3 Costly Personal Branding Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Cultivating a strong personal brand can demonstrate the skills and qualities that someone has, defining what truly makes them a leader or set apart from his/her competitors - especially in the online marketplace.

To find and maintain this competitive edge, here are key #personalbranding mistakes to avoid.

1.You’re working on the visual elements of your brand - without having a brand strategy, or an understanding of what your brand represents. As a result, your personal brand lacks direction.

If you find yourself “doing all the things” - randomly posting several times a day on social media with no cohesiveness, or blasting out dozens of resumes every week - without seeing the results you need, it’s likely because you haven’t given thought to the overall vision for your professional path or the intentional steps you’ll take to get there. This doesn’t mean that aesthetics don't matter - of course they do! But you should always focus on strategy first.

Even the most experienced graphic designers and visual branding experts will agree that the aesthetics of your brand is based on who you are at your core; that’s the basis for your brand. Before you select your brand colors, launch the fancy website with all the bells and whistles, have business cards printed, and spruce up your social media grid, make sure that you understand your brand.?

Your brand encompasses how you show up , how people experience you, and should reflect your brand voice and personality. If you’re focusing on these forward-facing elements, you'll find that you’ll likely struggle meeting your business/career goals - or it will take you longer to get there.

2. You haven't defined the heart of your brand. Your brand heart is the purpose of your brand and drives your vision, mission, values. WHY is it that you do what you do? What are the values that are non-negotiable? Who is your brand soul mate - the person or entity you’re meant to serve?

Knowing and keeping the heart of your brand top of mind is going to drive you and keep you showing up consistently and relentlessly day in and day out - and keep you from looking so random, like you’re all over the place with your messaging.

3. You haven’t defined your target audience, and as a result end up trying to be everything to everyone.

For the first 11 years as a consultant, I made the mistake of being a generalist. I would literally work with anyone who came my way. It didn’t matter if you were the most stressful, annoying client, it didn’t matter what your particular challenges were, and I even worked with you around your budget. I was just happy to have someone - anyone - take an interest in my skills and talents. What I discovered thanks to my first business coach was that the broad net I was casting was showing up in my messaging.

As a result, my audience was confused, and ultimately didn't know what to do with me. I didn’t start making consistent, high-ticket sales until I finally niched down - aside from age, gender, and income.

Today, I know everything about my brand soulmate - where she lives, what media she takes in, her spending habits, her favorite events and conferences, what rooms she’s in, what specific words and phrases she uses in her conversations. In a sense, you have to become a “stalker” of your ideal client (or even your dream employer if you’re rising up the ranks in corporate).

It sounds counterintuitive, but once your audience knows that you can solve one problem for them in a HUGE way, you’ll be top of mind when they need help with another problem. Remember, a vague brand is a confusing brand - and confused prospects don’t buy.

By avoiding these mistakes, you'll begin to cut through the noise, stand out, and become easier to notice - and then remember. Your online brand tells the world who you are, what you care about, and the value that you bring to your industry.

The Aligned Life ?is a bi-weekly newsletter, published by Dionne Watts-Williams. Dionne is a brand messaging consultant and personal branding coach, who helps brilliant Black women CEOs & corporate climbers hone in on their brand, find their voice, and communicate with prospects in the marketplace so they can finally earn what they're worth, and live the extraordinary life that God's destined for them. Learn more about Dionne at?www.workwithdionne.com .