Personal brand

Personal branding encompasses defining and promoting what you value an individual. Your personal brand is a combination of the values, skills, and experiences that set you apart from the crowd.

For freelancers, social media influencers, and keynote speakers, creating an successful personal brand is crucial in “selling” themselves to clients. For everyday people, a personal brand boosts confidence, creates new opportunities and aids you in you better understanding yourself.

Defining your personal brand

Everyone has their very own personal brand. Similar to corporate brands, people will see you in a certain way. By taking control of your personal brand, you can decide how people think and feel when they interact with you.

Some business leaders cultivate personal brands to better their odds of sales, because 92% of people trust advice from individuals over brands.

How to create a personal brand

A personal brand exists whether you make it for yourself or not. It’s a combination of all your online and offline behavior. However, you can change your brand with a few careful steps. For instance:

• Create goals for personal branding: Figure out what you want to be known for and what you need to do to establish your identity.
• Audit your current brand: Search for your name online and find out what people are already commenting about you. This will show you what you need to adjust.
• Create a consistent strategy: Decide how you’re going to demonstrate your identity (blogging, interviews, social media) and stick to a consistent schedule.

It’s not about presenting a fake persona or creating a character for yourself. Effective personal branding is about curating certain pieces of your personality to showcase yourself to your network in the best possible way.

The benefits of personal branding

A personal branding strategy is a method for people to improve their reputation online. However, personal branding also leads to:

• Improved credibility as you demonstrate your skills and show your knowledge.
• Differentiation as you elaborate on what sets you apart from others in your space and showcase your specialties.
• A lasting impression – the more you build your personal brand, the more you’ll give people a way to think and wonder about you.
• Bond with your target audience as they start to understand who you are and what you stand for.

Most importantly, personal branding usually involves communicating your identity to the right people. Not everyone will relate to your personal brand, so it’s important to determine who you want to connect with before you begin your branding process.