Building a solid personal brand is paramount to success in today's fast-paced world of social media. Who you are and the content you create and share – and how you share it – are what set you apart from the rest.
Branding isn’t just for influencers, big corporations or celebrities. Creating a powerful personal brand is essential when you’re looking for a better job, industry recognition, or new clients.
"A personal brand has never been more important," says a recent Forbes article. "As more people change careers, launch companies and look to upskill, having a strong presence and message is a competitive advantage."
It is essential to be strategic about your personal brand, especially if you want to position yourself as an expert within a specific industry. By building a personal brand, you can grow your social media following, sell more products or services, and open the door to opportunities that would not be possible without the audience social media can create for you.
Many people are vying for attention, so your personal brand needs to have a high level of impact, especially if you want to be a person of influence or want your brand to be credible. The key is to leverage social media and other social platforms and environments to create relevant and meaningful content that resonates with your target audience and gets people to buy into your brand proposition.
Social media is essential in your personal brand strategy. It is easy to create a profile and connect with your target audience, but it takes hard work and thinking to build a persona and audience that people connect with, follow, engage with, and share. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to building your personal brand, so you will have to make some intelligent decisions to ensure you are projecting the correct image of your personal brand through social media.
Here are five solid strategies to kickstart your personal brand on social media.
1. Focus on what you want to be known for
Start by defining your area of expertise or what you want to be known for. When people think about you, what do you want them to be thinking of? People should think of you when they think of your topic.
The key is finding your niche and your particular groove to create your brand around that. Also, think about how you want to stand out from the brands connected to similar things to what you want to be known for. What can you do or say that will divert attention your way.
Whether you are a mindset coach, a motivational speaker, a podcast host, an entrepreneur or a fashionista, you need to build a brand that stands apart from the rest. Narrow it down until you can say: "I help/show/teach people to [insert what your brand does] by [insert what you focus on and how you are going to execute it], and this makes people [insert what outcome will people have after following you].
Here's an example: I show people how to make outfits out of old clothing by creating helpful DIY videos that are funny and clever, and this makes people creative, save money and be entertained.
Remember to stay true to who you are. Branding is not about positioning yourself as someone you are not but highlighting what makes you unique to your audience.
2. Decide which social media channels you want to focus on
Deciding on a particular social media platform is essential, especially in the beginning. Naive brand builders often think they need to be everywhere, but the more focused you can be, the better. Start by picking two social media platforms and learn as much as you can about them.
Each platform has its appeal, so make sure what you select is the best for your brand. If you are an artist or a photographer, you may want to focus on Instagram, which is visual. If you have inspiring talks to give, you may want to start a YouTube channel or focus on Instagram reels. To share blogs and information, create Twitter threads, articles on LinkedIn, or a writing profile on Medium.
Share content that you enjoy. If you have fun with your content, you will enjoy making it; chances are your audience will too.
3. Consistently share content and engage
It may feel like hard work initially, especially if your following is small, but you need to be consistent. Make sure you show up regularly with fresh content for your target audience. Your followers will start looking out for your content, which also helps many social media algorithms push your content to more users. A consistently active social profile can boost your visibility, which in turn can increase your brand recognition.
To create an audience, follow people who interest you and would be interested in following you back. Comment on other people's posts. Be supportive and generous and add value.
Building a solid personal brand means building relationships with the people who connect with you. Ensure you respond if someone engages in your post and leaves a comment. The more you can make people feel like they can get to know you and like you, the more successful you will be.
4. Keep your social posts positive and captivating
Unless your personal brand is controversial and offensive, stick to being likeable and positive. There is so much negativity on social media, and a cheerful fresh voice can make you stand out from the noise.
Always ensure your posts are visual. These stand out. Research shows that only 10 percent of people remember hearing something after three days. If it contains a relevant graphic, that increases to 65 percent of people placing it.
Most importantly, the content you create should continuously position you as an expert within your industry.
5. Keep your brand voice, image and tone consistent
Don't just post consistently – make sure what you post feels consistent. It can be as simple as using the same filter every time you post on Instagram or could be as creative as deciding on a colour palette for your entire Instagram feed.
Don't focus on selling people your offering. Sell them your content and ensure the message you want to get out there is consistently being pushed. You want people to know you for a particular reason and to look for your content because they know what they will get.
Be funny consistently if humour is your thing. If you are inspirational, make sure your posts are inspiring almost always. If you are strategic and brilliant at business, share information that will consistently add value to other business people in your niche.
Building a personal brand on social media can be difficult. If you want to get results quickly, you may want to partner with an agency specialising in personal branding. They can guide you on best practices and stop you from making many of the mistakes others make along the way.
For more information about how you can build your personal brand or business, email our leading publicist, Kerryn Amyes, or contact us here.
