What is Personal Branding?
The difference between having a personal brand and not having one comes down to confidence. When you have a clear idea of who you are, what you stand for, and are willing to put that out for the world to see, you have a personal brand! A personal brand is a reflection of how the world sees you because of how you present yourself to the world. It’s that simple. But it does require work. It requires being visible. It also requires authenticity and consistency. I’m going to cover what you need to know to fully grasp the basics of personal branding so you can feel confident in developing and growing your personal brand.
The Basics of Personal Branding Begin with YOU!
You may think you’re not worthy of a personal brand, or that your impact and reach is not big enough to warrant building a personal brand for yourself. You don’t have to be at the level of Oprah to have a personal brand. But I will say that Oprah didn’t become Oprah without one. If you have goals you want to reach, you will absolutely need to establish a strong personal brand. Because if you’re putting yourself out there without a roadmap, you’ll still be creating an impression. A personal brand simply allows you to control that impression.
Your unique story and perspective are at the heart of your personal brand. These basics of personal branding can’t be faked. You just have to be willing to share your story and your perspective. By doing this, you build trust. You make connections, and you resonate with your audience.
You begin building your personal brand when you know what sets you apart from others. And when you know what your superpower is and what you want to do with it. Knowing this is and being willing to put yourself out there is the first step.
What Will Your Personal Brand Be?
The basics of personal branding require you to be your authentic self and to be willing to share it with the world, but first you have to know your authentic self! What makes you different? How do you stand out? I like to call this your superpower. At the core of your personal brand is that superpower. It is what drives you and what keeps you consistent. It is what you have to offer the world.
Find your superpower
Finding your superpower may require you to determine your greatest strengths if you don’t already know them. Sometimes this means asking close friends, colleagues and family members what they see as your greatest strengths. You can also take those personality quizzes that help you determine your natural strengths and abilities if you really don’t know where to start.
You also need to consider your passions and interests
Let’s face it, if your personal brand and your passions and interests aren’t aligned you won’t be acting as your authentic self. Hopefully your passions and interests are a big part of what drives you, and you want to share those passions and interests with the world. You don’t want to build a personal brand without these two things being a part of it.
Your values are also a big part of the basics of personal branding
Along with your passions and interests, your values are also at the core of who you are and usually these things intersect. It’s also important to note that sharing your values connects you with your audience and makes you relatable. Your values drive your decisions and behavior as well. Are you starting to connect the dots and see how all of this coalesces to form your personal brand?
Your goals need to be at the heart of it
Another foundational pillar in the basics of personal branding are your goals! When you start thinking about putting yourself out there and building your personal brand, you need to consider what your goals are in doing so. Your goals are like the destination on your roadmap to success. Of course, you can have both long and short term goals, but ultimately your goals determine the WHY of all of it. If you just throw yourself out there with no goal in mind, it’s pretty easy to get lost along the way.
Know your audience
Last but not least, the basics of personal branding require knowing your audience. You need to know who your people are, in other words. Who is your message for? How will you reach those people? When you are passionate about your interests and have a strong sense of your values it’s easier to know who your audience may be.
Of course finding your audience is a slightly different story. This requires research. It means going online and finding influencers in your sphere. Why? Because they likely have a similar audience. When you find them, you see where your audience is, and how they engage.
The Fun, Pretty Parts of the Basics of Personal Branding
So, you know your values and are ready to use your unique voice and have a solid sense of your superpower. What now? You need a pretty package to wrap it in! This means making your online presence consistent and polished. Though these things require some effort, they can often be the fun part of building your personal brand.
How you present yourself online is part of your personal brand. From the colors you use on your website and social platforms to your headshot and banner images, how your platforms look is a big part of the basics of personal branding.
Brand colors
Color speaks volumes without saying a word. Colors represent feelings and set tone. So do some research on color psychology before choosing your brand colors, and think carefully about the message you want to send with color. The colors you choose for your brand don’t necessarily have to be your personal favorite colors, but you should like them.
Your logo
Admittedly, not everyone is going to have a logo. They’re not necessary even. But logos are a simple and instantly recognizable way to make an impact and become memorable. A logo can just be your initials, like mine. It doesn’t need to be clever and encompass all that you are. I do, however, recommend working with a graphic designer if you decide on creating a logo for your personal brand.
Your radiant self!
The basics of personal branding requires you to be visible online and elsewhere, as I mentioned above. And I meant that literally. You will need to be seen. You can’t simply be a mysterious figure lurking behind your thoughts and ideas. Personally branding isn’t about being shy.
So, you may as well look your best! This means having a professional looking headshot for all of your online platforms. Have fun with it though. Where your favorite outfit. Get your hair done. Use a nice backdrop with your brand colors! It’s up to you. Just make sure it’s quality and your best self comes through.
Using the Basics of Personal Branding to Build Yours Now
As I noted above, the basics of personal branding begins with YOU and your unique story and perspective. You just have to share that with the world to start building your personal brand. This part is about building your credibility and keeping your brand consistent. That’s why before you start this part you need to have a solid sense of your personal brand and you need to know your audience, as I mentioned above.
Building a personal brand requires you sharing it with the world. Otherwise you hide your light from the people it needs to reach. You can have confidence, a solid sense of who you are and a unique perspective to share with the world, but if you don’t share it, it doesn’t serve its purpose.
You don’t have to do everything all at once, or be everywhere all at once, but you can start building your personal brand by allowing yourself to be seen and your voice to be heard.
In order to do that, you need to put yourself out there!
Online
An absolute must for building on the basics of personal branding is having a website. Why? Because a website is your most powerful marketing tool. A website is your place to showcase all that you are and it is under your complete control. You own the content, you control what it looks like and the message you want to send. A website is also where your audience can always find you.
You also need to be on social platforms. Which one, and how many is up to you. This will depend on your time, energy and where your audience is, of course. But it is worth taking the time to find out where that place may be for you.
Offline
Although our world is basically an online one and you have a potentially massive reach there, you can’t forget about the offline world. Those old school methods of networking and building relationships still work.
Be prepared to go to conferences, join associations and industry groups. Get to know your colleagues and their networks. After all, you may want to be speaking at or leading these types of institutions and events one day.
Sharing your voice
By having an online presence and networking in the real world, you can begin going beyond the basics of personal branding by sharing your voice with a wider audience. Opportunities as big as speaking events and as small as influencer collaborations impact the growth of your personal brand in a big way.
If you begin by blogging on your own website, don’t stop there. Secure guest blogging spots, write articles and share them.
Ultimately, these foundational basics of personal branding will stay with you all along the way to reaching your dreams and goals. It’s just about growing and expanding on them. Firstly, you can’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Before you do though, you need to know what your superpower is, and what your goals are, so you remain inspired and have a purpose. Then you will find your audience and they will find you.
