The A+ Guide to Building Your Personal Brand as an Educator

So you’re an educator. I’m guessing you got into this industry because you fell in love with teaching. But somewhere along the way, all signs point to the industry not loving you back. So you’ve decided you wanted to branch out and see what else you can do.?

But you love teaching.?

So lean into it.?

Only this time, brand yourself in a way where you can still use your gift of teaching, help others all over the world, and make great money in the process.?

How is that possible?

The first stop on the journey is personal branding.

What is personal branding?

Personal branding refers to the process of creating a unique and distinct image or reputation for oneself. It involves crafting and promoting one's skills, strengths, values, and personality in a way that sets them apart from others in their field or industry. Personal branding is often used to establish oneself as a thought leader, influencer, or expert in a particular niche or industry.

Why is personal branding important for educators?

Your personal brand is important because you need to establish credibility with your audience, stand out from the crowd, attract opportunities that feel right for you, and connect with your students. So how can personal branding help you achieve your goals as an educator and thought leader?

First, you need to define what makes you unique as an educator.

This is where you get to talk about yourself. Consider things like your teaching style, feedback, strengths, and personality. What do you bring to the table that only you can bring??

Do you use a specific teaching method or technique that sets you apart? Do you incorporate technology in a unique way? Do you have a particular teaching philosophy that guides your approach to education?

Consider your educational background and any previous teaching experience you may have. What skills or knowledge do you bring to the table that sets you apart? Do you have a unique perspective on a particular subject or topic?

Ask your colleagues or students for feedback on your teaching. What do they appreciate about your approach? What sets you apart from other educators they have had in the past?

Consider what you excel at as an educator. Are you particularly skilled at creating engaging lesson plans or fostering a positive classroom environment? Do you have a talent for inspiring your students to learn?

Remember that your personality is also a key factor in what makes you unique. Your sense of humor, empathy, and enthusiasm has had a significant impact on your students and the classroom environment.

Use this time to answer these questions. This is how you dig for the gold. My motto is, “The gold in you will produce the gold for you” and will help you connect with and attract your potential clients faster.?

Next, let’s focus on who you’re trying to reach as an educator.

Think about what makes you unique and what you have to offer. This will help you identify the types of people who would benefit most from your skills and expertise. In the business world, this is referred to as your unique selling proposition (USP).

My USP is that I’ve worked in the children and family industry for almost three decades and developing healthy family dynamics has always been my passion. I built a successful summer camp program and never spent a dime on paid advertising. I attribute this to my knowing how to develop a strong personal brand. When I surveyed my clients, most of them came to the camp due to their love for everything I was doing. And the others came because their friends told them about me.?

Once you’ve honed in on your USP, look at your competitors and analyze their audience. Identify the demographics and psychographics of their followers to get a better idea of the people you should be targeting.

Develop a persona that represents your ideal customer. Consider their age, gender, location, interests, and pain points. This will help you tailor your messaging to resonate with them.

Utilize the analytics provided by your social media platforms to understand who is engaging with your content. This can help you identify trends and patterns that will inform your target audience.

Use your numbers to hone in on who is most attracted to what you have to offer. If the audience you are attracting isn’t the people you want, that’s a huge indicator that your message isn’t as clear as it needs to be.?

Next, developing a strong brand message is how you stand out from the crowd.?

What message do you want others to remember about you? I am the F.U.N. Brand Coach simply because I help my clients develop F.U.N. (Friendly, Unforgettable, and Newsworthy) brands. Fact that my clients are educators and thought leaders, using the word “FUN” is a pun totally intended.?

I’ve shared with you the "WHO" I work with and the "HOW" I help them. That’s exactly what your brand message should do for you.?

There are tons of brand specialists in the world however there is only one F.U.N. Brand Coach. The goal is for you to create a message that is true to you that is clear, concise, and memorable. Think of who you want to work with and how you help them achieve results. Simple.

Next, the FUN part. Establishing your online presence.

For some reason, this part scares the daylights out of people. So let me help you minimize the fear. All you’re doing is sharing with others what you already know, love, and can spend hours talking about.?

That’s it.

Most people make it harder than it needs to be. All you need to do is create a website (online real estate that you own) to lead people so they can decide whether or not to work with you. Once you’ve got them there, you have information about who you are, what you’re about, and HOW you can help them.?

That’s what people care about.

How can you help me? Answer that question early and often and you will have people waiting in the wings to work with you. Don’t believe me just try it for yourself.?

Next, what platforms should you use to promote your personal brand?

I have a very unorthodox method of advising my clients. I don’t advise them to be everywhere at all times, especially just starting out, I advise them to only be where it feels authentic to them.

Why?

Because the real you need to show up so that you can attract the clients you feel good about working with. If you love creating videos, create a Tik Tok, IG Reel, or YouTube Short.

As a warm-up exercise, I began posting my 60-second “Love Notes” on Instagram which consisted of me posting a video about something I had read earlier that day. After 30 days, the results were I had attracted 30K views and didn’t spend one dime for that traffic.?

I only posted twice a week (sometimes less than that), at random times and I never asked people to follow me. I received over 300 followers, 30K views, hundreds of shares, and people even remixed my content.?

If I received these kinds of results just "practicing" can you imagine what kind of results I receive from being super intentional?

If the thought of video terrifies the living daylights out of you, besides scheduling a call with me, try doing some podcasts and writing articles until you work your way up to video.?

Yes, you will definitely need to learn to create videos because how are you going to educate others if you won’t allow others to actually see you?

The final piece to this amazing puzzle is creating valuable content.?

Kinda like this article.?

If you’re still reading, that means you see value in this so creating something like this helps you build your brand in a way that feels good to you.?

If reading this article feels like a friend sitting across the table just sharing some information, then I’ve done my job correctly. Remember I am the F.U.N. Brand Coach and the first word in the FUN phrase is “friendly.”

Now that you know how to build your personal brand as an educator, what are you gonna do? I would love to assist you in helping you build your personal brand so, click the link to join my upcoming webinar, “How to Monetize Your Personal Brand as an Educator” and look forward to working with you soon! #education #branding #personaldevelopment #onlinepresence #teachingstrategies