One of the most well-known definitions of a personal brand belongs to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He said, “Personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” The good news is that you can influence these conversations if you know exactly who you are and how you can use it.
image source: fortune
Earlier, a person’s name was associated mainly with their work. Today, the field of your activity can be as wide as you like. For example, what is Louis Armstrong known for? People know him as a jazz musician, performer of the hit called “Summer Time.” Kanye West is also a musician, but he is also known as a producer, designer, and Kim Kardashian’s husband. The latter fact brings him even more popularity and makes fans ready to follow the personal life of his idol every day.
Why you need to develop your personal brand online
In the era when competition in the labor market is constantly increasing, and there is a really sharp struggle for a good job, having a powerful personal brand helps a person achieve their desired goals.
A personal brand includes all the stuff that large companies with their own brand possess. These are a success story, values, earned audience trust, and much more.
Being just a professional in a particular field is no longer enough to create a successful startup or build a career. That is why these days, it is so important for ambitious people to pursue their own image and reputation.
Thanks to social media, our world has become more transparent: today, you can find information about each person in just a couple of seconds. During the same time, you can tell the widest audience about yourself and your projects. Therefore, creating and managing a personal brand becomes especially important. It is crucial to know where, how, and what you are going to tell about yourself.
So, let’s walk through the essential steps you need to follow to build a successful personal brand online.
List of key personal brand elements online
Personal website
Of course, social media is important for building a personal brand, but having a professional personal website is essential. This puts you in the creative driver’s seat and gives you the ability to communicate with your audience beyond the restrictions of social media sites that come with layout and character limitations.
image source: tonydorio
Professional email address
Buy a professional domain name and create an email account for yourself. For example, [email protected].
Personal email signature
Always add your unique signature to emails: it can include your photo, name, position, company name, contact details.
And if you are well known for something (for example, the best selling book or amazing online post), you can even add a link that leads to your book/post. The more emails you send, the more people know about you and your content.
You might also like: “90 Best Personal Branding Tools that Can Help You Become a Well-Known Professional”
Local vanity phone number
A really unique way to help develop your personal brand is to get a vanity phone number. Consider getting either a toll-free or local area code, although a local one would be just fine for your personal brand — for example, 1-800-GoFedEx.
Unique voice and identity
It is the tone of voice that determines what kind of relationship a person will have with a target audience and whether the consumer wants to associate themself with the brand or not. We already talked about brand identity and voice in our previous posts. Read it for more details. Now, what personal brand elements should you pay attention to?
Branded colors
Define the сolors you will use on a website, business cards, presentations, clothing items, etc. Ask yourself what color is associated with your brand? For example, if you are having a minimalistic blog about eco-friendly living, then perhaps you would use white and light green. And if you work in a company that provides the city with clean drinking water, you would certainly opt for blue.
image source: popsop
Personal logo
Design a logo around your name and use it consistently.
Great images
Images give emotions that evoke feelings. Today, we are fighting for people’s attention not only with each other but also with all global brands. It’s hard. You need to be more interesting, more useful, quicker, brighter. Of course, it is possible to build a brand without visual content. But 80% of the information we consume is visual. It’s better to see once than hear or read a hundred times. So choose only high-quality images, preferably those that people can associate with you.
Attractive tagline
The tagline is also known as a personal slogan – it should be short and concise.
Social networks
Start with platforms that are appropriate to your line of business or area of expertise. LinkedIn and Twitter might be the best ones to get started with, but having a Facebook business page and Instagram may also be important.
Social media groups
Be active in social media groups. It’s one of the best ways to give your content bigger exposure.
Your personal profiles/pages/groups
Ensure consistency in your personal brand voice, image, and tone. All your media should look and sound like you.
image source: Instagram
You might also like: “How To Build a Strong Personal Brand on Social Media in 7 Steps”
Personal blog
Use your blog to show your expertise and personality. Don’t be afraid to take the opportunity to write about something personal. Write about your hobbies or interests.
Podcasts and videos
Create videos and try podcasts as an alternative channel to expand your personal branding online presence.
Co-create content
Host webinars with influencers in your space. This is a good way to “exchange” your audiences.
Outreach
Try to reach out to local media and tell them about yourself. Journalists are often in search of new content ideas.
Guest posts
Everyone needs good content. If you can create one, popular bloggers and resources will gladly accept it.
Offline and online events
Visit and organize online and offline events. Constant contact with the target audience will help you analyze everything and build a better personal branding strategy.
Social sites and forums
Answer questions on social sites like Quora or Reddit to show your expertise and gain new followers.
PPC ads
If you have some money and a good landing page, experiment with paid ads. It is one of the fastest ways to see how people interact with your content and collect feedback.
Connections and relationships
Invest in real relationships, offline and online. Be the kind of a person and the kind of a “brand” that is genuinely interested in others.
Trainings and courses
Today, people go to social media not only for entertainment but also for learning something new. You may not have a physical product or service to sell, but you may have something to teach people.
image source: masterclass
Conclusion
What is your personal branding? Why is it so important these days?
Your personal brand can be a universal key to self-realization and help you in any area. Thanks to it, you can find a new job, make useful contacts, sell your product or service, or strengthen your company’s brand.
Although after reading this article, you will know everything about the essential elements of personal brands, always remember that one of the main things when building a successful brand is to be yourself.
Never broadcast something that isn’t close to you just because others are talking about it. People will quickly feel that you are faking and won’t support you anymore. When you are sincere and open, you will definitely find your audience. It is just a matter of time.
