| 4 STEPS TO CREATING A PERSONAL BRAND |
| Creating a personal brand is key for businesses who personally deliver a valued product or service. A brand encompasses the emotions clients and customers feel when they hear a brand name. Those emotions define the brand in all the experiences someone has with it. Here are four steps to creating a personal brand. |
| Step One: Know Who You Are—and Embrace It! In order to trust your brand, consumers have to believe your message is authentic. So, don’t build your personal brand by trying to figure out who you want to be known as—base it on who you actually are. That means you have to really know yourself—and embrace who that person is, so you’re comfortable conveying who you are to the world. Ask ten colleagues and friends to describe you in terms of: 1) the feelings people have about you; 2) the professional ethics you believe in; 3) your professional approach to your work; 4) what your physical marketing materials say about you. |
| Step Two: Define the Characteristics You Want Your Personal Brand to Project. Write down a list of the characteristics that define you and that you want people to know about. Then ask those ten colleagues and friends if your list is authentic. |
| Step Three: Market Your Personal Brand. With your brand definition in hand, you can now address marketing it. Start with your business’s logo and a professional headshot of yourself—data shows nothing is more memorable than your face. Then work with a designer to develop this further. Experts suggest choosing two fonts and two colors you’ll use on everything, to give your marketing a consistent look. This is important because consistency conveys trustworthiness. There are lots of marketing channels for businesses to use—from websites, social media platforms, videos, and business cards, to blog posts, media articles, mailers, and podcasts. Balance your digital marketing efforts with printed materials and face-to-face networking. |
| Step Four: Track the Results. Many of your marketing channels cost money, and expenses that don’t generate income can sink a small business. So, be disciplined about tracking your results. If you know businesses or professions like yours that don’t compete in your marketing area, share results with them. Your personal brand isn’t about the look of your logo or website. It’s about the overall client experience you provide through every marketing tool in your brand arsenal—and ultimately through the personal experience of working with you. |
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