Building a personal brand in today’s digital era is so much more than just a job title on LinkedIn. When you consider global brands such as Nike or Disney, most people would instantly be able to picture the logo and slogan, or even describe in one sentence what products and services those brands provide.
The same concept can be applied directly to your own personal brand.
What is a personal brand?
What is a personal brand you might be asking? Well, your personal brand is a direct representation of who you are and what you stand for. As well as the way that you promote yourself. The best part? Anyone can easily craft their own personal brand. Especially with the ease of creating your own content, and sharing it with billions of users on social media platforms.
Whether you have actively identified what your personal brand consists of, everyone has one, and everyone’s personal brand will be unique.
How do you build your personal brand?
The first step of building a successful personal brand is asking yourself who you are, and what do you want to be known for? Being introspective is a great way to deep dive into what constitutes your personal brand. Perhaps you love technology, content creation, or even dogs. Maybe you have a knack for Bitcoin and all things crypto? If you can’t pinpoint a few things you’d like to be known for by yourself, don’t be worried. Reach out to your network and be sure to ask those around you that know you best: friends, family, partners, and even co-workers.
Now that you have a better understanding of what a personal brand is, are you ready to build and strengthen your own brand through the power of digital? Here are some of the top tips to help build and curate your own.
Be authentic
People want to know the real, candid you. In today’s social media landscape, those who build the strongest personal brand are 100% unapologetically themselves. Don’t be afraid to show your true self, and build a community around you of like-minded individuals. Users don’t want to see anything fake, they can sniff it out from a mile away. The more authentic you can be, the better.
Know your audience
Who do you want to speak to? What platforms are they active on? What kind of content are they loving, and what would they find in what you’re producing? Being able to clearly identify your audience from the beginning is a powerful way to build any personal branding strategy.
Knowing where they are most active, can help you understand which platforms will work best to build your personal brand. Sometimes this might only be a handful of channels such as LinkedIn or TikTok. Be sure to pick the right platforms, and the right format of content (video vs text vs image posts), and speak in a way that resonates strongly with your core audience.
Be present consistently
This doesn’t mean that you have to be active on every single social media platform. What it does mean, is to find the platforms that are right for you, as well as the platforms where your audience is most active. The second phase to this is designing a content schedule that works for you, that could be posting every day of the week, or even once a week. Find what works for you and stick to it. Consistency will help build momentum, and set expectations in your audience’s mind of when they will see fresh content from you.
Show your passion
Passion attracts passion. We are in the era of authenticity and passion on social media. Users want to celebrate others who are obsessed with what they do. Wherever your passions lay, consume as much content as you can on that topic and begin to share that with your audience.
Add value to your content
Every piece of content you create and upload, whether it’s a video, a long-form article, or even a poll, take a step back and ask yourself what will someone gain, learn or enjoy from this? To ensure you are building a consistent brand image you need to ensure you’re not wasting the time of your audience but adding value in every post you upload.
Connect and learn from others
The best way to keep growing is to build your own network and engage with others. You can’t put a price on the importance of networking. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms to do this on! Networking regularly and effectively can open many doors and opportunities that you might not have once thought were possible.
Wrapping up
Identifying your own personal brand will help set you up for success in the long term, and provide clarity on what you want to be known for. Content creation and social media play two of the most pivotal roles in getting your personal brand out there, and telling the story of ‘you’.
About the author
Rosie Chong is an Account Manager and Digital Strategist at CODI Agency in Melbourne, Australia. She is an avid lover of digital marketing, content creation and personal branding, sharing regular content on LinkedIn. You can connect with Rosie on her LinkedIn.
