Top 10 Personal Branding questions

Welcome to issue 7 of my LinkedIn newsletter. If you see this in your email, I'd be grateful if you could open this on LinkedIn and react and comment. It will certainly help me in my analysis of who is getting value from my personal branding advice. Thank you!

There tends to be a variety of opinions about personal branding. There are people who familiar and comfortable with it. There are those who have heard of it but think it’s a lot of marketing baloney. There is confusion and mystery around what it means to have a personal brand. There is even anxiety around getting started with creating one.

My Top 10 Personal Branding Questions is my attempt to answer the most frequently probed matters around this topic. These are my thoughts from the questions I’ve heard asked, the conversations I’ve been part of and the content I’ve read and watched.

I’m fascinated by discussions around personal brand and I’m constantly learning more about it. So, I’ll be keen to have your feedback on the questions I’ve shared here.

1. What is a personal brand?
2. Why do I need a personal brand?
3. Isn’t personal branding a way of showing off?
4. Does personal branding suit all professions?
5. What are the biggest challenges in terms of developing a personal brand?
6. Do I have to create personal content in order to create a personal brand?
7. Do I have to post my own content as part of my personal brand?
8. Do I have to use video as part of my personal brand?
9. What makes a great personal brand?
10. How do I start building my personal brand?

I've recorded these videos which give more in-depth answers. They are in two parts: questions 1 to 5 and 6 to 10.

Here’s some short answers too.

1. What is a personal brand?

An effective way for you to be found and known by your target audience who, once they become more familiar with the way you work and how you help, are more likely to remember you. If they are the kind of customer you are aiming for (your ideal client), then they are much more likely to buy from you.

2. Why do I need a personal brand?

The thing that makes you different to your competitors is you.

It’s your uniqueness and individuality which is going to make you stand out and the way you build your personality in to the way you offer your products and services, rather than the products and services themselves.

3. Isn’t personal branding a way of showing off?

Personal branding isn’t about showing off but about being seen. If you don’t step out from behind your business brand or corporate identity, you won’t be seen. It’s about showing up rather than showing off.

4. Does personal branding suit all professions? Is it for everyone?

It is for everybody who wants to be known for something. We often relate it to marketing products and services, but it also powerful if you want to raise awareness of a cause or issue. Many businesses believe their products will do the ‘talking’ but consumers want to know about the people behind the products now.

5. What are the biggest challenges in terms of developing a personal brand?

This may sound a tad controversial but it’s my view that mindset is the biggest challenge for most people. Many people are worried about building their personal brand for various reasons – conscious about what others will think, believe they are not important enough to warrant the effort, have fear of being seen as an attention seeker and many other reasons.

The other challenge is just getting started.

The sooner you work out what you want to be seen and known for, then you can focus on how you are going to build the foundations of your personal brand.

6. Do I have to create personal content in order to create a personal brand?

You certainly don’t. Personal brand is about injecting your personality into what you post about, not about sharing personal details.

7. Do I have to post my own content as part of my personal brand?

I realise time is always our enemy, but making time to create your own content will help you to rise above the frankly bland posts we often see on social media feeds and on website blog posts.

Commenting on other people’s content or adding your point of view to an article from someone else are also useful in your target audience gaining a better understanding of your thoughts.

8. Do I have to use video as part of my personal brand?

Video content is an ideal way to show your authenticity and connect to your audience with your personality, but you don’t have to use it. If you feel uncomfortable about using video, there are ways in which you can gently ease yourself into using it, which I plan to share in a future newsletter.

9. What makes a great personal brand?

It certainly helps when people know where to find you, so make sure you are consistently showing up on LinkedIn (or another social platform if you tend to frequent somewhere else.) Also share your website details regularly and keep this updated with up to date blog content, preferably written by you, or at least sharing your thoughts and ideas if you're using a copywriter.

Make sure whatever you share also reflects your unique and individual personality. Your social content and your website need to be consistent, not just in terms of branding but also messaging.

10. How do I start building my personal brand?

That’s easy! If you are unsure about where to start, you are doing the right thing by reading this newsletter and even better subscribing.

As I’ve said I’m convinced about the power of personal brand because it is working for me. I’m becoming known as a personal brand specialist and gaining new opportunities as well as clients as a result. ?

Thinking about your own personal brand, start by considering these questions.

?What do you want to be known for? What do you want to be seen as the ‘go-to expert’ in?

Who are you trying to reach out to? Who is your ideal client?

Final thoughts

I hope these 10 questions give you more insight into creating and developing your personal brand. Please do share your feedback on the answers I've given.

Are there other questions you'd like some help with?

This newsletter aims to give you building blocks each month so that you can gather all the ideas you need and cultivate the mindset to create an outstanding personal brand. I’ll help you overcome the obstacles and give you ideas for how to inject your personality into your online presence.

Always keep in mind that your personal brand is the way for you to be found, known and trusted for whatever it is you offer and sell.

Whether you’re working in a regulated profession, you're a service based provider in any sector or a business owner selling products, using your personal brand will get you in front of your target audience. What’s more as they get to know, like and trust you, they are more likely to buy from you.?

If this has helped you, please let others know by sharing my newsletter not just on LinkedIn but elsewhere. Thank you!

I'm off to celebrate my birthday this week ??

See you next month!

Ella ????

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