How to Build a Personal Brand
By guest contributor, Michael Pasha of DigiHomeBusiness.com.
What is a Personal Brand?
Think of your personal brand as a way to say to tell the world what you stand for and what they can expect from you. This messaging must be authentic because if you’re trying to portray your brand one way and the reality is something very different, the word will get out and your brand will suffer.
It’s better to know what you have to offer and seek out a targeted audience who will gravitate to what that is than to pretend to be something you’re not. If you’re unclear on what you want your brand to be, check out my blog post where I explain how to determine your brand.
You Brand Needs to be Unique
If your brand is the same as someone else’s brand than the audience has no reason to pick you over them. Fortunately, for you and all of us, every person is unique and can differentiate themselves along those lines. No other person has your face (unless you have an identical twin, which could make for interesting branding).
No other person has your voice, your style, your exact personality or life story. All these things make you unique and give you an advantage when targeting an audience looking for what only you have.
Be Natural
The more natural and vulnerable you are, the more you will resonate with your audience. People are looking to connect with real people and real people have problems, challenges and imperfections. If you trying to make yourself too sterile, not only will people be bored but they won’t believe you. That doesn’t mean you need to air your most personal details to your audience. What it does mean is you need to be a human and let your audience know you are just like them and have been where they are.
Add Value
Adding value to people lives is the most important aspect of branding. You really need to spend time to figure out why people should read what you write or listen to what you have to say. With every piece of content you create, you need to ask yourself what’s in it for the audience and make sure it’s something worth their time.
The goal is to add so much value that your audience becomes hooked and they can’t get enough of you. At the end of a piece of content you want them to be waiting in anticipation for the next piece of content because what you just delivered to them was that good.
Be Clear in Your Mission
Really figure out what your mission is with your brand because if you don’t know you won’t be able to convey your mission to your audience. If your mission is undefined and all over the place your audience will not be able to set an expectation for what they will get from you.
When you do decide what your mission is, make sure that every piece of content that you create is in line with what that mission is. This level of direction will let your audience know you’re focused and that they can expect something from you that is in line with what they are looking for.
Don’t Jeopardize Your Credibility
Credibility is your brands currency. If you’re honest with your audience, they will love you and respect you for it. You can be a newbie and still have great credibility because your audience knows you’re not trying to pull one over on them. Just don’t try to be something you’re not. Don’t pretend to know people you don’t and don’t pretend to be more successful than you are.
You may think no one will find out but if your brand ever becomes worth anything of note, people will find out. In this day and age of social media, twenty-four hour news cycles, and Snapchat, it’s hard to hide much from the public. Be authentic and be true to yourself. This way you won’t have to worry about anyone finding out you aren’t who you pretended to be.