“The man with the name” is the name of people who have a personal brand. This is a professional whose high level of expertise is recognized by clients and colleagues. He is often approached on the recommendation. Customers sometimes have to wait until their project can be done.
In simple terms, a personal brand is a positive business reputation and a particular reputation in its field. As a result, its owner is in demand and can choose projects that he is interested in.
What is a personal brand, and why is it needed?
In simple terms, it is needed by those who want to grow and develop professionally. It is especially relevant in areas where work involves interaction with people.
- Freelancers, private professionals attract more customers, reasonably raise prices, do not suffer from dumping, and spend less time finding customers. And also to be able to choose projects, not to undertake any work.
- Office workers – to stand out among other applicants, to apply for a higher salary and position.
- People in business – to attract partners, employees, to form loyalty to the company or product.
What is a personal brand made of?
It has three components: professionalism, fame, and reputation. Let’s take a closer look at each element.
- Professionalism. You need to know your stuff. To create a personal brand from scratch, you need to start accumulating knowledge and experience. You should be able to do more than your average colleague. Ideally, be the best.
- Fame. Being a professional is not enough. We need to show and prove our expertise to colleagues and potential clients. To do this, you will need to share knowledge and experience. You can blog, shoot videos for YouTube, speak at conferences, communicate in professional communities, and more.
- Reputation. Both business and personal. It has to be flawless.
Each component is essential. If you remove at least one item, the personal brand does not add up:
- We exclude professionalism – it turns out just a good guy without being tied to business qualities.
- We remove fame – it turns out a good specialist, about which no one knows.
- Ignore the reputation – it turns out a scandalous person. Not everyone will want to entrust a severe project to such a person.
How to create a personal brand from scratch?
1. Become a professional
First of all, you need to become a good specialist in your field. To do this, you need to learn and practice. Shape your strategy, save up. You don’t have to do something unique. Sometimes it is enough to organize the knowledge already available in your field. Or refine certain stages of the conventional algorithm.
For beginners, there is an exciting and bold idea of developing a personal brand from scratch. Make your professional path a kind of reality show. Start a blog and write about achievements, difficulties, finds, and joys.
2. Become part of the professional community
To create a personal brand, you will need the recognition of colleagues, which means that it is essential to communicate. Share your experiences: blog, engage in professional discussions and look for opportunities to participate in industry events.
Try not to spray. Choose 2-3 large sites where professionals communicate and build connections on them. It is impossible to get anywhere.
3. Think about the inner content
Formulate the essence of your brand. What do you know how to do better than others? What are your main advantages? Are there any fundamental features to you in your work (for example, take only long-term projects)?
This “brand map” is your internal document, which will be a guideline in its creation and development. It is better to write and print it. Let it be before your eyes. The basic idea should be clear and straightforward.
4. Work out the “package.”
Take quality photos. It’s better if all your accounts have the same picture. So the image will be remembered faster. The image must correspond to the internal content of the brand.
5. Check what the internet already knows about you
Perhaps some old profiles should be removed, and in current – leave only the information that will work in your name.
Everything, the brand is ready to move. How to promote it, let’s say below.
Why is it more profitable to develop a personal brand than a company’s brand?
- Personality is more interesting than the company. It’s not as exciting to follow the organization’s news for a particular person’s posts. Therefore, developing a personal brand is usually faster and cheaper than the “image” of the company.
- More trust. When consumers know who is behind the company signage, it is psychologically more accessible for them to apply for a service – this is one reason why a personal brand is essential.
- It’s easier to manage a reputation. When a company representative is “in touch” with customers, it is more likely that a disgruntled buyer will write to him about an emergency rather than on third-party sites.
- You can expand or change the scope of your business. If you want to start a new business, you will already have a “pumped” name.
- A popular personal blog can be an excellent additional source of income.
- The opportunity to make valuable acquaintances. In the era of social networks, the presence of a well-known name and a well-developed Internet profile allows you to reach almost any person directly.
Test: Do you need a personal brand?
Answer the questions below. For each answer, “Yes” put one point. Calculate the amount of points scored and evaluate the result:
- Have you been working in the profession for three years or more?
- Do you like your job?
- Do you have unique knowledge to share?
- Are you not afraid of publicity and ready for it?
- Do you like social media?
- Do colleagues and clients recommend you to your friends?
- Would you like to start a business in the future?
- Do you easily tolerate criticism?
- Is it not difficult for you to speak, write articles or make videos?
- Is your job connected to people?
- Are you a freelancer?
- Would you like to become a well-known person?
Evaluate the result. If you score from 7 points and above, you should think about creating a personal brand. On the other hand, if the result is 6 points or less, you may not be ready for it yet.
How to promote the brand?
- Set a goal – what you need a personal brand, what it gives you. The purpose must be specific, measurable, achievable, essential, and time-defined. For example: consistently receive ten applications for consultations per month until the end of the year.
- Choose the leading sites for the development of a personal brand. Each channel has its features, so to cover more than 3-5 sites is unlikely to succeed. Over time, one channel is likely to become the main channel, and the rest – additional.
- Think about what you will write (talk about). So far, no specific themes. Will you write about personal, or only about work. Whether there will be negativity or criticism in your content, or everything will remain positive. Do plan to do a deviation from the central theme of the blog.
- Make a month-long content plan. Write columns and types of publications (video, text post, stories, etc.) Decide how many publications each column and kind to do per month. Next, spread them out by day and pick up a theme for each post. It will take time to compile a content plan. But it must be done. With the plan, you will not deviate from the course, do not drop the blog, do not face the situation “do not know what to write about.”
- Prepare content. It is optimal to have a stock of publications at least for a week so that the blog does not stand idle in case of emergencies. If you find it challenging to write, hire a copywriter or editor who will “be honest” with the content.
- Publish and analyze the results. See which posts get more coverage, comments. Track how the number of subscribers and cases is changing. When analyzing performance, keep your goal in focus. For example, if posts from the “humor” column are actively reposted, but the number of subscribers and appeals is not growing, you may not want to work hard with them.
- Check periodically what is written about you online, and if necessary, respond to feedback about yourself.
You can read about my journey and some tips here.