Having focus is crucial when completing any task and building your personal brand is no exception. In fact, this should be the first step you take. Before you start introducing your personal brand to others, you need to have a clear idea of what you are trying to promote or want to be known for. If this is not clear in your eyes, it will certainly not be clear in the eyes of your target audience. What do you want your brand to say about you? What qualities are you trying to highlight or emphasize? A common mistake is to “bite off more than you can chew”. Do not try and overwhelm your audience by overloading them with information or products. Instead, start off with a specific focus and let your brand develop itself over time. Think of a successful company such as Apple. They started off with computers and over time have expanded their products, all while increasing their popularity in the market. They started off with a clear focus and then overtime, built a reputation, developed more products, and became a successful brand.
Knowing Your Audience
Imagine a comedian doing stand up at a bar. Hilarious right? Now imagine that same comedian, telling the same jokes, at a children’s birthday party. Not so funny now! What changed? The Audience. You need to keep your audience in mind because ultimately, that is going to be a major factor in what approach you take to build your brand. For example, if your target audience is older people, then perhaps social media platforms will not be the best way to reach them. If you are aiming towards a younger crowd, then social media along with a well-developed website will be a good combination. Additionally, you need to consider what is the best way to showcase whatever it is you want your audience to see. For a painter, something with visuals might be best, such as a portfolio. For a musician, audio or video will probably be the best bet. It all depends on who you are trying to reach and what you are trying to reach them with.
Online Presence
Let’s face it, we live in a world that revolves around technology. That means it is crucial for you to have some sort of online existence. If someone is interested in your product or services and looks you up online, they will probably be discouraged if they do not find anything. This will likely lead them to choose one of your competitors over you. Having a website can be the final reassurance that potential customers need to choose you over others. It may be because after viewing your website they got more information or insight into your products/services. Do not forget that another significant benefit of having an online presence is that it can help establish a reputation. Many customers leave reviews and those reviews are public for others to see. If you do not have a website, then there will be no convenient way for them to find out what others think of your business; even if you have a great amount of satisfied customers.
Expanding Your Exposure
As important as online presence is, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just that. You need to remember that your personal brand is composed of a combination of things. Do not underestimate the power of something as simple as a business card or networking! Networking can play a big role in the perception of your personal brand. You can have the best website and all the positive reviews in the world yet fall short in other areas. You need to remember that ultimately, you are the biggest representation of your personal brand. This is why it is important to be aware of how you carry yourself, address others, etc. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression and unfortunately, there are no do-overs for this. Therefore, make the most out of it and always carry yourself in a way that you want your personal brand to be viewed. Following that advice along with previously mentioned tips for building your brand will start you off in the right direction. Before you know it, you will have a successful personal brand!
