Discover Why Personal Branding Is Important And The Three Steps To Building A Personal Brand
An article from personal branding expert Trish Davies which looks at why personal branding is important and the three steps to building a personal brand.
Hi Trish Davies, here, I have been a personal branding expert and coach for several years. Through that time, I have helped many individuals like you establish their place within their respective industries. To cement that place relies on establishing a personal brand that reflects you, your purpose, and your vision.
Today I want to cover why personal branding is important in todays economy and the current worldwide situation. Also, I will share with you the difference between a personal brand and a business brand.
Finally, I am going to reveal a three-step process which are pillars that your personal brand will sit upon. This is the process that I teach to all of my exclusive mastermind members to help them create their own personal brands.
Difference Between Personal Branding And Business Branding
You may be at a stage where you are unsure whether to create a personal brand or a business brand. Therefore, I want to clarify the difference between the two to help you with that decision.
If you build a personal brand, then you brand revolves around you as a person. You will put your name to your business and that reflects your personality, interests, and your lifestyle. It also represents your core values and the mission or purpose that you have in life.
A business brand is built around an identity that you create for your business. That identity is then associated with the industry that you are in. Apple are synonymous with technology such as phones and computers. Google are there to provide information to its users when they search online for solutions. When you think of Rolls Royce you automatically think of luxury cars.
Pros & Cons Of Personal Branding
Let’s start with the pros first.
- Flexibility – A personal brand is flexible as it is built around you and your name will usually identify the business and website. This means that if your focus and direction change you can easily adapt any products and services you offer. This has been highlighted during the current pandemic as people have been forced to change their business practices and models.
- If you are a personal speaker then a personal brand is ideal because in time you will be associated with your area of expertise.
- There are many one person industries where personal branding is a must. I have mentioned personal speaking but for artists, coaches, writers, accountants etc. personal branding is the way to go.
As for the cons I can only see one, but it is not something that should hold you back.
- By having a personal brane your name will not automatically tell people what you do. Therefore, you must develop a strong tagline and constantly use it with everything you do. Whether that is writing content, creating videos, social media posting, you must emphasise what it is that you do. It takes time to build that reputation but eventually your name will be associated with your expertise.
Pros & Cons Of Business Branding
Again, let me start with the pros before I move onto the cons.
- Business branding focuses your mind on the plans you have for your business. Your business name will be important because it will be associated with what you offer and what you will be known for. I mentioned this earlier regarding Apple, google and Rolls Royce.
- Business branding gives you an exit strategy. After time you may feel you want to sell your business and business names are easier to sell than personal names.
Now for the con’s and again I can see only one.
- Business brands are not as flexible as personal brands. If you want to change direction to something completely different then you will need to start a new business. If it is closely related, then you could get away with it, but you will still need to do a lot of the groundwork. If it is completely different then you must start back at square one!
Why Personal Branding Is Important
Right lets get back to why personal branding is important as it is the main topic of the day. I felt I needed to differentiate between the two, so you have clarity on what type of brand you want to build.
If you are still with you are committed to building a personal brand so let’s look at some key points to the process. The economic landscape is very competitive and personal branding sets you apart from the rest.
There is only one of you and in todays economy people are looking to deal with peoples they trust. You are the most important selling point of your products and services.
You will start off with zero contacts and customers. People who first come into contact with you are complete strangers. If though you have a strong personal brand and have served them well, they will recommend you to others. Word of mouth marketing from complete strangers is the highest endorsement you can receive.
Over the last few years large corporations have lost trust from the consumers who they are supposed to serve. Remember business is all about serving your customers to the best of your ability.
Large corporations seem to miss this crucial point. They are not prepared to move with the times and the needs of the people who buy from them. Consumers want to know that you will be there today, tomorrow, and next year for them.
They see big brands going under regularly so the trust they had in corporations evaporates. This is where you can capitalise both financially and building relationships with your audience.
Personal branding also reflects you as the person and your authority. This is the perfect opportunity to share with you the three-step personal branding process.
Three Steps To Building A Personal Brand
Over the last 12 months I have developed a three-step process to creating personal brands. I call it Build Your AU which concentrates on three main pillars. They are authenticity, authority, and audience, hence the name of the process. Lets look at each pillar to see how they fit into the process.
Authenticity
This is quite simply who you are, the person behind the façade that people see. When building a personal brand, it must come from a place of complete transparency, honesty, and integrity.
You must lay it out, warts and all, for people to see. Don’t hide anything because if you do then you personal brand will be shot down in flames. Your audience, which I will come to shortly, want to know who you are. They want to know what you have gone through, the obstacles you have overcome and the success you have experienced.
It all comes down to your story because it is unique which makes personal branding so powerful. No one else has gone through what you have, and this is what people want to know. When they know you are real then they will get to know you and trust you.
Authority
Your authority stems from your authenticity but also showcases what you are good at. You have so many talents inside of you, some you don’t even realise you have. It is a matter of highlighting those unique talents and gifts and then positioning yourself as the expert.
When you can show your authority and expertise people will then put their trust in you. They will look to your for solutions to problems that they have in their lives. Those solutions are based on your ability to overcome the problems that they are now experiencing.
Audience
Your audience is a very small segment of society, that is all you need. You will appeal to what we call a target audience. This target audience are aligned with your direction, mission, and purpose.
They are the demand for your solutions which is what business is reliant on. Supply and demand. To attract your audience, you leverage your authenticity and authority to connect with them.
These are the three pillars that I focus on within my training program called Build Your AU. They will form the foundations of your personal brand and I invite you to learn more about the process.
I have created an exclusive training series which shows the process in action. Each video is a recording of my mastermind group which shows individuals building their personal brands. If you are committed to building your own personal brand, then you owe it to yourself to check it out. Click the image below t o learn more about the Build Your AU experience.
I feel that in today’s post I have shown you why personal branding is important. This is your opportunity to establish yourself in the marketplace so don’t let it slip you by. Register for the Build Your AU video series now and start putting together your personal brand.
Helping you build your authenticity, authority and audience.
Trish Davies
Build Your AU
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