What's the best way to create a personal branding strategy that reflects your authentic self?

I think starting with a pre-defined focus area for building personal brand could be a mistake if not backed by substance. It is better to post/share your perspectives, to experiment & to gauge viewership/interactions and take that as a feedback in shaping your brand. Once that happens over a period of time, you can curate & refine your content to project your personal brand.

So true and yet a big realization that might seem counterintuitive is that a personal brand is less about you than it is about the person you are trying to serve. Is your messaging so clear that you are able to break through the noise and have the people you know need you can easily recognize that you are their person -over anybody else in your space -you are the best fit to solve the problem they have. That comes from not only being able to articulate the problem you solve, but the unique way in which you solve that problem.

Purpose is one way to say it, but I often encourage people not to place so much pressure on themselves. I often tell clients to treat their personal brand on LinkedIn as if it were a journal they'd be comfortable sharing with family, friends, and colleagues. ??? Don't overthink it ??? Follow your fascination ??? Write how you talk ??? Post about what lights you up ??? Engage the engaged If you use this as a starting point, it can be less daunting. Then, the formula to follow is PEACE = SUCCESS Patience Engagement Authenticity Consistency +Empathy -------------- S U C C E S S This is my "starter" advice, honed over 4 years of building my own brand here.

Adapt, but remain consistent Your personal brand reflects who you are as a professional, based on your core values. It's important to adapt your communication to your target audience while keeping true to your essence. Adaptability isn't about shifting your core values, but effectively communicating your unique proposition in the context of a changing market. Your brand, like a tree, has roots in your purpose and values, while its branches sway with market changes, keeping your brand relevant yet consistent. ??

The funnest, quickest, most effective way to discover your purpose is easily the ‘Ikigai’ concept. It works like this: 1. Draw 4 circles 2. In each circle, answer one question: - What are you good at? - What are you passionate about? - What do people need? - What will people pay you for? 3. Format your answers into one complete sentence. Here's an example: a) What are you good at? → Creative ideas & inspiring others. b) What are you passionate about? → Dreaming about the future. c) What do people need? → Mentors & role models. d) What will people pay you for? → Unique experience, skills & mindset Purpose Statement: → Show people how to build future-proof personal brands. Now you're ready to find your identity and your audience.

You don't find your niche, it is already there. It finds you. Find: -Things you enjoy -Advice that your friends ask from you. -Write down skills that can make money for you. And your niche will appear. If not, test your results.

I find this to be an area many clients struggle with! Unfortunately, there’s a bit of fear attached to niching down. They’re concerned they’re limiting themselves because they believe the whole world could use what they offer. And, while that may be true, when you try to appeal to the whole world, you miss the mark because you unwittingly have to craft your message in more general terms. But when you zero in on an individual that represents your core target audience and craft your messaging to that one person, the people you’re trying to serve can more easily see themselves because you’re being very specific. That helps you be a magnet ?? to your right-fit person -rather than a megaphone trying to convince the world. ??

Your audience and your trusted inner circle will often define your niche. Ask yourself these questions to define potential niches: 1. What are my most marketable skills? 2. What are the skills that get praised the most by your boss and colleagues? 3. What kind of advice do your friends or colleagues often seek you for? Answer them and start posting content in these areas.

Finding the right people for your brand is a lot like love: You don't need everyone; you only need "The One". The key is to be hyper-focused and zero in on specific high-quality, high-value individuals. They are your niche. You can solve their problems. You can answer their prayers. By painting a detailed portrait of "The One", you'll identify who you're talking to, and how you can help them. Knowing this will help you capture more people with similar characteristics and interests as the individual. Understanding them makes you relatable. If you're relatable, they trust you. If they trust you, they buy.

When you're passionate about something, your enthusiasm and authenticity shine through in your work or content. This genuine passion is attractive to like-minded individuals who share your interests, helping you naturally find your niche audience.

To be a brand for humans, your brand must be human. The Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, had a theory that states every person falls into one of 12 personality types – or ‘Archetypes’. You can do the same for branding – and this will help you develop a unique character and voice. 'The 12 Brand Archetypes' Choose one: The Lover The Sage The Creator The Hero The Rebel The Entertainer The Magician The Ruler The Explorer The Caregiver The Everyman The Innocent Each archetype has its own unique set of qualities, values, and characteristics. To learn more, Google 'Brand Archetypes'.

This is also an area many struggle with. They really haven’t done the deep reflection that taps into their sense of purpose, why they do what they do, who they’re really being called to serve. And if this is something they aren’t able to communicate easily, then establishing your voice can be a real challenge! When you think about it, if you can’t tell people why they should work with you over anyone else in your space -and I mean you personally, not your company, or your product, or your service, then how are they supposed to know? This goes back to the age-old truth; people do business with people they know like in trust. Who are you? And how does the answer to that question help me know that you can help me?

Sometimes, developing - and finding - your voice can help you define your niche. What comes easiest to you? What are you passionate about? What is getting the most engagement? That's what fuels your voice - and can help you define your niche.

I find people often overthink this … the very simple answer is write like you talk!! When you use this lens for your writing, your authentic and unique personality will shine through, and it will attract a community that is there for YOU, not someone you’re trying to be.

One of the best ways to discover your voice is to start using it. Are you bold, witty, inspiring, or analytical? Start recording yourself - on video or audio and get someone you trust to give you a third-person perspective.

3 Tips: 1. WHERE: It helps to know where your audience is. It dilutes your effectiveness trying to be everywhere all the time. 2. WHAT: Your design will be more effective when the words comes first. I see people pouring into the look of their assets before thinking through what they want to convey. For instance, trying to build a powerful website without first writing powerful copy. 3. HOW: Beyond the normal modes of communicating your message, could you be speaking? Is there a book in you? Are you pursuing appearances; on podcasts, interviews, panels? These are great ways to establish thought leader ship! The clearer your messaging is, the more likely you’ll have consistency among all the assets you create. Consistency breeds trust.

Think of these as your brand's tools and platforms. Examples include your website, blog, social media profiles, portfolio, resume, logo, headline and bio. These assets should look professional and be easy for people to use. They also need to match your brand's purpose, niche, and style. Your assets help show off your brand, share your message, and get more people to notice it.

Building on @kristen Hartnagel's 3 tips - I'd add WHEN. Knowing WHEN to showcase your assests to your audience is important as well. Is there an event that a lot of your target audience is at? Is there a "month" that celebrates them? Knowing WHEN to promote your assets is vital to getting them engaged with.

Your brand assets are the visual aspects of your personal brand. Create a brand identity - LinkedIn banner, profile picture, and description with consistent colours, words and fonts that best describe you. People will come to associate and identify you with your brand identity. It's an indicator of strong personal branding.

Creating personal branding assets is crucial. They're like your tools for moving ahead. Here are some important assets: - Logo or profile picture - Tagline or mission statement - Bio and signature - Portfolio website - 1-2 social media profiles to establish your presence

I disagree with this being the 5th step. While there is a place to continue to grow your network once the "first" four items are done, you will be more successful if you go into your brand having a solid network. Your network helps you find your voice. Your network helps you realize your purpose. Your network can help you define you niche. And maybe most importantly, your network can give you the confidence and encouragement if you begin to question/doubt yourself.

This step is the icing on top of the cake especially if you are crystallizing your personal brand or in the midst of a rebranding exercise. Regard this as your "debut into society". Be prepared with a short and impactful introduction for your new connections to reinforce your personal brand.

This step is super important. Connecting with your perfect audience is the key. First, make profiles for your ideal audience. After that, think of keywords and search for them.

Want to make yourself more findable to others? Forget about traditional networking and start leveraging your existing network instead. Want to be more productive, open, and generous with others, and become more visible and valued in your field? Let others into your process, and you'll reap the benefits of a strong network without the hassle of awkward networking events. Creativity is a social act. The myth of the "lone genius" is harmful because it depicts creativity as an individualistic activity when, in reality, it is almost always a result of a community of talent.

A diverse network exposes you to different perspectives and viewpoints. This can broaden your horizons, challenge your assumptions, and enhance your problem-solving abilities.

Here are some qualitative ways that helped me to evaluate my results: 1. People started engaging and sharing my content. 2. Prospective clients started to DM me for advice or meetings. 3. My audience started growing and podcast requests started flowing in. 4. I started receiving strategic partnership requests. 5. My revenue growth started to grow more steadily. Be mindful that you don't fall into the vanity metrics trap because a large social media engagement audience may not be proportionate to your revenue growth. Focus on providing the best client and audience experiences instead.

Once you've done everything, you should check what's going well and what's not. If something isn't working, you should change it to make it better. It's all about testing. Things usually don't work perfectly the first time, so you need to be patient and keep getting better. For example, I keep making my LinkedIn profile better and improving my writing and commenting styles. You can only learn by experimenting.

The first important thing to understand is that people are clever, and they can tell if you're being real or not. For instance, imagine a movie star suddenly supporting a cause just because their movie about that cause is about to come out. You can feel that it's not genuine. This actually hurts their fame instead of helping it. So, the motivation for building a personal brand should come from a genuine desire to help others. It's about sharing the wisdom and knowledge you've gathered over the years or are learning right now. To keep it real: 1. It should connect with your own life story. 2. It should be valuable for others (educating or entertaining them). 3. It should be consistently delivered over a long period of time.

Your brand is your foundation. It's how you think, talk, look, act, and feel. It represents your personal desires and goals; and the personal desires and goals of those you serve. So how do you build that foundation? You need 'The 3 P's of Branding?': Purpose Persona People Purpose = This is reason: it's what you do best, what you love doing, how you help others, and the value you provide. Persona = This is your identity or character: it's how you look, talk, and act. People = This is your target audience: it's your ideal clients, or your niche. As long as those 3 core elements are in place, your foundation will be solid and you can build everything else off of them.