Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Amazon are all brands. We’re familiar with their marketing and branding. They have logos, jingles, and a slogan.
Jay-Z. Cher. Bill Clinton.
Regardless of your opinion of any of these people, they all have one thing in common: They are their brands.
So, what if you’re not a CEO or a celebrity? Do you need career branding? Do you need an original personal brand?
Yes. You are your brand. We each have our brand in the internet age.
Potential employers will look you up online. If you run your business, your customers expect you to have a brand. Even if you’re a freelancer, a writer, an artist, or a mommyblogger, an effective personal branding strategy is crucial.
What is a personal brand?
Building your brand is essentially like a company’s reputation. It’s how you convey who you are, what you do, and why someone would want to hire or work with you.
How you can create your brand
There are many ways to create a brand. If you don’t have time or want to learn to do all of this, you can always hire a personal branding service.
Here are a few steps to creating your unique brand:
1. Understand yourself.
You need to understand who you are before you can brand yourself.
- What do you do?
- What’s your motivation?
- What don’t you do?
- What don’t you do well?
Work with friends, family, and coworkers to understand these questions. You need a clear image of who you are, how others perceive you, and, most importantly, where you want to be/how you want to be perceived. If you need a great example of this type of personal definition, take the time to look at Tony Robbins – especially his biography and personal brand statement.
2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you want people to think of when they think of you? For example, when you think of Coca-Cola, you think of refreshing and thirst-quenching. If you have a freelance career as a designer, you want people to believe you can create the ideal logo or the perfect packaging.
3. Know your audience
If you’re a law firm specializing in family law, your audience will be people considering a divorce. You might specialize in creating motivational videos for your followers if you’re an athlete. For YouTubers, you might want to network with established channels to build your audience. You need to know whom you’re talking with and be able to speak to them directly.
4. Talk to people in your industry.
Look at the industry you want to work with. Once you know your audience, you’ll know what industry they’re in or their situation. The next step is to talk to those people. Talk to current customers to find out what prompted them to choose you, when they needed to look for someone, and what needs you fill. You can even talk to people who aren’t your direct competitors but are in a similar business. For example, if you are branding yourself as a personal chef in New York, talk to a successful restaurant owner in LA to see how they became successful.
5. “You’ve got 30 seconds.”
Create a short about-me page. Most people will only give you a few seconds, especially if you’re powerful and running a whole company. You need to learn how to write your professional biography. Find a way to sell yourself in 30 to 60 seconds.
6. Start networking
In-person and online networking is the best way to get your brand out. Except for someone like Tony Robbins, who has been at it for decades, personal brands grow most quickly on an individual level. Start sharing your brand with your past customers, friends, and family. If you’re an app designer, start telling everyone about your brand or business so that when they’re asked, “Who do you know that can design an app?” your name is the first thing out of their mouths.
The next level for you is to get more active in looking for customers:
7. Ask for referrals and recommendations.
Ask your contacts for referrals and recommendations. A referral will direct you to someone who needs you now, while a recommendation is simply a great review. Both of these require one simple act on your part: ask! Ask people to help you grow your brand and business. The power of positive feedback can be very influential.
If you’re building a career portfolio to get a great job, ask people if they know a company that employs people like you. Those companies might not be hiring right now, but they might be soon. Be ahead of the crowd and start networking with people in that company before they need you.
8. Build your online presence.
It’s time to launch your brand to the world. There are many ways and places to build your brand.
- LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional social media site, is the place to post updates, do virtual networking, and even look for a job. The key to optimizing LinkedIn is to start with who you know (connect with them), then expand your circles to people in the industries and companies you want to work with and for.
- Facebook – Even if you’re a professional who feels like Facebook is a waste, you need an optimized Facebook profile. You can keep it professional. You must be there because everyone else is there. 69% of American adults are on Facebook.
- Website—Create a personal portfolio website. This is your chance to define yourself. It’s that simple. You don’t need to build a monstrous site. It can be a single page, including your photo, professional biography, and CV/resume. Done right, a website will help you rank high on Google and look great online.
- Blog—A blog is a great way to share your thoughts with the world. Keep it professional and helpful. When your blogs rank on the first page of Google, you’ll attract fans and build a business. You are setting yourself up as an expert.
- Twitter – While Twitter is not popular in some places, it’s a favorite of busy professionals. They can get lots of news in just a few minutes. That’s where you need to be, sharing your knowledge and mission.
There are always more places to be. Many professions have their own social media sites and networking sites. Find them and share your information and ideas.
Building your brand is the perfect way to start networking and growing your professional profile.
One of the easiest ways to build a personal brand is to hire a personal branding service. They can do all of the above items and more on your behalf. This is an excellent option for anyone already working full-time or simply wanting to look great online quickly.
