What are the steps to create a personal brand?

Some may argue that the first step to creating a personal brand is not necessarily defining your brand identity through introspective questioning. Instead, they may propose that the initial focus should be on understanding your target audience, market trends, and competitive landscape. By researching and analyzing these factors, you can better position your personal brand to meet the needs and expectations of your audience and differentiate yourself from others.

Your personal brand identity is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want the world to see. It's about defining what makes you different and unique. Start by identifying your strengths, passions, and core values. Understand your unique selling proposition - what you offer that others don't. Consider your target audience - who do you want to impact? Your personal brand should resonate with them. Be consistent in your messaging across all platforms - online and offline. Remember, personal branding isn't just about self-promotion, but also authenticity. Be true to yourself and your audience will follow.

When crafting your brand identity ask yourself some hard questions like: - What are the three words that define my personal brand? - What is my WHY? - Is my target audience present on the platform I want to create content or build my brand on? - What is my superpower, what makes me unique? - How do I want people to feel when they stumble upon my personal brand on LinkedIn. - What is my short term goal with my personal brand? - What are my long-term aspirations with my personal brand? If you can answer these well, you are one step closer to supercharging your personal brand the legit way!

I believe there are two parts to this: defining your current brand identity and your brand vision - current state vs what you want to be known for. The goal of branding work is to bridge that gap. Consider these dimensions: - Authenticity: What are you representing, and is it true to who you are? - Aspirations: What does peak of your career look like? - Growth: What skills and experiences will advance you towards your vision? - Legacy: What enduring impact do you want to leave behind? A useful exercise is to imagine yourself at the end of your life - what do you want those who knew you professionally to say about you...?

Your personal brand is your promise to the world. By defining your identity, you not only showcase your uniqueness but also set clear expectations for those who engage with you.

Some may argue that focusing too much on identifying and targeting a specific audience might limit your personal brand's potential. They may suggest that being authentic and true to yourself can attract a broader range of individuals and opportunities, and relying too heavily on targeting may lead to overlooking potential connections and collaborations outside the defined audience. Balancing authenticity with targeted outreach could be a more effective approach for some individuals.

One of the best ways to get started is to ask yourself - who am I trying to benefit, reach, or impress? As in, which audience(s) would I be thrilled to have engaging with my personal brand? Maybe it’s a future employer. Maybe it’s a potential client. Maybe it’s an entire audience you’re looking to elevate. Identifying this will help to guide you as you decide your goals, share applicable experiences in your brand story, and seek out thought leadership opportunities. It will help you take action on future brand-related decisions through a thoughtful, strategic lens. You’ve got this!

To pinpoint your target audience, consider mapping out a web of your professional influence. Place yourself at the center and branch out to potential employers, industry peers, mentors, and clients. Reflect on their goals, pain points, and where they engage. Through this exercise, understand not only who needs your skills but also who can champion your growth. Shape your personal brand to engage this network with clarity and relevance, ensuring your message strikes a chord with those who matter most to your journey.

Start building a relationship seeking to stand out with a sector of the market. I have been working intensively with the Aerospace and Defense Sector, seeking to differentiate myself with texts and providing knowledge with product data.

A brand message should reflect your values and ideals that you want to portray to your audience. I always recommend choosing at least 3 values you’d want to touch upon with each message you present. Whether it’s one or all 3, every single message should reflect that so that you are consistent with your branding of who or what you represent.

Crafting your brand message goes beyond sharing who you are; it’s a call to engage with your story and value. Communicate: - Who you are: Begin with your identity. This grounds your message in authenticity. - What you care about: State your passions and principles, which connect emotionally with your audience. - The value you bring: Highlight your unique contributions and relevant strengths. - Specific ask/call to action: Conclude with a clear invitation or directive. This can be a prompt to "Discover more on my blog," or "Connect to innovate together." The call to action is vital and often missed. This might dilute your brand message, ensure the other person is clear on what the next step is in your interaction.

Crafting a compelling brand message adds value by effectively communicating your unique strengths and offerings, making it easier for your target audience to understand and connect with your personal brand. A well-crafted brand message can create a lasting impression, establish credibility, and differentiate you from others in your field, ultimately attracting more opportunities and building a loyal following.

Building cohesive and professional brand assets adds value by creating a strong and memorable visual identity that reinforces your brand message, leaving a lasting impression on your audience and enhancing your credibility in the eyes of potential employers, clients, or collaborators.

CREATING PERSONAL BRAND PERSONALITY! Imagine a Nike commercial depicting a husband and wife discussing their day. The man vents about his boss, recalling a daydream about killing him. The scene changes, starting with the man continuing audio in sync with how the man is acting in his daydream. As he gets to the boss physically, the camera shifts from following the man to a computer screen that confirms it was one day later. "Just do it" pops on a black screen as the wife's voice says it in a hushed whisper. Suddenly, the screen shows them hugging as her lips finish saying the word "it" in the man's ear. The man walks, looking down at a phone, indicating it was earlier. It doesn't feel right, does it? YOU'LL DO WELL IF YOU UNDERSTAND WHY!

The bottom line is to take action, gather experience and interact with your network. This is done by posting, commenting, and including personal touches. Great personalized comments and tips for newcomers or praising a quality you admire in someone. All to help you feel relatable in some sense. You should have a very positive attitude and reputation. No one wants to work with a grump. Make sure you are both approachable and someone companies want to approach. Take action, and get results!

KEEP RECORD Make sure you assess your brand's content unbiasedly. The history of your metrics; will be invaluable information. Assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are great ways to outline the basics of your brand characteristics. Determine your tone, colors, mood, cadence, vocabulary, style, energy, attitude, reputation, and every other trait you can. What you want and what is seen won't align. Once you have the outline, compile a brand book. Connect all the dots and develop a template for all aspects of your brand. Give yourself a clear system for the content and interaction. Your brand should have a trajectory and some clearly defined goals that are measurable. As you grow, no matter what the metric, keep it!

The most important step while creating a personal brand is to be authentic. Don't try to impersonate others, as they get more likes, comments or reposts. Personal branding is about something other than going viral every day. It's all about sharing your true self with the world and connecting with like-minded people who'll help you spread your message faster.