What is a Personal Brand?

As a digital marketing and tech company, we have our company and brand profile, but what about our team?

We encourage our team to build their personal brands. The people that work within a company are the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal for referral marketing. Remember, people buy into people.

Whether starting a business or establishing your thought leadership, now is a great time to invest in the brand of you.

So, what exactly is a personal brand?

It’s easy to confuse personal brand with reputation, however they’re not quite the same thing. While reputation is formed around the opinions and beliefs of others, based on your actions and behaviour, a personal brand is far more intentional. It is the process of crafting an identity for yourself. Think of it as your calling card.

Why is it so important?

Credibility

A strong personal brand builds trust. Your personal brand is a chance for you to showcase your skills and expertise, establishing why people should trust you.

Opportunities

Growing your personal brand will help to grow your network. In positioning yourself as an authority within your space, you’ll gain exposure and develop relationships that can lead to opportunities.

Authenticity

As we said, people buy into people, and your personal brand is all about you. It’s a chance for you to show your authentic self by communicating your strengths, weaknesses and values. Honesty around your weaknesses will not only help to build credibility but demonstrates self awareness.

Right, now I understand what a personal brand is. How can I build mine?

Find your drivers

Start by taking stock of your assets. Think about what motivates you, your core values, and the areas you excel in. This will also help to highlight areas which may need improvement. By identifying your assets, you’ll be better guided in deciding on your vision, mission and messaging.

Determine your USP

A strong personal brand is built on individuality. Ask yourself what you have to offer that others don’t. Once you understand your strengths, you can communicate these outwardly and craft your brand around them.

Understand your audience

By attempting to appeal to everyone, you run the risk of appealing to no one. Determine your niche and how you fit into it. If you’re struggling to find your niche, start with a broad category, such as marketing, and aim to narrow this down to your specialist area.

Develop a content strategy

Providing your audience with content plays a key role in building that credibility and authenticity piece we talked about. In offering valuable content, you’ll grow your audience whilst positioning yourself as a thought leader within your niche.

What kind of content are we talking about? We can break it down into four categories.

• Educational
• Inspirational
• Entertainment
• Personal Storytelling

Draw people in by providing an emotional hook. A personal anecdote demonstrates relatability, tends to spark empathy and encourages others to interact with your post.

If there’s one key takeaway, let it be this. Be yourself. Use your uniqueness to your advantage. Social platforms are populated with so many voices, and authenticity is what really cuts through the noise.