The Twenty-first century has set the center stage for branding like never before. But creating one is a mythical task and can be daunting. Be it in a cultural shift, evolving in a new market to stand out, or even as a small business startup, you will need to elevate your brand with focused intention to have a greater impact on your audiences.
The trend for 2022 is:
Everything from business to shopping is moving super fast towards the digital space.
The internet is filled with blog posts, articles, infographics, etc. Having millions of likes and shares, few tell the benefits of personal branding. Not too many give a step-by-step guide on their unique formula for it.
The forces thriving in today’s marketplace to own a strong brand are constantly dealing with unprecedented challenges, demands for high quality and unique content. Making a brand out of your existence is challenging and requires special skills, motivation, patience, and consistent effort.
Creating a Brand with 5P’s:
In a world full of misinformation, people are still confused about Personal Branding. Many people would still think of businesses when they hear “brand.” However, self-branding is just as important, and I would argue more so – regardless of your life stage.
The importance of curating a personal branding strategy can’t be emphasized enough. It offers substantial social proof, credibility, and leverage to attract followers and most importantly build a human connection that leads to trust.
Manage yourself like you manage your client’s product/services. To do so takes a well worthy investment in 5P’s as the digital ecosystem changes consequently consider the 5P’s while creating a branding strategy that will differentiate you from other brands and elevate your possibilities.
Follow these steps for building your personal brand.
Let’s begin:
- Probe:
Taking a holistic yet systematic approach when planning to build a sustainable personal brand. It is the foundation phase – it starts by probing your thought process to determine,
- Who you are?
- What will you be sharing with the world?
- What difference can you make as a brand?
- Why should your audience care?
Being clear on your vision, knowing your core values, and identifying your skills are vital to the process. You will then be more confident in how to position yourself in the market.
- Present:
Once you have probed and set the clarity for your brand, the next step is to be unambiguous and pointed. Presentation sets the image.
Positioning yourself with clarity involves sharing your brand story with your overall narrative. What you do, why you do it, and how differentiates you from other brands and sets the right expectations and perceptions in prospective minds.
Oprah Winfrey has told stories of her personal life, from experiencing traumatic abuse as a young girl to her adult journey with weight loss. Her openness in sharing experiences with the audience connects to her brand.
Presenting encompasses everything from your appearance to your core values. Create an appealing look and feel with a consistent brand tone to convey your personality and image. This will decide what you want their takeaway to be.
- Produce:
This element highlights what quality you can deliver.
Everyone has the equal opportunity to become unequal. The purpose is to stand out through authentic personal branding.
“If you try to resonate with everyone, you will resonate with no one.”
Ideally, you want to focus on the substantive delivery of value. Deliberately curating content representing an aspect of your genetic uniqueness helps you become a recognizable persona. Great examples are the founders like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk. These entrepreneurs are well-recognized globally; all have established an identity in the public realm – their brand – offering uniqueness and value in exchange.
- Promote:
Plan your development path to generate awareness, and get the right exposure you need to be recognized. Shift the eyeballs on the foundation you have set up as a brand. Promote yourself by grabbing attention through different social media platforms like digital publications or blog posts and joint ventures on Linkedin, Google, Facebook, and podcasts to consume your audience quickly.
Harvey Mackay, American businessman and author of seven New York Times-bestselling books, said, “You can’t buy a good reputation; you must earn it.” He added that “To build a sustainable and long-term reputation, one mainly needs a good word from their social and professional circle.”
We need Authentic Engagement to arrive at the conversion phase.
To be sure,”Is Your Reputation Congruent To Your Personal Brand?” read our article to ask these questions to yourself to align your personal branding to your reputation management.
- Personal:
Remember, if you aim to be a long term sustainable brand, it is essential to be authentic. Personalizing your market allows you to build deeper connections with potential clients. Don’t play the snob game, be reachable by giving out the contacts of your availability on the platforms; what you can do for them creates a personalised rapport. This helps in building collaborations and engaging with real influencers, not just the“Insta” types.
Your personal brand gives you a unique identity. Personal Branding is a journey, and refinement is a constant effort! Personal Branding does not happen overnight. Like all aspects of life, you will reap the benefits gradually by being consistent.
To learn more about Personal Branding and how a Personal Branding Consultant can help you build a stronger voice, visit our website.