The concept of “personal brand” is in many ways similar to the term “reputation”. What does it mean? In simple words, this is how people perceive you as a person, an entrepreneur, a representative of a social movement or a specific organization, a carrier of any goals. Are you an expert? Genius? Can you trust me? What ideas do you advocate? Who do you represent? What associations and thoughts do people have when pronouncing your name? If you are the owner of a personal brand, then everyone will recognize you. People are aware of what you are offering and working on. In this article, we will figure out how to create a personal brand.
Work on the image. Popularity at all costs
Sometimes overcoming an unpleasant situation can create your reputation as a strong person. But in most cases, everything will end with a ruined image. It is always worth remembering that people should take you seriously, and a “dirty” reputation will greatly impede this. Don't do bad deeds 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.
Core values
In the process of creating a personal brand, it is important to determine how customers and buyers 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 then everything will depend on how you submit yourself in society. Well, this process is easy to control. Simply select an image and act on its behavioral patterns. The most elementary that can be conveyed to people is moral values. Therefore, it is worth starting with them.
Become the best
If you sell expensive paintings, then you need to be the one who recognizes the right to explain to clients all the nuances of this direction. If you provide design services, then you must submit yourself as a talented specialist. Any good brand requires professionalism and experience. So, the company "Nike" 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 (Top Gear host). He knows a lot about cars. Even if you do not have your own plans for promotion and advertising, you still need to create an impression of expertness.
Constantly study and monitor changes in the chosen field. Especially if you work on the Internet. None of the areas are developing as fast as this. Therefore, if you stop developing and take a break for several months, then you will lose your competence.
Unique image
In essence, personal branding is the sale of self to people. Therefore, it is very important to think carefully about how you present yourself. It is necessary to simulate a recognizable image that would be easy to remember even for 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 among the crowd. Just be yourself, do not copy others, and everything will work out automatically, and promoting your personal brand will go faster.
Communication with people. Communicate constantly and be open
In our age of high technology, it’s worth adopting social networks. Let people look into your life. Even if these are not the main ways 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 a biography and evaluate the quality of work by looking at the portfolio. Thus, you can develop a personal brand. Therefore, you need to make a presentable website and regularly update it. Make sure that every aspect is thoroughly worked out. Be sure to add a section on recent projects and works, on the services provided and on the results achieved.
The blog
Some people start creating a personal brand with its opening. A blog is one of the most popular ways used in the professional world to express oneself. Its very easy to set up. There are many free hosting sites for opening blogs and WordPress.com is considered the most popular of them. There are other platforms where you can open your page without investing. For example, "Blogger.com".
But just having your own page is not enough. To promote your personal brand at a fast 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 yourself. Invite readers to discuss new topics and participate in discussions. Your answers must be professional so that users understand the seriousness and relevance of the blog.
Make friends regularly
Do it every day. Try to get to know as many people as possible. It is also worth considering what 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 the help of a professional, the right person will already be at hand.
You need to learn about people as much as possible: biography details, full names, etc. Thanks to this, they will see you as a friendly, caring and serious person. And 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 your friends about you. Thus, you can significantly strengthen your personal brand.
Find Allies
It can be public people, public figures, stars, etc. In general, media people whose audience is similar to yours. It is necessary to get into the circle of their communication. Follow the pages of media persons in 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 should be sincere and really good!). You can learn a lot from these people. In addition, they can give an excellent recommendation to you or your product simply by reposting. Thus, thousands of people will know about you.
But moderation is also important in this matter. Do not bother or ask for more services if you yourself have provided a small one. Do not go too far and bring benefits, 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 can make friends with famous people. As a rule, this process lasts for months, or even years. Communication itself should be non-aggressive. Blogs of "allies" should not write things that require an answer in the comments. There is Twitter and email for this.
Communicate without direct contact
If you are physically unable to respond to all messages received from your audience, then you should talk about this on your main page (along with an apology). After all, the surest way to make people negative is to disappoint them. Well, if you explained everything in advance and apologized, then there will be no reason to be offended by them. In order not to answer the same type of questions many times, it is worthwhile to create a FAQ on your website and give a link to it for everyone who writes.
Take a photo and video
A person needs to feel as if he has known you for a long time. This is especially true for online business. A similar impression is created only when a person can see you. You can implement this using video and photos. Put on the avatar of your profiles in social networks the most successful shot. It will be useful to take the help of a professional photographer. Put the video on YouTube, where you share future plans or talk about the nuances of professional activity. Thus, you will enter the personal space of your own viewers.
Success in the long run. Content Creation
A strong personal brand cannot be used one hundred percent, if not supplemented with something interesting: a useful application, an interesting blog, high-quality services, etc. But in order to create such content, it will take about the same amount of time as establishing friendship with media people.
Offer original ideas
You must be active in the chosen field. You need to be innovative, to make any contribution, to constantly change. If this is not done, then your personal brand will sink into oblivion over time. Find out what can be changed for the better in your chosen area. But there is an important point. This should be an innovation.
Speak
You need to use every opportunity to speak out in public. Take the initiative in various meetings and discussions. Feel free to express your opinion. After all, people want to not only see you, but also hear you. Actively participate in events that take place in your life and in the world. It is worth listening to and respecting the opinions of other people. Then they will feel involved in your success.
Maintain brand relevance
It is unlikely that any media person would want people to consider him repetitive, boring, disposable and outdated. And it doesn’t matter how good its 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. It is impossible to constantly use the same idea. Add new layers to your image regularly.
Aim for a long distance
It is worth considering building a personal brand as a long-term investment. It is possible that he will live longer than his master. While your business projects fade or make a profit, a personal brand always exists and gives any initiative extra value. If people feel involved in it, then they will always monitor your activities. That is, a personal brand gives a certain guarantee that in the event of a crisis you do not have to start from scratch.
Advice
To succeed, it is not necessary to be the best in everything at once. 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 (an overt desire to make money on the audience). On the other hand, there are many people with a strong brand, which is several times superior in level to their own projects. At the same time, the audience can be very small. In this case, a personal brand will be an excellent launching pad for growth and development.
Warnings
Never worth the hypocrite. Avoid activities that run counter to propaganda values that are contrary to your image. Do not advertise your professional failures. Failures in other areas are normal. After all, there you do not pretend to be an expert. And here it is worthwhile to think in advance which failures can be shared and which cannot. An exception may be a mistake made public. If this happens, do not avoid the answer. So you can seem like a liar. It’s best to honestly tell your audience. Let people know about the error from you, not from hostile third parties.
During self-presentation, avoid exaggeration. Do not be intrusive and conceited. Remember: you should not praise yourself, but other people. Promotion of a personal brand should go slowly and confidently. Excessive assertiveness and aggressiveness can make you selfish and not do any good. There is a very fine line between your own promotion and boasting, do not cross it.