Personal Digital Branding – 5 Steps To Creating A Personal Digital Brand That Attracts Clients
In this digital world your personal brand must be digitalised. Therefore you must go through the personal digital branding process. Here’s how!
Hi Trish Davies here and today I want to talk about personal digital branding. Personal branding is your online reputation. It’s who you are, what you do, and how you present yourself in the world.
People will interact with you through your website or social media channels. Here they will form impressions of you based on what they see and read. Creating a personal brand is an important first step to starting your career however it can be daunting, too.
Personal branding is more than just a logo; it’s a way of presenting yourself and your work that attracts clients. Here are five steps to creating a personal digital brand that attracts clients:
1) Developing Your Personal Brand Persona
2) Building Your Website
3) Setting Up Your Social Media Channels
4) Increasing Your Connections as You Build Relationships
5) Promoting Yourself
Personal Digital Branding – 5 Steps To Creating A Personal Digital Brand
The first step is developing your personal brand persona. There are a few ways to do this. You can start by looking at your strengths and weaknesses, what you’re good at and not so great at.
Then, think about the clients you would like to work with, what their strengths are and what they need help with. Then, develop an overall message for your business that includes your niche, expertise and personality.
Next is building your website. Your website should be easy to navigate, loading fast and visually appealing. It should also include your contact information in case people want to get in touch with you.
Also if they want to ask you questions about the service you offer on social media pages or in the comment section of blog posts you post on different sites. The other thing that might be helpful to have is a list of social media channels where people can follow you (i.e., Twitter handle).
Third is setting up your social media channels. It’s also important that these channels match the tone of your website. That’s because it will give prospective clients an idea of who you are before they ever reach out via email or phone call.
Fourth is increasing connections as you build relationships. You will grow connections online and offline with other professionals in the industry. Those connections could turn into potential clients for the future.
Lastly, promote yourself! Make sure that people know who you are and what services or products you offer so they can find out more information when they need it.
Developing Your Personal Brand Persona
As you develop your personal brand, it’s important to start by defining your personal brand persona. Your personal brand persona includes how you want to be perceived and what you want to communicate to the world. It is an integral part of creating a personal digital brand that attracts clients.
Some questions you should ask yourself as you develop your personal brand persona are:
Who am I?
What do I stand for?
Who are my clients?
What is my target audience?
What does success look like for me and my business?
You cannot create a successful personal digital brand without first defining who you are and what you stand for. One way to help clarify your answers is to define a word or phrase that resonates with your personality, style, or goals.
For example, if I wanted my word or phrase to be “creative entrepreneur” then the rest of my branding would fall into place very easily. You may need more than one word or phrase if you want a full picture of who you are.
When developing your personal branding persona, make sure it’s cohesive. All parts should tie together in some way.
Personal Digital Branding – Building Your Website
Building your website should be the first thing you work on when you’re developing a personal digital brand. Websites are the centre of your online presence and are usually what others will judge you by.
Your website should be your portfolio, so it should include all of your best work. It also needs to have an easily navigable navigation bar and well-placed buttons. The design of your site is up to you, as long as it’s professional.
The content on your site should be original and relevant to what you do. You can use content from other sources, so long as you don’t plagiarize or use them without permission.
It’s important that your website is mobile friendly for those who visit from their phones or tablets. Your site should load fast and be easy to navigate on a small screen.
Setting Up Your Social Media Channels
Setting up your social media channels is an important step in personal digital branding. Choosing the right channels can depend on your type of work, your goals, and your target audience.
For example, if you’re a photographer you might want to focus more on Facebook or Instagram. If you’re a freelance writer you may want to use LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. It all depends on what type of work you do and who you're trying to reach.
The same goes for deciding which networks are appropriate for your personal brand persona. Different networks connect with different groups of people and have different advantages as well as disadvantages. It all depends on what's most appropriate for you and your work.
You may not want to use all social media platforms just because they exist. For example, if you don't have the time to maintain a Twitter account. Or aren't able to engage people there effectively, then it's best not to bother with it at all.
Tips for building connections:
1) Find 2-3 other professionals who are doing similar things that interest you and connect with them through social media.
2) Engage with their posts by commenting; share their posts; like their photos or videos; reply when they send out tweets.
3) Send an email letting them know that they set off something in your mind (you found their blog post helpful). Or thank them for reaching out after they followed you back on Twitter
Increasing Your Connections As You Build Relationships
Relationships are key for any business. This is true with personal branding, too. Building relationships and connections is one of the most important steps to creating a successful personal digital brand.
It can be challenging to break new ground when you’re starting out. However, connecting with others in your industry or niche is a great way to start building trust and credibility.
Social media channels, like LinkedIn, are excellent for networking. It makes it easy to connect with other professionals in your industry or area of expertise. These channels also allow you to share content about your work. This helps build relationships and grow your personal brand.
Connecting on social media sites like LinkedIn also makes it easier to find testimonials. Or referrals from people who have used your services before. As long as they’ve connected with you on that site first!
If someone posts something positive about you on their LinkedIn profile, they’ve already shared it with their network that they trust you. That could mean new leads coming in the future!
Personal Digital Branding – Promoting Yourself
One of the most important steps in creating a personal digital brand that attracts clients is promoting yourself. You should have a strong presence on social media platforms and make sure that you’re active.
This means you should be posting regularly, commenting on other people’s posts, and interacting with others regularly.
Digital marketing is an essential part of any business right now, and it’s important to invest in it if you want your business to grow. Developing our audience is essential for your personal brand to become successful.
I have shared with you 5 critical elements to personal digital branding. To learn more about how to create and develop an authentic personal brand register for my Build Your AU program.
Register here for the program.
Helping you build your authenticity, authority and audience.
Trish Davies
Build Your AU
Recent Comments