. Be real, be you.
Don’ts of Personal Branding
based on their expertise, experience, competencies, achievements and/or actions within a community, industry, or marketplace at large.
Don’t think of your personal brand as a sales pitch
Your personal brand is not a sales pitch. Focus on providing value and building that connection with your people before you try to sell anything to them.
Don’t be inconsistent
Inconsistency is a killer. It’ll make your brand bleed to death. If you plan on building a personal brand that people will trust and want to buy from, never be inconsistent.
Don’t be all things to all people
You’re not pizza, not everyone will like you. And that’s okay. You don’t have to be everything to everyone. Just find out the kind of audience that your brand resonates with and target them.
Don’t leave personal branding out of your career plan
Leaving personal branding out of your career plan is the biggest mistake you’ll ever make.
Don’t copy anyone else
The worst thing you can do to your personal brand is be a copycat. When you copy others, you lose your originality.
Don’t be just a preacher
Don’t be a preacher brand that just talks about big things but does nothing. Do walk the talk if you want people to trust you.
Don’t be antisocial brand
Isn’t this one so obvious? What is social media for? To get social, right? So don’t be that brand who just posts and ghosts. Stay online, interact with people, respond to comments, start conversations and make strong connections that’ll help you in the long run.