Personal branding is a necessity these days and is becoming increasingly important with time. It is a commonly cited phrase, “People follow people online!” The research states that the most followed accounts on major social media platforms belong to people, not businesses.
Businesses invest a lot of time, money and attention to make their brands more personable, and storytelling’s importance in business is being understood globally. This is evident by books like Building a Story Brand moving into mainstream marketing books. The leading authorities also endorse this notion of marketing in the books they have written.
With businesses focusing on humanizing their brands, it makes sense that humans, too, can establish a brand for themselves. The essential idea is to build a reputation for yourself as an influencer, expert and leading authority in your domain. In the long term, we want to establish a community of fans and followers who are potential customers of your business, product or service.
Why is this such a big deal? When we have a rabid fan base, they will be the first ones to purchase your products, read your book, buy tickets to your shows and do anything else you can think of doing in your career. When people know you by reputation, it is easier to land new clients, bring in new business and seize new opportunities when they arise. This is particularly true for industries where new gigs come based on how well people know you. Even if you are just an employee right now, it makes sense to develop your personal brand because if people know you as an expert, you can find more lucrative work and negotiate a higher salary. Since you are an influencer, you become a bankable person when drawing in crowds which will open new avenues.
Believe it or not, you already have a personal brand. Now, it is up to you to take control of it and leverage it for all you can. How do you do this? The biggest thing internet marketers had in their kitty was their email list—a way to contact people who had volunteered to receive their promotional material. Building an email list has been and will always be a critical component of your brand. These days, social media is the biggest platform where you can build a loyal audience. Your profiles are the first point of contact with the outside world. Your websites and profiles are your calling cards introducing you to people and giving them a first impression.
We need to strengthen our social media profiles by publishing relevant content regularly. I hate to put it this way, but it is just like a job; you must show up every day. When you provide value to people and engage with them, you will try to achieve top-of-the-mind recall with your fans. You can pick up any medium of communication you are comfortable using and any platform that your audience might regularly visit so they can find you. Then you need to be consistent with your efforts and experiment with what works and what doesn’t work for you.
Think of your branding as maintaining your image. It’s a constant process without end but with an eternal purpose. Your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Start now, build for the future and reap the rewards in the long term.