Building your personal brand is often an investment of time and effort
We live in the age of digital technology, where our online presence can often be as important as our physical one. Whether you’re taking on a side hustle to boost your family’s income, or if you are searching for your dream job, creating and curating your own personal brand is an essential part of making you stand out from the crowd. That’s right, personal brands are not just for business owners or public speakers. Everyone should have one!
From setting yourself up as a dog walker to becoming a virtual assistant, crafting your personal brand is an essential step in ensuring that working from home is a success. Your brand is the first thing that potential customers and clients will see, so getting it right from the beginning will mean they are much more likely to work with you and use your services. So, where do you start creating your own personal brand?
Set out your goals
First off, you want to be clear about what it is that you want to achieve with your brand. Is it a promotion? A new career direction? A start up business? Once you have a handle on where you want your brand to take you then it will become much easier to create one as you will then be able to refine your target audience.
Create a platform
You might have the most beautiful brand in the world, but if you don’t have a website or social media accounts then potential clients and customers are going to have a hard job finding you. Set up a simple website with a photo and a brief bio, along with links to your social media accounts. If you are feeling overwhelmed with how many social media platforms there are, pick a couple and work exclusively with them. It is worth having one on every platform, though, even if you don’t use them regularly.
Start with Instagram, as it’s a great way to learn what your audience are looking for in content. Start posting and keep track of what works and what doesn’t. There are loads of ways that you can boost your Instagram followers organically.
Be authentic
This is a super important part of creating a brand. These days, everyone wants the real, unedited you. People can tell when something is forced or fake, so there is no point even trying! Just relax and be yourself. If you struggle with that concept, work out what it is that makes you unique or interesting and play to those strengths. This will then navigate your path to success – and the best part is you will just be you!
Photo: Kaboompics.com / Public Domain
Caption: Networking is the best way to grow your audience
Post regular content
Whether you’re into blogging or vlogging, posting regular content is key to attracting your target audience. Set a goal of writing at least one blog post per week and ensure that it covers topics that your target audience would be interested in. Vlogs (video logs) are a great way to let your target market get to know you, so although it might be intimidating at first, getting used to posting videos of yourself will drive traffic to your site. Don’t worry if you’re not a professional film director, there are plenty of ways you can improve your vlogging technique and boost your following using just your iPhone and some good lighting!
Network
It might feel counterintuitive, but networking with people in your industry is a great way to get your name out there and connect with a community of people who are doing similar things. Rather than seeing them as direct competitors for business or employment, look at them as people you can learn from and engage with on matters that are relevant to your niche.
Become an expert
Nothing will bag you clients and customers faster than being known as an expert in your field. From running a copywriting side hustle to holding craft afternoons, understanding your niche and the challenges it faces will help you to come up with viable solutions for them. Once you are known as a problem solver then your reputation will flourish, and opportunities will present themselves.
So, what are you waiting for? Creating your personal brand is an exciting and fun way to help you achieve your goals, get started today!
This is a guest post.