10 Tips for Developing Your Personal Brand
Do you want to create a personal brand that reflects your unique voice and attracts the right clients? If you're ready to take your health and wellness career to the next level, follow these tips for developing your personal brand. Creating a personal brand can be overwhelming, but it's worth taking the time to get it right. These ten tips will help you focus on what's important and define your unique selling proposition. So what are you waiting for? Start building your personal brand today!
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If you asked someone if they wanted to build their personal brand five years ago, they would have no clue what you meant. A personal brand is similar to a business, which is the ability to market yourself- not a product.
What is personal branding?
A quick Google search will tell you:
"Personal branding is the practice of marketing themselves and their careers as brands."
The idea of personal branding is not new, but with the rise in social media, it has become more critical than ever. A successful strategy will help you promote yourself online and ensure that your name stays top-of-mind when potential customers are looking for what they need from their favorite brands!
A great example we often use at our agency is how to effectively manage this crucial element. Do a Google search under "you" - without any customizations or saved searches attached: there's no better way (I think) to illustrate precisely where showcasing yourself through appropriate platforms can take away some valuable time.
Then search for:
Your name, first and last
Variations of your name
Your full name, nickname, middle name, etc.
Any misspellings of your name
If your name is familiar, add other elements that might help define you, like your occupation, employer, school, etc.
The eight benefits are:
A steady stream of ideal clients
Rewarding partnerships
Leadership opportunities
Greater mindshare
Association with a market niche
Greater credibility
Recognition and prestige
Higher perceived value
You don't need to create advertisements in magazines and tv to sell something; you just have to be yourself. Here are some quick personal branding tips to start.
What is your 'WHY?'
Do you have something to offer people? Do you have a story to share? Do you want to bring joy to others? Do you like to share positive energy?
Knowing your WHY is critical. Building a brand and attracting your audience, customer, client, or brand partnerships will be impossible without knowing this.
Our why should never be because you think it is a "get rich quick" scheme.
So ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?"
Choose 1 to 3 areas of expertise
Now that you know your why, let's break it apart even more.
ASK: What sets you apart from others?
Personal branding is about success; it all starts with a clear idea of who you want to be. A niche focus will help narrow in on what makes YOU unique while also giving more opportunities for proving your expertise than if you were general enough, like marketing or human resources field- which doesn't precisely scream different or unique.
Once you've defined what sets you apart and how you'll define yourself, you'll next want to develop a branding strategy to create and maintain your own unique identity. One way that you can do this, as the world becomes more crowded with entrepreneurs trying new things on for size (and social media feeds), it's essential not just to be general about what niche or fields may interest us but also to flesh out our expertise in those topics, so we stand apart from others who are claiming ownership over them too!
What is your story?
Passion fuels purpose, and it's infectious. And a great story can help share that passion. It doesn't have to be dramatic, just genuine and relatable. People want to feel connected and that they are helping a cause, not just buying a product or service. If your audience knows that you are passionate about what you do, they will be more confident that you've made the best possible product and will want to support your enthusiasm by giving you their business.
Stay consistent
Having a consistent, cohesive social media presence is essential for entrepreneurs. When I'm looking to learn more about someone new in my life or network who has lots of variance on their accounts (they have different names/profiles), it's often hard not only to spot them but also to get an accurate picture together before moving forward with any interactions--this could lead one person thinking you're somebody else! Keeping things simple by having just one look across all channels helps tremendously so that people will know precisely what kind of person they'll be getting when interacting here; this makes remembering YOU easier than ever because others already know.
Unique Headline, Blurb, or Bio
What's your catchy, unique headline? Your blurb or bio is an opportunity to sell yourself and what you offer. Think about it as the advertisement for Brand You! Headlines work great on TikTok videos - but don't just post them anywhere because there are some sites where they won't show up properly (like Facebook). Other times, such as with LinkedIn profiles and even Twitter bios, can be tailored very specifically by including keywords that identify who you really want people to find out more information from education; employer location, etc... So make sure those essential details shine through in any piece written about
Here are seven best tips for crafting the best bio or headline:
It's accurate. One professional description.
It's exciting. One word that is not boring.
It's targeted. One niche descriptor.
It's flattering. One accomplishment.
It's humanizing. One hobby.
It's intriguing. One interesting fact or feature about yourself.
It's connected. Your company or another social profile.
Keep it cohesive
Come up with a consistent, cohesive aesthetic. Generally, this could mean keeping your cover photos consistent across your Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles.
This could mean using the same filter or presets on all your photos on Instagram.
On Pinterest, you could share a consistent style of image.
To take things one step further, consider three factors in creating a consistent design look for your brand.
A professionally designed logo
A pleasing color palette
A limited menu of fonts
Find the right Social platform
Don't waste your time on platforms where your audience isn't hanging out!
FACEBOOK is excellent for fostering tight-knit communities through private Facebook groups.
INSTAGRAM is more than just aesthetically pleasing photos; you can micro-blog and provide value through your captions. Use Stories to connect with your followers.
TIKTOK is a great way to entertain your followers through 15-60 second clips. It allows you to be more creative with your content. But whatever you do, don't treat it like Instagram. IT'S NOT INSTAGRAM!
PINTEREST is excellent for generating quality traffic to your site, blog, and even Instagram. See it as a visual search engine rather than a social platform.
TWITTER is excellent for joining and generating conversations in your niche, sharing blog posts, updates, etc.
LINKEDIN is great for B2B, networking, and connecting with people that can be potential clients, customers, or brand partnerships.
Posting Consistently
Showing up and how you show up on your social channels is key to gaining influence and followers. You don't have to post daily, but finding a consistent posting schedule that works for you is important. This helps build anticipation and is something your most loyal followers expect.
Your posting frequency and when you post will also vary from platform to platform. Use these tips as starting points for finding your own best frequency.
Facebook – 2 times per day
Twitter – 5 times per day
LinkedIn – 1 time per day
Google+ – 2 times per day
Pinterest – 5 times per day
Instagram – 1.5 times per day
Tools to help you post consistently social
Maintaining a consistent social media presence can feel like a job in and of itself. Fortunately, plenty of tools are out there to help lighten the load. While there are many tools on the market, here are some of our favorites:
1. Planoly
Planoly is a great tool for visual planning and scheduling, specifically for Instagram. With Planoly, you can see how your grid will look before you even post anything. This is helpful if you want to make sure that your feed looks cohesive and put together. Plus, Planoly has a drag-and-drop feature that makes it super easy to rearrange your posts.
2. Tailwind
Tailwind is awesome for helping you schedule your pins on Pinterest. It's especially helpful if you want to join relevant tribes (i.e. groups of people with similar interests) so that more people can see your pins.
3. Later
Later is another visual planning tool that's great for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, and Linkedin. With Later, you can upload your photos and videos, edit them within the app, and then schedule them to be posted at a later time. Later also allows you to track your analytics so that you can see which of your posts are performing well and which aren't.
4. Buffer
Buffer is a handy tool that lets you share your content across all of your social media platforms with just a few clicks. With Buffer, you can connect all of your social media accounts and then easily share your latest blog post, YouTube video, or Instagram photo on each one without having to log into each individual platform.
Conclusion
Now that you understand the importance of personal branding and you have a few tips to get started, it’s time to put yourself out there. Start by developing a strong social media presence. Share valuable content on your blog and website, and be sure to participate in relevant conversations on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks. When people start associating your name with great ideas and insights, they’ll be more likely to think of you when they need help or advice in your industry. What are you waiting for? Get started today!
This article was first published January 2020 and updated by our editors September 2022.