Personal Brand, the undercurrent of the look and feel of your corporate empire, is one of the most common areas for a business owner to promote their story. Before digital channels became mainstream, methods of publishing your brand were limited to individual channels, with most having the budget for a directly printed magazine ad. Since the advent of digital marketing, there has been real growth in the virtual and physical promotion options available. With more channels, however, comes a requirement to spend more time planning and creating a strategy.
As an individual, finding a way to put yourself at the front of the crowd in today’s crowded market, desires some varied approaches. By taking the necessary time to consider all your options, whether it be social media, a personal website or paid advertising, you will be able to understand where your audience is and how they react to your content. It is ultimately vital to get your stake in the ground, ahead of others and also protect your position.
A water-tight trademark is essential in the creation of an established personal brand, but this must be approached from the right angle to avoid any issues in the application stage.
Great examples of personal brand professionals
In the bright lights of big business, a personal brand is an overlooked yet valuable tool, that is well within your reach. Some familiar private brands in the news, are political party leaders and governors. Behind the scenes, everything they do, wear or say, is often carefully considered, to ensure actions reflect their personal brand goals.
For example, political rivals, Trump and Clinton, both present themselves as two very different individuals. Beyond their parties, both have achievements and characteristics in their professional fields, that all combine to support and promote their brand.
As mentioned above, personal branding isn’t limited to prominent individuals. When looking at recent data, around a third of modern consumers believe in messages published by businesses. However, 9 out of 10 members of the public, openly trust words and stories from trusted individuals.
An example of this, we love is the recent partnership between Colin Kaepernick and Nike. It’s a match made in business heaven with both business and personal brand known for pushing against the norm and promoting new messages.
The ultimate campaign production resulted in a world famous campaign built on solid foundations. Ultimately, the relation to a strong personal brand, backed by the reliability of a world-renowned business, is an excellent combination for gaining trust from potential customers.
Create your image & identify your audience
In the process of crafting your brand, the principal objective should be to understand the target market and your desired customer. Can you successfully identify needs/desires, while being aware of the difficulties and obstacles that your work can help them overcome? Plus, what does your target market want and how do the desires of each customer vary? Your chances of success increase, if you can establish a strong reputation as a professional that cares about the full relationship and not just sales.
It’s Not About Selling
It’s about making yourself available to those that listen, clients and peers alike. All personal brands must make sure they have active social accounts, especially Linkedin and Youtube. Get the balance right with your personal brand content, as well as being unique, you need to make sure your social media presence contains both business and personal stories.
By focusing on your story, brand, and overall image, your audience begins to trust your message and will be more likely to buy into your product. By choosing the right channel for your audience, you can amplify your story. Some strong individual brands use video to some significant effect, allowing them to expand on key themes while keeping to the brand at all times.
By telling stories, the key benefit is that you become more human. This unique platform, accessible to you, needs to be protected if you want it to stay consistent. To take the first steps, you may wish to apply for a trademark to cover your professional image and your relevant material.
Don’t forget the offline world
Although the options available may be broad, you aren’t locked in digital technology. By attending relevant events, you can take steps to network professionally with others interested in similar topics. Materials such as business cards, printed articles or even case studies can mean a lot in the right hands and can lead to further decisions and engagement in the future.
Keep the message consistent
If you are aware of well-known personal brands such as Gary Vaynerchuk or Grant Cardone, there will be a very similar element that stands out in their work. It’s not magic or exclusive to those with money. But more a strong drive and dedication that fuels their brand.
By allowing your brand to sit within a set image, you will find your audience will start to recognize your work. If you start to stray or produce conflicting messages, you risk excluding some of your audience. By this point, you will have researched what your audience wants, so why divert from what you know works. Any individual that evolves their brand will ensure two or more platforms are used, while at the same time providing the messaging is consistent across the board, down to branding colors and tone of voice.
In short, here’s the low down for how you can improve your brand.
Be clear and confident about your main message. Ensure it matches the needs, desires, and objectives of your audiences.
Whatever your platforms of choice, take steps to ensure your key message is conveying similar messages across your website, social media, and printed material.
Make it straightforward for your market to believe in you and your story by supporting the message with data and case studies.
Looks to protect your brand with a trademark to ensure copy imitations cannot get established.
As you develop your brand, keep our essential hints in mind, and you’ll be on your way to creating your own robust, sustainable and successful brand.
