Should I build a personal brand? - Uncommon advice to 4 most-asked questions!

Quarantine has brought in a flood of emotions streaming in from all ends. Some of us successfully created enough mind space to have important realizations – it altered our life plans or just made us sulk. However, one thing that did stand out was a sudden surge in individuals wanting to reconnect with people around them and build a personal brand.

So, as we eased into the lockdown, our newsfeeds had tons of people promoting their skill sets, starting off new businesses, and advertising their content. But what impact did it have on the rest of us?

Clearly, we felt incompetent, unproductive, or talent-less.

That brings us to the point of this piece. Do you even need to feel all of this? How do you know if you need a personal brand?

So, let’s keep this straight. I am going to put a few situations that most of my clients are in. If you feel you can relate, start working on building the personal brand based on my advice. I have also shared the 4 stages of building a personal brand in one of my articles on LinkedIn. Check it out. I also provide one-on-one consultations to guide you through the entire process.

Situation 1

I have substantial work experience and I have been in this particular industry for a very long time but now I feel stagnant. I am not willing to switch because I have acquired expertise in this segment and that’s paying my bills.

My Advice

Definitely, start working on building your brand. Sharing pieces of advice and your knowledge with the world will bring in the second form of validation to your skill sets in addition to the monetary returns you receive from your job. Also, it will help you build a community outside of your office space and will cut out the stagnancy that you feel.

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Situation 2

I want to start my own business in the long run. I know networking pays off but it is hard to network with people when you don’t have a conversation starter or a common ground. I do not have any major skill sets to flaunt and don’t know what to do.

My Advice

It’s a good thought. You should start investing in your personal brand. One way to overcome the problem of ‘having no content to share’ is by sharing your daily experiences and life. A personal brand is ‘personal’. People admire relatability and authenticity. Stay genuine and do not try too hard. People are more likely to engage and connect with such posts.

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Situation 3

I have a business that has its own brand. So, I always prioritize that because it will generate sales for me. Do I need to think of building my own brand?

My Advice

Since you have this thought, it means that you do want to build one for yourself. To answer this, the dynamics of social media have changed today. It fosters people with authentic and innovative content in a bid to provide a more personalized space, create more engagements, and encourage people to connect. If you feel that you have a rich experience that you are keen on sharing, go for it because it will definitely help your business too.

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Situation 4

I want to get on the ‘get-famous-fast’ bandwagon but do not have clarity on where to start and how to begin. I see influencers with thousands of followers and living this dream life and I want it too.

My Advice

If I were your best friend, I would have advised you to just start so you’ll probably land somewhere.

But, as a personal brand coach, I suggest you hold your horses and figure out what is that one thing that gets your attention the most. How much do you know about it? If not much, learn. Invest time here. It is definitely better than investing (wasting) time in trying a hundred things and confusing your audience with what exactly you’re trying to establish.

Personal branding is an investment. While it is also an art. Your dream is achievable if you go at it with a lot of passion and an undeterred spirit. When you take a step back to evaluate your key interest areas and pick what resonates with you the most, you will definitely feel more charged up every time you sit down to create new content.

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Ashita Modi is a Personal and Business Brand Strategist with years of experience working in ITeS, events, tourism, e-commerce, entertainment, ed-tech, and finance. She started The Intelligible Works with a vision to provide innovative, tactical solutions to the seemingly daunting problems that marketing in the digital world can pose.

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