You hear a lot about branding and probably the first thing that comes to mind is food and clothing by corporate brands. However having a personal brand is becoming a popular way of doing business for individuals.
Personal branding is being used these days to build customer loyalty for your own product or someone else’s. These days, personal branding can also help you get “influencer” gigs down the road.
Here are the 3 things to remember
You Have to Know Yourself
Get to know the kind of a person you are. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? This does matter as extroverts tend to find it easy to get out there and build a brand more than introverts. That isn’t to say that introverts can’t build a brand. Sometimes an alter ego does help.
Your other self or your alter ego is that second self or the different version of you that is the opposite of your personality. Having this different version of you can give you the freedom to take risks and try new things without the fear of judgement. Your alter ego is distinct from your normal (probably introverted) self that is like a trusted helper or friend who will speak for you and build your brand.
You Have to Get Out There
Personal branding has become so much easier in part thanks to social media however social media even though is an important part of any personal branding moves you cannot rely on it exclusively. To grow your reputation from the ground up you need to go on the ground. Doing things in person tends to form quicker and stronger bonds. Get yourself out there and have some face time with other people in your field, in your city at social events or even one-on-one meetings with some of the people you’ve met online.
Going on the ground and being online are both necessary for long-term success and when done together can be a powerful tool as leads will come where you go. However, be strategic about this too. Do not waste your time interacting online or going on the ground to places that will not help grow your brand, push it or get you leads for customers.
You Have to Keep Working on It
There are no shortcuts you have to work at personal branding. Just as there are no shortcuts to building a reputation personal branding takes time. You get out what you put in and personal branding comes down to your interactions with other individuals.
To be successful, you’re going to have to interact with people on a daily basis, be always making new connections, and venturing into new unfamiliar territory. Also, if you set up your social accounts and try to let the rest take care of itself, you’re going to run into problems.
Prioritize your time as personal branding is a long-term strategy that takes a serious commitment before you can start to see results. Only after several months of ongoing work will you be able to see meaningful improvements in your audience. The benefit to all that upfront work is that those benefits are exponential.
