What is personal branding?
Consultant and writer Tom Peters is attributed with the concept of personal branding. Peters, in 1997, challenged people to use the branding principles of big companies to help themselves ‘stand out and prosper’ in the world of work.
Peters urged people to see themselves as ‘CEOs of Me Inc.’ and to be ‘head marketers of the brand called You’.
Since then, the idea of a personal brand has evolved to be more than a marketing exercise. Instead, personal branding is an asset, building your credibility amongst peers, clients, employers or investors.
The benefits of creating a personal brand
- Creating a strong personal brand benefits your career
A strong personal brand makes you recognisable, relatable and reputable, amplifying your offering. In addition, if done well, personal branding defines your strongest attributes, goals and values, opening doors to opportunities with potential customers, collaborators or employers. - Developing your personal brand helps you think strategically
Creating a personal brand helps you define the who, what, where and how of your professional life. Investing the time in creating a personal mission statement or clearly defining who you are and what you stand for helps you look strategically at your career and your relationship with your clients, colleagues and employers. - A personal brand exposes you to a larger audience
A targeted approach to how and where you present yourself and your personal brand helps build an audience relevant to your goals and values. - Creating a personal brand gives you a better sense of self
Bringing awareness to what you choose to share with others, who you are and what you stand for helps you develop a unique perspective that aligns with your professional and personal goals. - A personal brand builds credibility and trust
Personal branding establishes your specialisation and can position you as a thought leader in your field. Helping build trust and confidence and making it easier for your clients and potential leads to do business with you. - Your personal brand builds relationships
A personal brand founded on the concept of adding value, builds relationships and gives people the opportunity to interact, listen and collaborate with you. - A personal brand lets you drive the narrative
A personal brand lets your personality shine through. You control how people see you and what message you want to amplify at any given time. As your career, values and experiences evolve, so will your personal story. Having a strategic focus towards personal branding helps you tell that story.
How to create your personal brand
Creating your brand involves defining who you are, what you want to achieve professionally and how you can add value to your professional community. Here’s how to start:
Step 1. Clarify your purpose
Choose a word or phrase that defines you and your purpose. For example, you may be an engineer focused on renewable energy or a marketer with experience in product marketing and manufacturing. If being an engineer in the renewable space is what you want to be known for, you need to reflect that in your communication and personal brand strategy (see below).
Step 2. Define what makes you unique
After clarifying your purpose, begin to list what makes you unique. What are your strongest selling points? Everyone has a different work history, educational background and personal experience. Defining what makes your point of difference clarifies what you can offer your professional community. For example, perhaps you work in marketing – what makes you different to other marketers? Is your strength in product marketing and manufacturing? Are you an expert in analytics? What do you offer that is highly sought after or unusual? Do you specialise in a particular area? Defining your unique skills helps you create a marketing brand strategy.
Step 3. Write your elevator pitch
Creating an ‘elevator pitch’ that summarises your purpose, values and unique offering helps you clearly articulate your brand message across all your communications. Writing a few lines that marry the vision of what you want to achieve with your talents and purpose helps guide you professionally and personally.
Step 4. Make the unseen – seen
Whether we like to admit it, appearances play a role in how we are perceived. When creating a personal brand, you want your external appearance to reflect the unseen dimensions of your personality. Choose three words that define who you are and use these three words to guide your personal style and the look and feel of your branding. For example, if you want to present yourself as quirky, fun and inspiring, your appearance will be different than if you wish to be professional, assertive and serious.
Step 5. Define your brand elements
Brands have what is known as brand elements; these include the images the brand chooses, the brand colours, logos and also something known as tone of voice. Your tone of voice relates to the language you choose and the tone in which you present yourself. So, for example, if you want to move into the C-Suite, make sure your written or spoken language is audience-appropriate. In addition, choose imagery and colours that reflect who you are and your goals, so they make maximum impact.
Step 6. Be true to yourself
Lastly, the most important advice when creating a personal brand is to be yourself. People can easily spot an inauthentic attempt at branding.
Creating and executing your personal brand strategy
After developing the elements of your personal brand, i.e. your brand look, tone of voice and messaging, it’s time to create and execute your personal brand strategy. All good marketing strategies contain three things:
- The target audience
- The key message, and
- The best channels to reach their target audience
Define your target audience
You’ve already defined your key message and what makes you unique; now, you need to know your audience and how best to reach them.
If you’re an engineer wanting to be a thought leader in renewables, find out which social media platforms your professional community are on. Do they have profiles on LinkedIn or are they more active on Twitter? Find out where they are in real life. Do they attend regular conferences or meet-ups? What do they read? How do they get their information?
Define your target audience
You’ve already defined your key message and what makes you unique; now, you need to know your audience and how best to reach them.
If you’re an engineer wanting to be a thought leader in renewables, find out which social media platforms your professional community are on. Do they have profiles on LinkedIn or are they more active on Twitter? Find out where they are in real life. Do they attend regular conferences or meet-ups? What do they read? How do they get their information?
Build your online presence
Once you know which online platforms your target audience uses, you can create your online presence.
This can include:
- Consistently post quality content on your target audience’s social media platforms. Social media helps you stand out in your niche and build your brand personality.
- Creating a personal website. A personal website can be used as an online resume, house your portfolio, or your digital content such as blogs or videos.
Develop your content strategy
Creating purposeful content adds value to your professional community and helps build your personal brand. Use research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends or Answer the Public to find subjects that interest your target audience.
Build your community
Traditional networking is not for everyone; thankfully, there are various ways to build your network. Whether you create a network online or ‘IRL’, getting out of your comfort zone and reaching out to new contacts creates serendipitous opportunities for everyone involved.
Whether you start with gradually building your social media presence, creating your own website or reaching out to speak at a panel or conference, taking action to boost your personal brand benefits your career and enhances relationships with clients and potential employers or investors.
Viabrand®is your experienced Brisbane marketing team and branding agency. Our marketing team are expert in all areas of branding and marketing. Book a complimentary, no-obligation 30-minute call to learn more: https://calendly.com/viabrand/30min