5 Ways To Up Your Personal Brand
Personal branding is one of the most important things you can do for your career and your company. Having a brand helps you build your audience and your following, so you can boost your connections and your career. It can land you interviews, clients, speaking engagements, partnerships, and more.
Having a solid personal brand is more important than ever, with employees job-hopping at a rate of once every 2–3 years, and with 40% of the workforce predicted to be freelance by 2020.
But how can you cultivate the right personal brand for you? Here are five ways to up the brand you may have already created, or to learn how to go about making a new one!
1. Polish your online presence.
We live in an age where everyone has some piece of information about themselves on the Internet — and more often that not, these online personas go deeper than we realize. Think about every single social media platform you’ve ever used, and any information you have ever put out there into the vast online world.
A personal brand is all about cohesion, reflecting your values, and branding yourself to be the best version of yourself possible. To do so, you need to make sure the information about you online is only information you want to present to the world. Don’t worry if you find some things you’d rather not be there for all to see. You can ask to get information removed or remove it yourself, and you can also set up Google alerts for your name so you’re notified any time new information pops up.
2. Find your voice.
You need a voice for your brand… And that voice needs to be unique, and it needs to be yours. It doesn’t matter if your voice is “good” or like everyone else’s. It matters that your voice is recognizable and special.
Think about all the traits that make you unique, and that would resonate with others. Then, incorporate that into your voice. Maybe you want to be more conversational, or maybe you want your voice to be as professional as possible. Maybe you’re quirky, or sarcastic, or anecdotal. Whatever your voice is, as long as it matches your personality and you feel comfortable having it represent you, you’re on the right track!
3. Build consistency.
Personal brands need to be consistent and cohesive in order to really stick. People gravitate toward the familiar — The more recognizable and consistent your brand, the better. This could be something as small as using the same fonts across all your materials, or posting blogs or other insights on a regular schedule. Start by creating a short bio or description of your personal brand that you can use across all your platforms. This will set people up to recognize your content, your voice, and your style.
4. Create your platform.
Having a platform helps you build credibility. You want your brand to speak for you or your company, which means you want people to believe you truly know what you’re talking about! Maybe this means you start posting blogs on LinkedIn or Medium, or maybe you’re really active on your social media sites. Creating a broad and consistent platform helps you find your audience, which will help you strengthen your brand and make those important connections. And remember, if you’re posting on different platforms, make sure you keep the posts consistent and in tone with your voice!
5. Identify your values and priorities.
What’s most important to you? What do you value most above everything else? These are difficult questions to answer, but you should have some sort of idea of what your values and priorities are so you can build a brand that’s in line with your true self. Knowing these will also allow you to set long-term and short-term goals for your brand and your career, so you can constantly move forward toward your success.
Having a personal brand is your way of showing the world what you have to offer, and reaching a broader audience than you already have. Maybe you want to take your company to the next level, or you want to break out into freelancing. Whatever your reasons, you want prospective audiences to recognize your voice, understand your message, and rely on your consistency. Are you ready to build your personal brand today?
