The importance of personal branding is often overlooked but it’s imperative for everyone trying to grow their business or personal image. Believe it or not, you are probably building yours without even knowing it by posting a simple selfie with a caption. This is useful as a first impression to your audience, telling them who you are as a person without you saying anything. Personal branding can be built via an individual’s image, online presence, job inquiries, etc. This is especially important for a digital nomad, which I have figured out on my journey and continue to improve upon. I will explain the importance of building a personal brand and the steps you should take to build your own.
Steps to building your personal brand
Step #1
Before you learn the Importance of Personal Branding, you need to figure out who you are and who your desired audience is. Knowing who you are is helpful in many aspects of life, but especially important when you are trying to find your career. You can distinguish your strong and weak points by figuring out what you are good at and what you need to work on improving. While you figure that out, you also want to uncover who you want your audience to be and start shifting your focus to be appealing to them. I suggest starting a document to brainstorm your positives, negatives, focusing on where you excel and the talents that you have.
Step #2
To help you get a good start on that, try taking the High Five Test, which will ask you around a hundred questions and will tell you all of the areas you excel in. Use this information to help you determine how you can best present your own information. Figuring this out will help you finely tune your audience as you narrow your focus on what you really strive to achieve.
Step #3
The next step is research, taking notes on what more experienced professionals are doing in your industry. This is important and shouldn’t be overlooked, since the people you are taking notes from have already made it. Now you can incorporate some of what they are doing into what you will be doing for yourself.
Step #4
After determining some methods to develop the audience you are seeking, it is time to prepare an “elevator pitch.” This should be a short speech that explains who you are and what you do. It should be short enough to deliver to someone you meet in an elevator. You can also use this to start networking! Which can help your brand grow rapidly if you done correctly.
Networking is one of the best ways to meet peers and higher-ups in your industry. There are countless ways to network. Some include going to networking events both in-person and online, talking to other people in the industry, and using your elevator pitch to get clients.
Step #5
The final step is growing your social media with content that appeals to your audience, your business, and especially to yourself. It will help you immensely to believe in what you are selling. You can start by making a LinkedIn profile. This can help you to find employees, clients, people to network with, and to help gain an audience. It is very easy to set up and you will have access to millions of other people with the same passion as you! If your ideal audience isn’t on LinkedIn or if it isn’t their primary platform, you can consider platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or Twitter.
The importance of personal branding and how to grow your personal brand
Growing your personal brand comes after the building stage and is the most time consuming. Which makes it the most important step to getting your name out there! This is most efficiently done by having a strong social media presence and establishing yourself in your chosen market. Before we get into all of that, I want you to develop a story to tell on your social media that paints the picture of who you are.
I suggest that you set up a unique business email first. Then after sign up for your social media accounts using that email, including LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Instagram and Facebook are two good ways to start your social media presence. Make sure to utilize your profile bio and picture on these apps to advertise your brand.
LinkedIn can be used in the same way, and more. LinkedIn gives you the option to display a job title, bio, profile portrait, interests, job status, etc. Many investors, job recruiters, freelancers, and business owners use it to find potential candidates, clients and collaborators. While LinkedIn may not be your primary social platform, it can be a very helpful to have. Especially if you are a freelancer looking to find a job, a business looking for clients or workers, fellow peers in the industry, or even investors!
Another media-related suggestion is to stay up to date with news in your industry. This way you can be educated and stay on top of the latest developments. You can also create a website to help share your own news in the industry! While important eventually, a website can also be a later addition. I wouldn’t say it is crucial for the start of the growing process.
Next up is going to virtual networking and/or in-person events for your industry. There, you can have direct conversations with people who are at your level and even seniors of the industry! These events are pretty easy to find and will help you practice that elevator speech! Most people are at these events for the same reasons, so all it takes is talking and getting involved.
Throughout these steps, work on creating a logo and possibly a blog based on your company or passion of choice. The logo will help you to stand out from everyone else, and the blog will allow you to teach people about your mission, demonstrate your authority, and help others to get to know YOU.
Knowing the importance of Personal Branding is a important factor in any business. Read my Ebook, The Modern Cashflow Blueprint to get the start you need!
