I’m sure you’ve heard of companies having a brand, but did you know that you should develop a personal brand yourself as an entrepreneur, influencer, or blogger? Developing a personal brand is the gatekeeper to growing a trusting audience and securing new opportunities and growth. So what does personal branding do for you? It helps you to communicate your brand voice to your potential audience. We all know communication is the key, but effective communication is vital to your brand. In this blog post, I will share 7 killer ways to develop your personal brand with you.
When it comes to developing your personal brand, there are four concepts to consider:
- Who you are
- What it is that you stand for
- Your values
- Your personality
Developing a personal brand in any industry may sound scary or intimidating, but there are steps you can implement today to help you build a trusting brand.
Who Are You
Developing a personal brand is all about you. You should answer the most important question, Who am I? Because your strengths and weaknesses are important, you should clearly understand what makes you who you are.
Here are few questions that you should be able to answer:
- What areas am I the strongest in?
- Where do I find motivation?
- How have I helped others?
- What drains my energy the most?
- What can I do every day without growing tired?
Don’t hesitate to ask a mentor or a close friend to help you with these questions. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to see something you don’t necessarily see in yourself. Once you determine what you enjoy and that fits you, you can create a strategy that focuses on your niche.
What Do You Want To Be Known For
You want to be clear on your messaging to develop your brand effectively. Because everything and everyone is searchable, keep your focus on being a searchable resource. What would they find if someone were to Google your brand (which is you)? Would they find the specific topics that you are passionate about? Or would they interpret your brand as something that doesn’t represent you? For this reason, remember that the skills you currently have and those you will develop over time will help you determine what you do now and in the future. Perfection isn’t the key; learning, growing, and solving your audience’s problems should be the focus.
Define Your Ideal Audience
Think about the person you want to reach. What do they look like? What are their struggles? I recently wrote a blog post on “How To Find Your Target Audience” to help you understand how to find your target audience. Since defining your target audience helps you communicate with them in your way, you must determine who they are while developing your brand.
Look The Part
It should be a no-brainer, but just in case, remember that to attract your ideal audience, you must represent your personal brand well. Here is what I mean. As a blogger and influencer who speaks on various topics such as beauty, lifestyle, curvy fashion, and travel, I must present myself in a way that attracts others. Of course, I am not trying to reach everyone but those who want my expertise on those topics. How can I inspire or solve a problem for my audience when I am not practicing what I preach?
In other words, you have to look at how and what your personal brand stands for. Please don’t take what I am saying as insinuating that you need to change your looks; looking at the part includes your brand colors, graphics, and fonts.
Tell Your Story
Another way to develop your brand is to tell your story. How many times have you heard that you should tell your story? More than you can count, I bet. Telling your story can be hard to master, but it’s essential to developing your personal brand. Let’s face it; not everyone can tell their story naturally.
Knowing who you want to help and solve their problems doesn’t always feed over a visually detailing story. Just like your personal brand, your story is unique to you. You don’t have to appear like someone else or share your story as others do. Be original and authentic. Allow your audience to connect with you and keep your relationship warm and with depth.
When sharing your story, don’t just share the glamourous parts; show your audience the areas you suffered and the pain points. Then share with them how you found a solution for yourself. This is what draws your audience to you! Your story can help someone else, but how can you achieve this goal if you’re not open and vulnerable?
Branding Photos
What is a personal brand without high-quality photos? Like you, I found it challenging to take photos, and I didn’t think it was important, but I was completely wrong. Without branding photos, your audience has no idea who you are. Remember that your audience will listen, shop, support, and purchase from those who appeal to them.
You can either hire a professional photographer or take your own photos. Here is a secret, I have been shooting my own photos since I started blogging. Even if you don’t have an expensive camera, you can use what you have. Branding photos can consist of just about anything- full body frame photos, headshots, product shots, and just about anything.
Brand Focus
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You probably aren’t familiar with brand focus, but you may be more familiar with the term niche. Your niche or brand focus should be built on a specific focus. Although you can have different areas within your niche, your personal brand should have an ultimate focus point.
Let yourself focus on things that will help you tell your story and impact your audience in a way that keeps them coming back to you for more. Your brand focus should be clear, with a specific identity to your personality, values, and skills. It would be best to focus on marketing yourself, finding your ideal audience, and creating solutions to your audience’s problems and struggles.
Developing your personal brand takes time and can be challenging. I hope these tips will help you overcome the struggles you have with your brand.
Until the next time, my friends!
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