Companies must build their branding. It is important to be recognized and remembered by the audience – and, of course, having a strong brand will also help a business to grow.
The same happens with professionals – personal branding is also very relevant, especially for an entrepreneur. So if you are thinking about getting into entrepreneurship – or if you are an independent or freelancer professional – it is a good idea to have this strategy on mind.
What is personal branding?
To understand what personal branding is, let’s first take one step back and talk about branding itself: it is the process and strategies that will build the idea people have about a company or, of course, a brand. Branding is usually associated with a business – but can be associated with a person, a professional or an entrepreneur, too. So we call “personal branding” everything that involves to build your own brand to the people on your professional network.
Personal branding, as we mentioned, is especially important when you are an entrepreneur, or an independent professional. The reason is simple: you will represent your company, your business or your services and products.
Imagine if a company just launched an amazing and disruptive product; there is a lot of buzz, everyone wants to buy it. But the company owner does not inspire confidence, you don’t know anything about him or her and this person doesn’t seem to understand his or her own creation. Wouldn’t you think twice about being one of the first buyers of the new product? Probably would. This is one example of the importance of personal branding for entrepreneurs: your customers do not buy only your product or service; they buy based on what they think about you, your confidence, your vision, your expertise and your image, too.
How to build a personal brand
Building a personal branding for entrepreneurs is not that different than for a company. Here are some important tips:
1. Who is your target audience? Just like a business, your personal branding also has a target audience – not everyone would be your client or be interested on what you want to say.
2. How do you want them to see you? Now that you already know who you want to talk to, it is important to decide what is your message: do you want to be recognized as someone technical, a leader, modern or traditional? When you decide that, it is time to create strategies to show yourself to your audience.
3. Be authentic! Your personal branding must be unique. Of course, you can get some inspiration from known professionals that you admire, but you should work on having your own voice.
4. Your channels are important. Use your authentic voice to talk to your audience on your social media channels, YouTube videos and your website. It is important to be active – so if sometimes you cannot create content, just share important knowledge from other sources that match with your personal brand.
Building a personal brand is a process: you will not create it in one day; however, you are able to not only build your brand in the way, but also engage and educate people – and, of course, grow your business.
