People do business and buy from people that they trust. This has, and always will be the case. So how can you position yourself as someone who is authentic, knowledgeable and trustworthy to make sure you are in the prime position to gain both financially and personally?
Follow these 5 Personal Branding Tips that Will Make Your Personal Star Shine!
1.Think Before You Speak
When you first start in business It is very easy to jump straight in and start talking about what you think your business and values stand for, only to find out that 3 weeks down the line your approach will change because you didn’t take into consideration your customers’ wants.
STOP! Always take time to know exactly how you want your business and brand to be perceived. What are your core values, what is the mission of your business, what are your brand attributes and how you will differentiate yourself from your competition in the long term?
Yes, things will change over time and so they should. A personal brand is constantly evolving; your beliefs change and when they do you have to adapt your message to suit these changes. However if your vision remains constant then the changes will not have a huge impact on the message you are conveying.
Ask Yourself – Is Your Personal Branding Strategy Foolish?
2. Own your Name
Go out and acquire the rights to your name. I know it sounds a bit daft as it is your name after all, but if you don’t own your name then someone else may come along and, with no malice intended, may be communicating a message that is in fact opposite to your mission or could actually damage your brand reputation.
Get your domain name; www.yourname.com, get your twitter, Facebook and Google+ profiles. The more internet real estate you own with your name the easier it is for you to control the message that is displayed in the Google search results.
For more information read - How to Put Your Name on Google
3. Manage Your Online Reputation
If someone is talking about you, good or bad, it is good to know. If the conversation is positive and the context is right then add your own personal comment or simply respond to the conversation initiator and thank them for their comments or if they haven’t explained why they have made the comment, ask them. Start conversations, build relationships.
If the comment is negative and the conversation warrants a personal touch, then defend yourself and put your point across to provide clarity. There are often times when people denigrate you or your brand for no solid reason and are just shooting their mouth off looking for attention. If that’s the case don’t feel the need to participate as they are just baiting, looking for a reaction and looking for someone who will help increase their own status.
Set up Google alerts for your name or your business name, use Nutshellmail to track your twitter and Facebook accounts.
As great as social media is for sharing your news and information across the world, bad news travels fast, possibly even faster, so make sure you are in a position to nip it in the bud.
4. One Image to Rule them All.
The brand or image that you convey across the world wide web needs to be consistent. This means that you should have the same image across your internet real estate and offline. Get a headshot that you are happy with and use this on your social media networks, on your blogs, in your emails and on your business cards. If you create an avatar such as “social media mogul”, “Facebook Fashionista”, or “the Internet Einstein”, then be consistent and use that avatar every time as your digital footprint, i.e. when leaving comments on blogs or in social networks.
Also think about the colours you use across the internet. Each colour represents different emotional triggers so if you are using a calm, relaxing blue, then stick with blue instead of using more vibrant colours such as red.
5. Create Content.
In a previous post I mentioned that of the entire internet community 90% of people read content, 9% of people edit or curate content and only 1% of the internet community actually create content. Be one of the minorities, differentiate yourself from the crowd. Have an active voice, connect with other content creators and influencers by creating valuable content that is thought provoking and original.
The more relevant content you create the greater the chance you have of people finding it, engaging with you and becoming part of your online community. Here are a selction of posts that will give you inspiration for creating valuable content.
- 25 Blog Ideas that Will Rock Your Readers World.
- How to write Blogs Like a Superhero and Not a Villan.
- When Writing a Blog Communicate with Purpose
- How to Blog Effectively Key Elements You Need to Know
Personal Branding is not an opportunity to create something you are not. Personal branding is about highlighting your strengths, exposing the value that you can offer others and differentiating yourself from the masses. If you want to be found then these personal branding tips will set you on your way.
