The phrase "personal branding" has become a very popular term
in the past few years. However, it has existed for a very long time.
Branding itself has been used by massive companies like Nike, Apple or Coca Cola
It's consumers are drawn to these brands because of their reputation and the community they have created.
But as this world gets smaller, more and more individuals are becoming a powerful force on their own. Their unique personal brands are what people are connecting to. Great examples of this are Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk or GaryVee.
Chances are you have heard of at least 3 of these people and understand what at least 2 of them are known for.
People like the ones mentioned above can have a big influence on how people think
which is why at times they are sponsored by big companies or are given merchandise
to wear because they know how powerful their decisions can be. But how did they get there?
Building a personal brand entails revealing who you are and what you stand for to the rest
of the world. It's all about changing people's perceptions of you and building your authority
as an expert or thought leader in your field.
Here are 10 reasons why building a personal brand is important.
1-YOU BECOME WELL KNOWN
If you're running any kind of business that is the one thing you pray people get to become aware of. It is one of the most important things of running a successful business.
Through their campaigns, political personalities gain a certain level of visibility.
They publicize themselves through various means of advertising, such as yard signs and posters.
However, they must first establish why their names should be recognized. While you must
gain exposure and name recognition, you must also inform your audience about your position, philosophy, or goals.
Personal branding can help in this situation.
The majority of people use Google to search for everything they need.
So if you're a business coach, and your target market is in desperate need of your help,
developing a strong personal brand will encourage people to visit your website or call you.
2- BUILD TRUST & CONFIDENCE
Having an online reputation creates trust and credibility.
It's not difficult to see that people are more likely to do business with someone they like
or trust. But as a brand, you first need to understand WHY people SHOULD trust you.
This way your prospects will start seeing you as their first choice instead of seeing you
as their last. But, how do you get people to trust you? One easy way is to be genuine and authentic. Once you start interacting with your audience in a reliable way, you will experience tremendous growth.
3- THE RIGHT AUDIENCE WILL FIND YOU
Everyone is fighting to get in front of everyone to sell their services or products.
As a personal branding photographer in South Florida I know how difficult it can be to find and attract ideal people despite the countless opportunities to connect.
As an individual, you can either go to your audience and tell them about yourself. Or, you can establish a powerful online presence to attract ideal people. You’re nothing unless you have a strategy to get people’s attention.
Let’s be real, getting your audience to pay attention is an uphill battle.
Video or live streaming is the most personal way to communicate with an online audience.
We see thousands of businesses who have a website or social media profiles. But they have absolutely no clue why they’re unable to reach their audience or vice versa.
Personal branding is a powerful tool that helps you rise above the competition.
If want you to make your audience fall in love with your business you can’t accomplish this goal unless you establish yourself as an authority.
4- BUILD RELATIONSHIPS ON AUTO-PILOT
We are extremely limited in the number of people we can actually reach and genuinely build relationships with. It's not possible to have that many one-on-one conversations.
OR IS IT??
By building a personal brand you start having fewer one-on-one conversations and more one-to-many conversations. Your personal branding becomes successful when your audience listens to you and starts interacting with your content.
Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs and marketers are too busy to focus on personal branding. As a result, they fail to build relationships.
If time is a scarce commodity these days then focusing on your personal brand now can
amplify your relationship-building efforts in the future. This way your clarified message can remain in the cosmos of the internet and it can work for you while you sleep.
5- BECOME SOMEONE MEMORABLE
Creating a brand identity helps make your brand more authoritative in the market.
Are you worth remembering? Why should they remember you?
Some of the leading personal brands are truly unforgettable.
Have you ever noticed that memorable people are great at attracting others?
It’s because they manage their impressions & we know from research that first impressions matter.
So, be strategic when presenting yourself to the world. Your audience will remember you for
what makes you valuable and unique. If you’ve got nothing unique to offer, there’s no point in creating a personal brand in the first place.
Memorable personal brands like Steve Jobs exercise consistency in how they look and communicate. This is what makes them special and unique among others.
The day when your audience instantly recognizes who you are and what you stand for all based on your name or logo, you’ll become a memorable personal brand.
6- YOUR BUSINESS STARTS TO SELL ITSELF
Once you get content out there and create a brand story, people will start to see your content online and start to lean into your message which will eventually
turn them into raving fans making them loyal customers.
If your personal brand has failed to tell a story, it would become increasingly difficult to
keep your audience engaged. Building a true narrative is probably the most effective personal branding strategy. So, craft a story around your brand that your people can relate to and engage with.
The next step is to figure out how to tell your story.
You can produce content or make a video to engage your audience on different platforms.
When you masterfully craft your brand story, your business starts to sell itself. You simply rise above your competitors who struggle to get noticed.
While it is a challenging task to become a great salesperson, you must be good at telling your own story with confidence.
7- IT BUILDS CONSISTENCY
A personal brand builds consistency in your tone, messaging, content, voice, and overall image. If you look at the top brands in the world, they do not change how they look or their overall core values very often because that is what people have grown to trust, know, and love.
Take Starbucks logo, as an example.
You can only be consistent when you have a narrow focus.
It becomes easier to get recognized for one specific topic if you create content around it on a consistent basis. Most importantly, keep your personal brand consistent across
online and offline platforms. You must be uniform in appearance, communication and authority.
Don’t undermine small inconsistencies as they can derail your personal brand's effectiveness. Be sure that visually and personality-wise, everything stays aligned.
Whether you’re an unorthodox, entertaining brand or one that’s a bit more conservative the above remains true.
8- SHOWS OFF YOUR PERSONALITY
You may be a person who is already confident in who they are & what they represent so sharing your personality with other people will come easy. But if you aren't there yet then
this is what can set you apart from the crowd. You can get to tell your story and tell it any way you want.
Our personalities are what makes us unique and memorable and that is what gets people to like or dislike us. We want to show this personality in our brands.
You want to find the people who love and hate you. Yes, I said that correctly.
It’s worse for someone to be indifferent towards your brand than it is for someone to feel strongly about your brand, whether its good or bad.
Regardless of what projects you’re working on, what products you’re selling, or whatever your expertise is, make sure that your audience feels something.
9 - BECOME MORE RELATABLE
No matter what industry you're in, you can either progress or cease business growth with the relationships you form. As the expert in your field, you should enable people to feel that you can relate to them or connect with them with ease. When you nourish relationships with the right people, you open up doors for positive interactions.
It's not uncommon to see a relatable business person easily win over powerful investors or make their employees do their best work. In the same way, a relatable salesperson can
build sound relationships with potential clients.
People are naturally drawn to those who keep the lines of communication open, always.
10- YOU CONTROL HOW PEOPLE SEE YOU
It sounds ominous to control the way people view you but personal branding
gives you the full power to create any brand you want with any style and any messaging.
And its fun because you can set your own rules.
When you don’t have a personal brand, people create their own perception making it harder
for you to build a relationship with them. A brand cuts out a lot of the hard work but it also helps you be particular of the ideal audience you're trying to build.
So, how do you want to be perceived?
What story do you want to tell? What are your strengths or weaknesses that you want to share? How is your story or background relevant to your audience? How can you develop good connections with key audiences?
One way to control how people view you as a brand is to understand your audience’s fears, hopes, frustrations, dreams, and achievements.
Learn about your people as much as possible.
Pay attention to social channels your audience is following. Feel free to have healthy
conversations and ask questions.
My name is Phillip Destruge and I'm a Personal Branding Photographer based in The Treasure Coast. I help businesses stand out online and help them create a strong solid visual brand with professional images that are not only social media ready but magazine worthy. To book your session please click here and we can set up a "Discovery Call" at no charge. You can also visit my website and get more familiar with my work.
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