Remember, building your personal brand won't come overnight but you'll be glad you did the work when you are standing out in a crowded sea of competitors who are having the same services and products like yours.
Check out below some elements you will want to consider while developing your brand. Which one are you working on?
1. Identify who you are talking to: know your audience. Everything starts with your audience. Find out as much as you can about them. Identify who your core audience is. Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Identify which audience segments are most likely to become long-term customers and advocates. These are the people you should focus on.
2. Embrace authenticity and values: Authenticity is the cornerstone of personal branding. Your authenticity is what allows your audience to trust you, to engage with you, to tell their friends about you. Being authentic is about having stated values and being true to them.
Don't become different versions of yourself depending on the circumstance or people. Keep your personal brand consistent and authentic. Although there are times you may need to "flex" your style, keep true to yourself as your guiding compass.
Keep your authenticity and values at the heart of everything you do, as you interact with people, network on social media, or publish blog posts. Wherever and whenever you engage, ensure you do so in a way that shines a light on your values.
3. Personalize your message: You want to tell your audience about what you do, about what makes you different and exciting, create a short message that sums up what you’re about in a way which connects with your audience. Keep it simple and memorable. Your message should reflect the people you serve, the values that you embody and the results you achieve.
4. Embrace your uniqueness: if you can do something highly useful that very few people can do, then it's your unique quality and you should tell your audience about it. The most obvious point of uniqueness is to be the best. If you can’t be the best in some way, becoming more specialized can make you unique.
5. Always post with intention, provide value to your audience, your customers.