Building your personal brand: Tips and strategies for crafting the brand called ‘you’

The importance of personal branding in today’s business world can’t be overstated. Whether you’re a manager looking to make an impact on your company or an entrepreneur trying to stand out from the crowd, having a well-defined personal brand is key. 

Personal branding is about creating an identity for yourself as you would for a business brand. It is how you present yourself, your core values, beliefs, ideals, work, and personality to the world. It aims to help your target audience identify you and understand your values. 

In my two decades of experience leading teams, I’ve come to realise the immense value of a solid personal brand and how it can transform a career.  

Your personal brand can help you reach your goals, whether they are building your reputation, attracting new clients, or progressing in your career.

Related: 10 important career lessons most people learn too late in life

3 practical tips to start building your personal brand

Building a successful personal brand takes time, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. When creating a personal brand, you should keep these three points in mind: 

1) Play to your passions

Authenticity is crucial when building a personal brand. You must be intentional about showcasing your genuine passions, as this can elevate your personal brand and cultivate a reputation that attracts others to work with you. 

Share your personal story. You want your potential employers, employees, customers, and social media account followers to understand who you are and why they should care about what you have to say. 

And that all starts with being authentic and genuine in everything you do, so don’t be afraid to show off your personality. 

Doing this will help create trust between yourself and those around you, which is crucial for any successful relationship. 

2) Identify your strengths 

Once you have identified your unique persona, it’s time to figure out your competitive advantage – what sets you apart from others in the same field. 

Take the time to understand your strengths and focus on highlighting those qualities in your personal brand. This can help you stand out and make a lasting impression on others, which can be especially important for those who lead teams or are business owners. 

Everyone has something unique they can bring to the table, so emphasise your specific niche and those qualities in your messages when crafting a compelling personal brand. 

The offline world is important too. Everything you do in real life and say in the public sphere contributes to your personal brand. 

In the professional context, that would include how you behave at work, how you treat people around you, how you handle situations like crisis management, and even how you resign from your job.  

This way, people will know exactly what sets you apart from everyone else and will be more likely to seek out your services or products over someone else’s. 

3) Have a consistent plan 

Finally, it’s important to have a consistent plan when you build a personal brand. This means setting goals for yourself – think of it as your personal branding strategy. How should you market yourself? What is your ultimate goal? 

You want to build credibility in your industry. To do that, think about what you can offer through new ideas, findings, knowledge, and perspectives on various related topics. 

How to get started? 

For a start, you can create content regularly, whether it is through creating articles, social media posts, ebooks, and starting a podcast, and contributing to online publications, or even through your YouTube channel. 

Think content strategy. Use social media platforms that relate to your personal brand. You should also engage with people online through your social media accounts, and attend networking events. 

Having that consistent presence online is crucial for building relationships and credibility with potential customers and prospective clients, and growing a loyal following over time. 

Whatever the plan, consistency is key. Now, you do not have to post on LinkedIn every day. For instance, you can create two LinkedIn posts, and comment on three to five popular posts every week. This is also important to help you stay top of mind with existing clients and people in your industry.

Related: How to be more confident at work according to Asia's female leaders

Personal branding is key to career success 

Today, more employers are using the internet to conduct employment background searches and gauge the character and interests of their potential employees. 

By focusing on your passions while being authentic with yourselves and others; by identifying your unique strengths; and by creating a consistent plan of action, you can build long-lasting relationships with your followers while strengthening your professional reputation within your respective industries. 

Developing your personal brand can pave the way for career advancement and professional success, and create a positive reputation for you in your industry.

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