How to Build a Personal Brand

Oh, personal brands. The elusive but oh so important strategy behind every growing business. What is a personal brand? How to build a personal brand? Where do I even begin?.

Personal brands can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But it’s not so much what it means that’s important. The most important thing is how you deliver it.

When most people think of a personal brand they think of their logo, their fonts, or even their website. And while all of this is important, this is all just a visual representation of your brand. Your brand is you. Who you are, what you do, and what you’re all about.

Now I know you’re probably wondering “how do I know if I have a personal brand?” Or even “how do I build a personal brand?”

I’m going to walk you through five things you should be doing if you want to have a personal brand.

1. Show Your Face

The first step and having a recognizable personal brand is letting the world know who you are. Posting images of you on your website and on your feed on Instagram is just as important as the content you deliver. It’s very hard to connect with someone when you don’t even know what they look like. Now I know that it can be difficult to get in front of the camera especially in this day and age where self-esteem is not always easy to come by. I suggest setting some time and money aside for a professional photoshoot. It doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t have to be that expensive. Reach out to a local branding photographer if you can find one, if not reach out to a local family or wedding photographer. If you offer a service that you can trade with your photographer it may come at a very low or no cost.  Schedule a headshot session with them which can be very quick around 10 to 15 images. Get your hair and makeup done. This will help boost confidence and give you The boost you need to get this done. These images will make a world of difference in your personal brand.

2. Let the world in.

If you’re starting from scratch this may be a little more difficult than if you already have a thriving business. However, it enables you to start right from the beginning. What I mean by “Let the world in” is simply sharing bits and pieces of your real life. Sharing your adventures with your partner, the sofa cushion that your dog chewed up, or the $200 you spent at target because someone left you unsupervised. Little tidbits like that allow the world to connect with you on a more personal level, therefore, building the trust that they would need to later purchase from you. If you already have a business, start slowly. Filter a little bit in from week to week until you feel like you can make it a regular thing. I know it feels weird at first but trusts me it gets way easier.

3. establish your core values.

Establishing core values is something that most businesses and companies take on early on. These are your nonnegotiable‘s, the things that you will not waver on and what makes you and your brand different. You want to decide on these early as it can be a great way to polarize your audience. It will deter the people who are not going to be your ideal clients or customers and attracts the ones that will. They will also add to that trust factor that we were talking about earlier.  People that have similar beliefs will relate to you and therefore buy into you and your brand.

4. be consistent.

I know when your first building a business there are 1 million things on your plate. You are the marketer, you are the copywriter, you are the image editor. You’re literally wearing 12 different hats and there’s no end in sight. However, consistency is key as with anything that can become great. You have to show up for your audience in an authentic and consistent way if you want them to get to know you, to get to like you, and to trust you. The best way that I can suggest doing this is by making yourself a content calendar, or at the very least scheduling your posts for Instagram that way you have something new every day. I use Planoly to schedule my Instagram posts but feel free to use whatever you want. Just ensure that you’re engaging with your audience, showing up consistently, and providing value. And don’t forget to have fun.

5. provide value.

In the digital age, there is so much noise on the Internet. And I know that you’re probably thinking “Alyssa how do I distinguish myself from all the other people doing what I do on the Internet?” My basic and best answer is to provide value. Anyone can create a website and ask for people to buy their services, but it takes a true entrepreneur and a service minded individual to provide value to their audience for free. If you’re familiar with me I love creating content. I try my best to make it helpful and valuable and give it all away for free. This is the quickest way to get your audience to know, like, and trust you. A great example of this is my free engagement session guide. You can offer checklists, e-books, how to guides – really whatever your heart desires or enjoys to create you can put out into the world. Just make sure you’re creating it for your ideal client and trying your best to solve a pain point that they may have.

I hope this was helpful and as always please reach out to me with any questions. Happy branding!