Build a Sensational Personal Brand: 7 Tips to Spark Creativity

Updated: February 2020

Wondering what it takes to build a strong personal brand? Want to know how to translate who you are into a personal brand that attracts, engages, and inspires potential customers?

It's not as difficult as you might think. But it will take a conscious effort on your part.

Because whether you like it or not, people are making assumptions about your personal brand. From your product to your customer experience, many factors drive perception.

But it's so much more than that. Your personal brand also includes the reputation and relationships you've built over time.

So how do you create a personal brand that enhances and supports the growth of your business?

Below are 7 tips to spark creativity and help you build a sensational personal brand.

1. Define What Makes You Shine

Defining and consistently sharing your unique message creates differentiation. It's an identifier, relaying the special skills, talents, and magic that is the brand called you.

Whether you're a writer, a marketer or a small business owner, controlling that perception is vital. Begin to develop your personal brand by answering a few questions:

• What is your greatest strength/weakness?
• What's unique about your message?
• What separates you from the competition?
• Are you innovative or traditional in thinking?
• How do you prefer to communicate and how does that resonate with your audience?
• What are the needs of your audience and how do you solve those problems?

Answering the questions above will begin to form a foundation for your personal brand. It grounds you in your own truth, creating a personal brand that's authentic, genuine, and compelling.

2. Create a Credible Website

A website can help establish credibility and should be the hub or center of your online presence.

With it, you can showcase your individual talents and provide insight into who you are, what you're passionate about and what niche or group you and your business serve.

Allow your website to complement all that you're doing both offline and online.

Add it to your marketing, newsletter, email and any other location where you're eager for your target market to find and connect with you.

Your website is establishing your reputation. Don't miss the opportunity to create thought leadership through your content, design, and branding.

3. Embrace Social Media

As the use of social networks within business continues to evolve, having an established social media presence that connects with potential customers is a crucial element to building your personal brand.

Gain a voice in the over-saturated online world by getting involved in the conversation. Determine where you can share and discuss topics that matter most to your business and audience.

To begin building a presence across various social networks, consider these tips:

• Spend time identifying where your target market spends their time. Is it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest? Once you know where they're hanging out, you can begin to craft your content.
• Take time to determine what you'll talk about. This is not a time or place to be spammy or overly promotional. You want to offer insight and give away your knowledge freely to begin boosting personal brand awareness and establishing a solid reputation.
• Like, follow, and connect with competitors and other local businesses. This is a great way to elevate the conversation and create strategic relationships, even with your competitors. As the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies (aka "the competition) closer.
• Ask questions! This is a quick and easy way to find out what matters most to those connecting with you online.

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4. Merge Offline with Online

While business seems to be more Internet-based than ever, you never want to neglect your offline efforts. Merging offline and online is a perfect way to take an established reputation and introduce it to your new online audience.

Take your brochures, email marketing, flyers, and direct mail campaigns and repurpose the content across your social media channels. You can also take much of that content and turn it into blog posts.

Did you answer a question or solve a problem in your latest email? Expand upon that and post it to your blog.

Don’t forget to include links to your online profiles within your traditional marketing to cross-promote your online networks. You want to make sure that no matter where your audience spends time, they can find you!

5. Invest In Your Brand

Whether it's time spent creating content or an investment into a new marketing tool, investing in your personal brand provides growth opportunities.

Spending money on the development of your brand can also build credibility, boost visibility and create a higher overall perceived value.

For example, creating a streamlined look and feel from your logo to a custom website, and branded social media channels tells your story and sends a consistent message to your audience.

We need to be our own best customer when it comes to personal branding.

6. Set Measurable Goals

Setting periodic goals for your personal brand is a good way to analyze your achievements and adjust your strategy as necessary.

Set daily, weekly, and monthly goals that support your dream.

What is it that you want to achieve? Once you decide what you're working towards, put it in writing.

For example:

Are you looking to sell more products? Determine how many people you'll need to get in front of to meet your goal.

Then analyze what your conversion rate is and what the cost is to market to each individual.

This will help you begin to formulate the cost of your time and resources.

7. Stay Fresh and Relevant

Keep your personal brand fresh and exciting. Consistently take stock of your marketing and your message.

Ask yourself who you're marketing to and whether your content is what they want and need.

There's no sense in putting yourself out there if you're not willing to go the extra mile.

Stay on top of trends and make sure your personal branding is relevant, but also a reflection of all that your business is and is striving to be.