One of the most commonly attempted but difficult accomplishments in today’s world is building a strong, recognizable personal brand. Long gone are the days when your resume and work history are all you need to impress potential employers, business associates, or clients. Nowadays, people want to see what you, as an individual, do to set yourself apart from your competition.
Although building a personal brand isn’t easy, it is well worth the effort and dedication. It will help you achieve goals and reach professional heights that you would most likely be unable to obtain otherwise.
With so many experts offering countless different ways on how to establish yours, we thought it would be best to just get back to basics and offer you 5 simple-yet-proven strategies on how to build a personal brand.
Table of Contents
1. You Define Your Brand’s Identity
It’s important to understand this simple fact about brand building; if you don’t define your brand, others will. And before you can establish what your brand stands for, you must first decide what it is that you stand for.
How will you set yourself apart from others in your field? How will you identify and highlight your mission, core values, and unique strengths? This is the first step in establishing your name and image for your target audience.
2. Build a Steady Digital Presence
In today’s online world, standing out from the rest of the crowd usually requires strong online visibility. This means much more than a simple website and email address. You need to be actively engaging on social media, across multiple platforms. Professional headshots and photos help give you a more appealing presence as someone to trust and/or do business with. A quality professional bio with education and work history also helps.
3. Establishing a Solid Professional Network
No matter how things change and how we go about the process, networking has been and always will be a crucial aspect of standing out in a crowded field. Attending industry-related events, joining business groups and clubs, as well as connecting online with like-minded professionals go a long way in building a personal brand.
4. Putting Your Expertise on Display
Once you have the platforms and network in place to build your brand, now is the time to start showcasing what you have to offer. This can be done in several ways, including:
- Blogs
- Articles
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Speaking engagements
- And many other options
5. Accepting Feedback and Constructive Criticism
Finally, anybody who has ever built a successful brand can tell you that the most productive thing you can do is listen to the feedback offered by your core audience. Even if it is tough to hear at times, listening to your demographic can tell you exactly what you need to do to reach them.
It’s More than a Brand, It’s Your Entrepreneurial Identity
There are far too many social media “influencers” and small-time gig workers throwing around the term “brand” as though it’s something that is easy to establish and anyone can have one.
The fact is that most people never truly understand how to build a personal brand. They bounce around from strategy to strategy, looking for overnight success, and it consistently evades them. If you want to genuinely create a recognizable and respectable brand, it takes time, effort, and dedication.
