Every entrepreneur needs to have a two-fold focus when it comes to brand development. They should focus on developing their own professional brand for their company and they should focus on developing a personal brand as well. A personal brand should be completely separate from the professional brand and it should focus on who an entrepreneur is outside of their business.
A personal brand is the key to establishing a following and solidifying yourself as an expert in your niche. It can help establish you as an authority, help you build a following and ensure that you are more recognized within the industry. Creating a strong and identifiable personal brand won’t happen overnight, but there are a number of things that you can do in order to expedite the process and start seeing recognizable growth.
Here are eight ways that you can start growing your personal brand this month, and actually start seeing some results.
1. Establish What Brand Identity You Want to Create
Before you can start working on the development of your personal brand, you need to define and establish what that personal brand is. What image do you want to present to the world? How do you want others to see you? You need to have a clear, concise and detailed idea of what your brand identity is before anything else.
2. Make Certain You Are Acting Like a Real Person
Your personal brand should be authentic. Think of it as you putting your best foot forward, instead of you creating an entirely new image for yourself. With this in mind, no matter what you are doing to grow your personal brand, you need to make sure that you are acting like a real person. If you act too fake, people won’t want to connect with you, so be your authentic self . Remember your personal brand is all about connections, and people want to connect with other real people.
3. Write Articles
If you want to establish yourself as an expert within your niche, start writing articles. Make them personal and engaging and make sure they highlight your experience and your position as an authority within your field. A great way to amplify your knowledge base is to read books that will help further your career. This is a great way to get your voice out there and to start getting your name known within your field.
4. Start Putting Yourself Out There
No one is ever going to recognize you and your brand identity if you aren’t putting your name out there. Network, promote yourself, connect with others. Do whatever you can and don’t be bashful about it. Never feel like you are being excessive, it can take a long time in order for your name to garner the following you want it to.
5. Create an Online Presence
If you want to reach people on a personal level, you can meet with them face-to-face. If you want to reach more people, then the world wide web is your best option. With hundreds of millions of people logging online everyday, there is no better way to build a strong following of supporters. Focus on creating an online presence that highlights and promotes your personal brand, and remember to keep it separate from your professional accounts.
6. Sign Up For Speaking Engagements
You may not be a prolific public speaker, but signing up for speaking engagements is one of the best things that you can do in order to get your name and your face out to others within your industry. You may be surprised to find how many conferences and seminars are looking for additional speakers within your field.
7. Become a Member of Your Industry Community
One of the best ways to solidify yourself as an expert within your field, separate from your business’s success, is to start becoming a member of your industry’s community. Attend conferences, follow and comment on prominent blogs and engage on online platforms within your industry. It gets your name out there and shows that you are involved in bettering your market as a whole.
8. Think About Everything You Do
Building a personal brand can take a long time, and during this developmental time, you need to think of your personal brand as being very fragile. If you make the wrong move, you can seriously damage the brand you are working to build. Think about everything you do and every move you make. You may not think people are watching you, but you never know when your personal actions may be exposed, so you don’t want them damaging the reputation you are working so hard to build.