The concept of "personal brand" is in many ways similar to the term "reputation". What does it mean? In simple terms, this is how people perceive you as an individual, an entrepreneur, a representative of a social movement or a certain organization, a carrier of any goals. Are you an expert? Genius? Can you be trusted? What ideas are you promoting? Who do you represent? What associations and thoughts do people have when they say your name? If you are the owner of a personal brand, then everyone will recognize you. People are aware of what you offer and what you are working on. In this article, we will find out how to build a personal brand.
Work on the image. Popularity at any cost
Sometimes overcoming an unpleasant situation can give you a reputation as a strong person. But in most cases, everything will end in a ruined image. It is always worth remembering that people must take you seriously, and a “stained” reputation willstrongly hinder this. Don't do bad things just to get attention. This will not help make a personal brand successful. If you find yourself in a similar situation, then take all necessary measures to correct it. As practice shows, when leveling the consequences of notoriety, people only gained a greater margin of trust.
Key values
In the process of creating a personal brand, it is important to decide how customers and customers should perceive you. Think through every detail. After all, a person’s personal brand is a combination of emotions, words and thoughts of other people that form your final image in their heads. And here everything will depend on how you present yourself in society. Well, this process is easy to control. Just choose an image and act according to its behavioral patterns. The most elementary thing that can be conveyed to people is moral values. Therefore, it is worth starting with them.
Be the best
If you sell expensive paintings, then you need to be someone who is recognized as the right to explain to customers all the nuances of this direction. If you provide design services, then you need to present yourself as a talented specialist. Any good brand implies professionalism and experience. Thus, the Nike company positions itself as an expert in the field of creating fashionable and high-quality sportswear. A good example of a personal brand is Jeremy Clarkson (host of Top Gear). He knows a lot about cars. Even if you do not have plans for promotion and advertisingown services, you still need to create the impression of expertise.
Constantly learn and follow the changes in the chosen field. Especially if you work online. No area is developing as fast as this one. Therefore, if you stop developing and take a break for several months, then you will lose your competence.
Unique look
At its core, personal branding is about selling people their own identity. Therefore, it is very important to think carefully about how you present yourself. It is necessary to model a recognizable image that would be easily remembered even by strangers. At the same time, its uniqueness is important. But this does not mean that you need to assemble a team and brainstorm to discuss how to stand out from the crowd. Just be yourself, do not copy others, and everything will work out automatically for you, and the promotion of your personal brand will go faster.
Communication with people. Communicate constantly and be open
In our age of high technology, it is worth taking social networks into service. Let people look into your life. Even if it is not the main means of communication. But you will give them the opportunity to be closer to you. Just use the same name everywhere. This will make it easier for people to find you. Well, tell us in detail about your skills and interests.
Personal site
This is a great way to tell people about you and your projects. They read the biography and evaluate the quality of the work by looking at the portfolio. Thus youyou can develop your personal brand. Therefore, you need to make a presentable website and update it regularly. Make sure that every aspect is thoroughly worked out. Be sure to include a section on recent projects and work, services provided and results achieved.
Blog
Some people start building a personal brand by opening one. Blogging is one of the most popular ways in the professional world to make a statement. Its very easy to set up. There are many free hostings for opening blogs, and the most popular of them is "Wordpress.com". There are other platforms where you can open your page without investing. For example, "Blogger.com".
But it's not enough to just run your own page. In order for the promotion of a personal brand to proceed at a rapid pace, you need the active participation of readers and their proposal of various ideas for improving it. This will help in attracting even more visitors. Well, be active. Invite readers to discuss new topics and participate in discussions. Your answers should be professional so that users understand the seriousness and relevance of the blog.
Make friends regularly
Do this every day. Try to meet as many people as possible. It's also worth thinking about what your new friends can do for you, and what you can do for them. Just make friends who are really worth something. And when you need professional help, you needthe person will already be at hand.
You need to learn as much as possible about people: biographical details, full names, etc. Thanks to this, they will see you as a friendly, caring and serious person. Also, the more you remember about specific people, the more you impress them in person. Your good friends, with whom you are in close contact, will definitely tell their friends about you. In this way, you can significantly strengthen your personal brand.
Find "allies"
These can be public figures, public figures, stars, etc. In general, media people whose audience is similar to yours. You need to get into their circle of friends. Follow the pages of media people on social networks, comment on publications, and, if necessary, be sure to offer help. If one of them has a blog, then write a guest post (only it must be sincere and really good!). You can learn a lot from these people. On top of that, they can give you a great recommendation for you or your product just by sharing. Thus, thousands of people will know about you.
But moderation is also important in this matter. Do not bother and do not ask for a greater service if you yourself have rendered a small one. Do not go too far and be useful, then the “allies” will definitely remember you. But it is worth considering this process as a long-term one. In a couple of weeks, few people can make friends with famous people. Typically, this process takes months or even years. Communication itself should be non-aggressive. In the blogs of "allies" you should not write things that require an answer in the comments. For this there isTwitter and email.
Communicate without direct contact
If you are physically unable to respond to all the messages you receive from your audience, then you should tell about it on your main page (along with an apology). After all, the surest way to cause negativity in people is to disappoint them. Well, if you explained everything in advance and apologized, then they will not have a reason to be offended. In order not to answer the same type of questions many times, it is worth starting a FAQ on your website and giving a link to it to everyone who wrote it.
Take photos and videos
A person needs to feel as if they have known you for a long time. This is especially true for online business. This impression is created only when a person can see you. This can be done with videos and photos. Put on the avatar of your profiles in social networks the most successful picture. It would be useful to use the help of a professional photographer. Post a video on YouTube, where you share your future plans or talk about the nuances of your professional activity. By doing so, you will enter the personal space of your own viewers.
Success in the long run. Content Creation
A strong personal brand cannot be 100% used unless it is supplemented with something interesting: a useful application, an interesting blog, high-quality services, etc. But it takes about the same amount of time to create such content as it takes to establish friendship with the media.personas.
Submit original ideas
In the chosen area, you must be active. You have to be innovative, make a contribution, constantly change. If you do not do this, then your personal brand will eventually sink into oblivion. Find out what can be changed in your chosen area for the better. But there is an important point here. It should be just an innovation.
Speak
You should use every opportunity to speak out in public. Be proactive in different meetings and discussions. Feel free to express your own opinion. After all, people want to not only see you, but also hear you. Actively participate in the events that take place in your life and in the world. At the same time, it is worth listening to and respecting the opinions of other people. Then they will feel a part of your success.
Keep Brand Relevant
Hardly any media person would want people to consider it repetitive, boring, disposable and outdated. And it doesn’t matter how good his content is at the moment. If you do not work on the quality of the material, do not add something modern, do not accept new challenges, then the audience's interest will gradually fade away. You can't keep using the same idea all the time. Add new layers to your look regularly.
Aim for a long distance
You should consider building a personal brand as a long-term investment. It is possible that he will live longer than his master. While your business projects are fading or making a profit,a personal brand always exists and gives additional value to any undertakings. If people feel involved in it, they will always follow your activities. That is, a personal brand provides some kind of guarantee that in the event of a crisis you will not have to start from scratch.
Tips
You don't have to be the best at everything to succeed. There are top bloggers and people who have a rather weak personal brand (in terms of the number of their own audience). The most common reasons for this are the arrogant manner of communication and the transparency of their motives (a frank desire to make money from the audience). On the other hand, there are many people with a strong brand that is several times the level of their own projects. In this case, the audience can be quite small. In this case, a personal brand will be an excellent launching pad for growth and development.
Warnings
Never be hypocritical. Avoid actions that go against your promoted values and your image. Do not advertise your professional failures. Failures in other areas are normal. After all, there you do not claim to be an expert. And here it is worth considering in advance which failures can be shared and which not. An exception may be a bug that has become public knowledge. If this happens, you do not need to avoid answering. This can make you look like a liar. It's best to be honest with your audience. Let people know about the error from you, not from hostile third partiespersons.
When presenting yourself, avoid exaggeration. Don't be intrusive and conceited. Remember: you should not praise yourself, but other people. Personal branding must be done slowly and steadily. Excessive assertiveness and aggressiveness can make you look selfish and not good. There is a very thin line between self-promotion and bragging, don't cross it.
