A personal brand sets people apart from their competitors and helps them grow credibility and trust with their audiences. It has become an essential part of the careers of entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, recruiters, and business owners. With so many benefits from establishing a personal brand, it is a no-brainer to develop one of your own. But, before you can start, you need to sit down and assess yourself at a deeper level to create a brand identity that exudes who you are.
What Are You Working Towards?
One of the first things to think about when you start on your path of personal branding is knowing why you are doing it. Most develop a personal brand to broaden their impact on their community, help grow their business, or grow their presence on social media to gain more customers. Whatever your reason might be, it is essential to know what you are working towards when developing your personal brand. The answer to this can guide your branding journey and determine what you need to achieve your goals. For example, this could change whether you participate in certain social media platforms or post blogs, newsletters, or thought leader videos.
Who Are You?
This might seem like a silly question, but it is the most important question of all. Who you are is the foundation of your personal brand. Before you can start, you need to have a cohesive idea of who you are, both personally and professionally. Without this understanding, your brand will not come off how you want it to, and your audience can become confused about what you represent. You want to know things such as your personality, work ethic, work title, who you can benefit, how you help others, and every other aspect of yourself that you want portrayed to your audience. Who you are is the most important part of your personal brand.
What Do You Want Out of Your Personal Brand?
You don’t want to do personal branding just because everyone else is doing it. While this should motivate you a little, you should also have larger, more personal reasons to start your personal branding journey. Some examples could include wanting to share your knowledge and experience, grow your business, establish credibility for yourself, or become a face in your industry. You could decide to start your journey for many reasons, but you should have them in mind as you take your first step.
What Is Your “Why”?
Your “why” is something that so many people will ask you throughout your career, and you will often have different answers depending on who’s asking. However, in this case, your “why” should cover your personal why. Why do you do what you do? Why do you have the occupation you have? Why should you be a voice for people to listen to? These answers can reveal so much about you and your motivations moving forward and help outline your branding journey. If you can answer your “why” questions in depth and come to a conclusion about yourself, your goals, and what you need moving forward, you can develop a strong personal brand.
Can You Do This Alone?
A personal brand is more than just figuring out who you are. It revolves around developing a space for yourself on multiple social media platforms in various ways, such as posts, blogs, newsletters, videos, and photos. To create a brand that is trustworthy and credible, you need to be timely and consistent. Is that something you can do all on your own? Thankfully, you don’t need to do it on your own. There are professionals who can help develop your brand from the ground up, helping you exude everything you want to portray in a way that will attract your desired audience. Personal branding can be your next step to significant professional and personal growth.
Don’t start your personal branding alone. If you want to start this journey but don’t know where to begin, contact the team at Lillian James Creative.