What is personal branding?

Think of it a bit like dating. You’ve been on a few dates, felt comfortable being completely yourself, and now you are developing a longer-term relationship with your match. 

Personal branding isn’t much different! If you are building a brand of your own, in a sales role for an organisation, or responsible for spreading the word about a product or service, people getting to know you is never going to be a bad thing. It’s all about centering the human within your brand. 

It’s about creating content that highlights your personality and expertise. And guess what, if you are sitting here thinking, “Well that doesn’t apply to my role”, WRONG 👎🏼

Personal branding can be valuable to everybody. 

Today’s consumers will always thank you for sharing more of who you are, what you know, and how you can help them. It gives them a reason to connect, it builds trust, and it’s more interesting than bombarding them with crappy sales content 🥱

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Ok, so we’ve got the “what is it” out of the way. Now let’s get into some practical tips for getting started. You’re on the edge of your seat aren’t you (I can feel it 😉)

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What makes you, you?

Time to figure out what you want your personal brand to represent.

Start by asking yourself…

• What am I great at, personally and professionally?
• What am I passionate about (in and outside of work?)
• What are my values?
• What makes me unique?

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We’ll use our copywriter Anna as an example:

✍🏻 Anna is great at writing in our clients’ voices and she’s a bloody good photographer too.

🧘🏼‍♀️ She’s passionate about making clients feel safe and supported, and also about yoga 

💪🏻 Her values are that kindness matters and that if we all do a wee bit, we can change the world.

🤍 The things that make her unique are her next-level listening skills and ability to connect with even the shyest souls.

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With a clear definition of who you are and what you care about, you can start to create content pillars for yourself: the core themes that your content will tap into. For Anna, these could be kindness-first business, creativity, and sustainability.

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Time to share the magic ✨

Now you know what you want your personal brand to represent, think about how you can communicate this. For those of you with businesses, think social media, your website, your newsletter, your podcast maybe? And for folks working within an organisation, again think social media or maybe you’ve got a personal blog?

What’s important when it comes to this phase is that your voice and content are consistent wherever you show up. Use your content pillars to stay on-brand, and even consider writing yourself a tone of voice guide to define how you speak to your audience. Are you funny and informal? Maybe you are going for more “professional” and sophisticated? Knowing what your brand feels like will help you stick to it and make it feel more professional.

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Adapt and grow your personal branding over time

Just as you aren't the same person as you were a year ago, your personal brand will change over time too! Personal branding is about centering your expertise so don't be afraid to add new learnings as they come and pivot your brand as time passes. Equally, you might feel that your tone of voice is due an update, or that a certain platform isn't important to you any more. Stay in tune with your personal branding to keep it fresh and up to date.

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Focusing on personal brand this year but don’t know where to start? 

Luckily, we know a few people who can help 😉

Ready to talk to somebody about your plans and where you need help, get in touch to book a free discovery call. We’ve got you ✌🏼