Building a personal brand is a must for creators and small business owners – it’s how you attract and relate to your audience in more authentic and meaningful ways. It’s also the best way to ensure that your target audience understands who you are, what you and your business stand for, and why they should choose you over the competition.
Today, the people behind a brand are just as important as the products. Modern consumers are demanding more transparency than ever before. It’s no longer acceptable for brands to just sell. According to Inc., Gen Z believes brands play a role in improving society…and they’re not wrong.
If you’re not already convinced, keep reading for more benefits of crafting a strong personal brand and how it can set you up for long-term success.
It’s Affordable & Accessible
The best part about leveraging your personal brand, is that YOU are the source. Often, it’s not even necessary to hire anyone to help with this type of branding strategy and can simply be accomplished with a little soul searching. The first step is to decide what you care about most. From there, you’ll need to layer on other components of your identity and aspirations to set a strong foundation for growth.
Here are some things to consider when crafting your personal brand:
- Figure out who you are, your niche, and your motivations.
- Decide on what you want your image to be and what you want people to know you for.
- Determine who your target audience is.
- Research your niche, determine who the thought leaders are, and keep an inventory of your competition.
- Approach other companies and brands, those that inspire you, for informational interviews.
- Have an elevator pitch ready.
- Use networking to its fullest potential (keep in mind that around 85% of all jobs are filled through networking).
- Ask for recommendations and endorsements from current and former colleagues.
Provides Personalization
Personalization is something everyone longs for when dealing with businesses, and the best way to achieve that in your marketing and customer experiences is to combine data and storytelling.
Customers want to feel a connection to the person or persons that they’re supporting, and providing them with even an inkling of personalization can be the key to growing your brand online. However, it’s not as simple as inserting your customer’s name into an email that you send to your whole customer base.
You should be using data and analytics to gather information on your current and potential customers; data such as their favorite social media platforms, content preferences, hobbies, and other information about their lifestyle. This will help you offer a better personalization experience and connect more with your target audience.
For example, Female Startup Club uses Norby’s text message marketing tools to deliver personal messages from the host, Doone Roisin, every Monday with tips from the latest podcast episodes. This type of messaging reinforces Doone’s tone of voice and thought leadership within the world of female entrepreneurship and helps establish a deeper connection between her and her listeners.
Helps With Decision-Making
Do you ever find it difficult to cut through the noise and make critical decisions for your business? It can be hard to comb through all the information social media is throwing at you, and the feedback and opinions from mentors, colleagues, and friends alike, while struggling to stay true to yourself and your own purpose.
Having a personal brand can help by allowing you to root yourself in what’s true to you. When tasked with making critical decisions for your business, turn to your personal brand and figure out what aligns with it. You’ll be able to make better business decisions more efficiently and effectively.
Personal branding also helps other businesses decide whether or not they want to work with you. If you’ve developed a personal brand and have a following because of it, you’re more likely to get interest in collaborations and sponsorships from other brands and businesses.
Everyone’s Doing It
OK, so most of the time, just because everyone’s doing it doesn’t mean you should too. But in this case — it’s kind of true. Having a strong personal brand is key to finding long-term success in your business and allows you to explore an unconventional, multi-hyphenate career path. Having a personal brand and using that personal brand to network with other brands and creators can help your business flourish.
You don’t need to be a business owner to build a personal brand. Speakers, authors, podcasters, artists, and more can all benefit from it.
Here are just a few examples of success stories related to personal branding efforts:
Examples of Successful Personal Branding
- Oprah Winfrey: Everyone knows Oprah, who she is, and what she stands for — and that’s because she has slain her personal branding efforts. Her brand’s equity is somewhere around $2.5 billion thanks to her personal brand, which includes inspiring and motivating her viewers and followers to live their best lives.
- Nadya Okamoto: At the age of only 16, Nadya Okamoto rose to fame when she created her nonprofit organization PERIOD with the goal of addressing period poverty and backing the end of the tampon tax. While PERIOD was her start, she went on to create, manage, and run August and use TikTok to post videos to promote her brand. Her videos include topics that touch on personal issues as well as casual situations.
- Gary Vaynerchuk: Gary Vaynerchuk, or Gary Vee, started out on YouTube with a video blog called Wine Library TV. He built his brand using YouTube and, in 2009, signed a deal with HarperStudio to produce 10 books — a $1 million deal. He’s been successful in marketing and has garnered quite a loyal following.
Conclusion
Having a personal brand is a must for all types of businesses, big and small. It allows customers and potential customers to put a face and name to a brand and develop a personal connection with the brands they support, and it helps businesses continue to grow well into the future.
Unsure of where to get started? Norby is here to help and expand with your at every stage of your creative journey. Join today to upskill your digital marketing know-how, explore your passions, and achieve success – online and offline.
