The request for authenticity and human contact in social networks has led to the popularity of a personal brand. Many companies and private specialists sell their products with it. A personal brand does not have a “threshold of entry,” it has long ceased to be an attribute only of celebrities. It does not matter whether you are a freelancer who works without employees, or a representative of an international company, everyone can build a personal brand. Digital Business School shares 8 steps to help you do this.
1. Answer the question "who am I?"
The first step is self-identification. Describe yourself, draw a detailed picture of your personality. If you do not really like self-reflection, then this step can cause difficulties. Often, entrepreneurs pay all attention to the company, product, customers. This is great, but now is the time to carefully study and consider yourself. Write out all the source. Do not worry: there are no right answers. Your vision may change in the process, the main thing is to formulate it all the same.
After you have described yourself from your own point of view, refer this question to your loved ones. Choose the most frank, ready to tell you the whole truth, and not overwhelm with compliments. At this stage, you need the most unbiased look.
2. Highlight your expertise
After you have compiled a general picture of your personality, go on to the details. An important step is to determine your expertise. What topics do you know better than others, what do you know and know how you can be useful to people? If you already have a ready-made business, then, of course, expertise should overlap with its subject. For example, a representative of a clothing brand may have knowledge in the field of design, understand the intricacies of style, know a lot about quality fabrics, or even be able to sew. If he knows how to cook or compose music, this is also great, but secondary.
3. Make a story of your life
Each strong personal brand has an interesting life story, sometimes it is even a fictional legend. People are very fond of stories, willingly listen to and believe them. That’s why the legends about the owner of some billionth corporation, who was poor, are so popular, at the age of 15 he sold his first apple, got a dollar for it, invested that dollar in business, wrote a letter to Winston Churchill ... Probably you read something like that. Of course, one should not go to such extremes, now any information is much easier to check than during the correspondence with the British Prime Minister. So look for something attractive in the real facts of your life.
The choice of profession and direction of entrepreneurship may be the main interesting biography. How did you decide to do this business? How did you end up where you are now? Maybe the prerequisites were in childhood? Or maybe, on the contrary, in your childhood you could not stand what you are doing now, but then everything changed dramatically? Such a story will be the basis of other sketches from personal experience, which you will sometimes share in your posts.
4. Identify basic personal qualities
Write down all the qualities that you possess in your own opinion and at the sight of your loved ones. They will be one of the main elements of the brand, affect the tone of communication.
It is not necessary to bring absolutely all of your qualities to the public space, something you may reasonably want to hide. Choose 3-4 basic properties of your character.
5. Identify your values
Think and write down the list of things that you consider the most important in business and personal life. The result will also significantly affect how you build your contact with the audience.
All your actions within the brand in the future must be synchronized with values. There is nothing worse than the beliefs and philosophy of life, which are declared only on paper. People do not trust brands that just talk beautifully about how important quality, reliability and environmental friendliness are for them. Therefore, highlight the values ​​in the brand’s strategy - they will be your compass.
6. Think over your image.
Now that you have already registered the backbone of the brand, you can think about how all this can be reflected in the image. This includes not only the “picture”, but also your communication style — the tonality of communication, the expressions you choose.
It is very important that the image is synchronized with the person. If you position yourself as a reliable family man, then a leather jacket with rivets and a motorcycle may not be the best stylistic solution. Yes, there are cases when people successfully play in the gap of stereotypes and archetypes - a tattooed girl with colored hair builds a personal brand in insurance, publishing posts with obscene language, and an elderly man in a cashmere sweater suggests you get a piercing. But for a long-term relationship, you still need a harmony of external and internal.
This does not mean that you must fully fit into all existing stereotypes and merge with others. A personal brand implies differences and zest, but do not rush to “tear templates”.
7. Decide what your uniqueness is.
Think about how you will differ from other experts in your industry. Define USP (unique selling proposition) - what can you offer the audience, why should it follow you?
It’s not necessary to try to surprise everyone with something super-original. If in your sphere there is a “competition of originality” and people compete with each other, who will be brighter, funnier to joke or do something as shocking as possible, you can stand out precisely due to your own seriousness, calmness and simplicity. Against the background of people in orange raincoats, not the one with the most orange cloak stands out, but the one who is dressed in a beige coat.
8. In-depth study of the target audience.
No matter how beautiful your personal brand you are, it will come to life only when interacting with the audience. And it’s very important that all brand elements resonate with the people you want to attract. To do this, you need to carefully study who they are, what their income, education, marital status are, what they love, and what they hate.
Do not repeat the common mistake - do not stop only on demographics and the level of earnings. These indicators can say a lot, but they do not always determine the way of thinking and human life. Dig deeper - talk to your target audience, visit their popular online and offline sites. You must know a lot about these people in order to find a common language with them and touch them with your personality.
