I guess that you heard so many times before that you need to build personal brand to stand out online. For solopreneurs, having a strong personal brand can make all the difference in how you’re perceived online and offline. But nobody completely understands what it’s all about and what to do.
My short story:
When I was a photo editor, I was confused when I heard the first time about the need of branding myself. As turned out later, I was doing it without even knowing that it was a part of the branding process. I knew that I’d like to work with wedding photographers. And already had a clear positioning – Lightroom photo editor for wedding photographers. This helped me to gain more focus and attract clients in a short time.
I decided to include in portfolio only wedding “before/after” photos (even when I had lots of other examples). Later I wrote helpful blog posts and created pdf resources to help those photographers who wanted to outsource, but didn’t know how to start. The color palette and font choices where picked to resonate with wedding pros (light and sophisticated). So all those small things were the puzzle pieces of the personal branding process. Of course, there was a lot of networking and communication involved at the start. But I hope you’ve got the idea.
Nowadays I’m a brand and website designer for female coaches, service providers and photographers. Because over the years I gained the expertise and have genuine desire to help women entrepreneurs to get brand clarity and showcase their passions through the elegant and marketing-driven websites. So they could have greater impact, revenue, and business flow.
Building your personal brand is not as hard as it may seems. If you are confused and have taken a wait-and-see attitude, then read to the end to get instructions on promoting your personal brand. Your income level starts with you. The effectiveness of your promotion depends on how strong your personal brand is.
Eight steps to create a powerful personal brand:
1. Understand your client’s struggles and needs on a deeper level:
Yes, a powerful personal brand starts with your clients. And the first step is to do the market research, in simple words – learn more about their struggles and needs. If it’s difficult to invite people for a quick interview, join facebook groups or memberships, or use Google suggestion to see what people are asking about. This will help you to create content that speaks directly to them and attract similar clients you want to work with.
2. Establish Your Identity:
When you know what you can offer to your clients. It’s time to define your identity, in simple words – how do you want them to remember you. Personal branding is not just a fancy buzzword you see online, it’s a process of defining and promoting yourself to the world. A personal brand (PB) is a set of associations that others associate with you. Personal brand includes: image, reputation, set of values, field of activity, product/offers, anchors, personal style.
Building a personal brand means defining your uniqueness and showing it correctly.
And now it’s time to write your uniqueness statement. There is competition in any niche. A USP (Unique selling point) and positioning will help you stand out from competitors. Leadership and strengthening your position in the market is determined by the ability to find and close the true needs of the client, to offer what others do not have. I love simplifying things, so your personal brand statement can be reduced to 1-2 sentences that includes:
- what you do
- who you serve
- what results your clients can get from working with you
Don’t worry if you don’t get it right from the start. There are no right or wrong, personal branding is a continuous process. Define how your skills and experience can help others right now and keep evolving from there.
Personal branding must be confirmed by the quality of the product / service. Particular attention should be paid to skills, training, knowledge, innovation, experience and personal growth.
3. Add Storytelling and personality
Stories add an emotional bond with your readers and very powerful way to connect with them. Before you start writing your story, ask yourself what emotions do you want to evoke in your readers. And let them see you as a guide that can provide a transformational experience for them.
Personal content is everything that is connected with you outside of your expertise: family, sports, hobbies, friends, travel, preferences.
You define the boundaries and degree of your openness in online world. Decide what part of your personal life you can share and what to leave behind the scenes.
In any format of personal content, it is important to convey your own motivation and goals. It is important to send meta-messages through context – this is what is people read between the lines. What shows your true ideas and motivation. Everything in your PB speaks about you, and here it is important to ensure that the audience absorbs the thoughts that you want to convey. You need to think about how a specific action and content describes you in the eyes of the viewer.
You and everything around you should speak about what makes you unique and how you can be useful.
A personal brand contains several principles:
- Expertise – what you know better than others, what problems you can solve with your knowledge and skills;
- Positioning – your personal opinions;
- Values - what is important to you both in life and at work;
- USP – what you can offer that others cannot;
- Personal story – how you achieved success, why you chose this path;
- Meta-messages – who you are in the eyes of the audience;
- Results and cases – how you and your product have influenced the quality of life of others.
- Dreams and goals – what you ultimately strive for and what actions you take.
4. Content plan
A personal brand lives where there is a plan and strategy. Personal brand promotion is impossible without a solid content plan.
Content plan starts with the goal and analysis. At each stage of development, the goals may differ: increase awareness, increase engagement, sell a new product, etc.
Types of content depending on the goals:
- Expert – demonstration of skills, knowledge, experience, cases;
- Useful – to attract a cold audience, it is important to provide free advice, life hacks, tips;
- Involving – encouraging to join the discussion of the topic, often using relevant news and trends;
- Entertaining – light, not overloaded with information, in order to create an emotional interaction with the audience;
- Selling – pushing to the desired action: write, buy, book, etc.
All types of content should work to support your image and personal brand. Too much single-purpose and similar content tires the audience and their interest could be lost. Speak the language that your target audience understands.
There are two main steps in developing a content plan:
We define the niche, competitiveness, positioning, image and values. This is how the “I-concept” is born, without it, it’s impossible to create your style. High-quality work on content and the development of unique positioning are the foundation of a successful personal brand. Showing your personality and demonstrating your expertise you can attract new clients even in a crisis. differentiate yourself from competitors and create strong positions in the market.
5. Define your visual Identity (brand, website, socials)
Next we work on the visual. Each personal brand must be attractive and emotionally attached. The visual part is what makes it possible to get the first impression of the personal brand. Visually, the content must have a single style. This increases your recognition among the informational noise.
By defining your visual identity, you can create a strong and memorable brand that resonates with your clients. When you established in the previous steps all the key elements such as your brand’s values, vision, and ideal client, then, you can translate these into visual components like your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery.
Your website should be a reflection of this identity, with consistent design elements and messaging. And don’t forget about your social media profiles — they should be an extension of your visual identity, creating a unified experience for your audience across all platforms.
6. Build Credibility and Trust:
On your website and socials use as many trust factors as you can. Social proof is important: testimonials from past clients, case studies. Other ideas to think about: certificates, badges from trusted partners, awards and recognitions.
7. Attract Opportunities:
Digital platforms offer unlimited opportunities for brand promotion and audience growth. By using social media, content creation, and other digital marketing strategies, you can expand your reach and connect with a broader audience. Create a strategy to grow your audience and maximize exposure. Showcase your expertise and talents consistently to attract new opportunities and position yourself as a go-to expert in your field. Reach out to experts in related niches to create partnerships (referral programs for example) or other collaborations.
8. Unite People in a Community
One of the benefits of having a strong brand is the ability to allow your loyal customers connect. Not every customer will become your biggest fan but some percentage of them will. Imagine having a group of people who will leave feedback and help to spread the word about your biz. Create a space (group, app) for your brand community and it will be one of your the most powerful business tools.
In conclusion, personal branding is a powerful tool for professional growth and success. By taking action and investing in building your personal brand, you can unlock new opportunities and achieve your goals. Remember, the power of personal branding lies in your hands—so why not start today?
Next steps:
Develop a cohesive brand identity across all touchpoints (website, social media, online marketing, print materials). It’s crucial to be consistent in building a strong personal brand. By creating valuable content that is useful for your audience and engaging authentically and consistently, you can strengthen your brand and connect with your audience on a deeper level.
I can help you create a stunning brand identity (logos), website, sales page and marketing materials to make your brand look cohesive and visually appealing to your audience. Check out my services for more details – Services.
I hope this was helpful for you. If you think it’s valuable, I would appreciate if you share this post with your friends and fellow entrepreneurs who may benefit from it. If you have any questions or just want to say hi, let’s connect on Instagram.
