BENEFITS OF PR FOR PERSONAL BRANDS #1 CREDIBILITY IS KING ??

Credibility refers to the quality of being believable, trustworthy, and reliable. As a personal brand, it means proving that you have expertise, knowledge, and integrity.

If you know you have a great offer and the general feedback is "I love it... but I'm not ready yet/I can't afford it/I don't have time etc" you may benefit from a boost in credibility.

And look, I know, you're continuously showing up and delivering, proving that you are the real deal with the epic results you get for your clients.

But... (and this is really shit) your people have been burnt before which means you've got to work so much harder to earn their trust.

Anybody can post on social media about how great they are, people can fake testimonials and buy followers, pretend they own a mansion and a lambo. You know what people can't fake? An interview on national television talking in depth about their topic, a full page spread in The Telegraph or Fortune magazine, being called up as a regular expert for Cosmopolitan or Vogue or having celebrities and recognised media outlets endorsing them time and time again.

Sure, people can buy the odd placement in some outlets that use that business model but we deal with earned media only- the type of media you cannot buy. You earn it with your knowledge and expertise and we pitch you to get you noticed.

Let's look at some other ways you could build your credibility:

1. Be transparent with who you are, what you do, your pricing etc. The more you let your people know upfront, the more they'll trust you. This idea of hiding your price and other details until you've got them into a certain emotional state is born in scarcity and creates mistrust. And please don't fall for the idea that you have to be/do anything other than yourself.

2. Advertising: Sure, this can work. Ads get you in front of the people you want to reach. Not the best for credibility, however, because people tend to be turned off by ads popping up when they don't want them. Is that the first impression you want to make on your people? Being inconvenienced? I don't know about you but I'd much prefer to build relationships with people who have chosen to be there. Like, when they're listening to a podcast I'm on or watching my interview on TV, they are making that choice because they're interested in knowing what I have to say. For transparency, I'm definitely not against ads and sometimes run them myself... for reach though, not credibility. Always as well as PR not instead of.

3. Sharing testimonials and case studies. 100% yes, definitely do this and PR will help get more eyes on them so that the world can see your magic!

4. Sharing value on social media. Sure, this can be a great way of demonstrating that you know your stuff but, all too often, people find themselves spending hours a day creating content when they don't have to. The thing is that social media posts will only show up on other people's timelines in the short term so you need to keep creating and creating. Your media interviews will always show up on Google when people search for you.

5. Getting more qualifications and certifications. This is great- not enough on its own, there's no pride in being the world's best kept secret. Shout about your accomplishments with PR.

6. Referrals- these are fantastic. A referral is always going to be a higher quality lead. Why? Because somebody they already trust has recommended them. PR is like a referral on speed. It's not their friend or colleague endorsing on a 1:1 level now but celebrities and huge brands endorsing you to millions of people at once.

7. Writing a book- seriously, if you haven't published a book on your topic yet, 100% do this. It's a no brainer. Start PR 12 weeks before your book launch to get it in front of your ideal readers and, quite ironically, to give your book credibility so people will read it in the first place.

Here's the thing- credibility isn't you doing one thing that's suddenly going to result in everyone trusting you now. It's a blend of familiarity and integrity. You have to keep showing up with actual evidence that you are the real deal. That's what PR does and anything else you do for credibility... PR will amplify that too!

Want to explore what PR could look like for you and your brand?

Comment YES below!