There’s so much that goes into building a personal brand. You need to find your voice, create a narrative, and develop relationships. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when everyone else is also doing the same thing.
So, how exactly do you go about building a personal brand that shines through the noise? This comprehensive article will give you the answer.
8 Steps to Building a Personal Brand
- Start With an Analysis
- Create a Strategy Document
- Find a Niche, But Keep Exploring
- Create a Story Around Everything
- Get Social
- Network With Industry Peers
- Keep Pushing Forward
- Review & Adjust
Let’s dive in and discover how to build a personal brand from the ground up.
1. Start With an Analysis
Begin by defining a few things – why do you do what you do? How do you want to be perceived by others? What qualities do you possess that set you apart? What are your long-term goals and aspirations?
This information will serve as the foundation of your personal brand. It will help you make strategic decisions regarding how you position yourself and communicate your message.
2. Create a Strategy Document
I know we are just starting the journey, but creating a document to organize your thoughts, goals, and strategies is an essential first step. Even with little information, this document will help outline your objectives and map out the steps needed to achieve them.
For example, when I started building a personal brand strategy for myself, I created a document. Here’s an overview of its framework:
I decided to add information about our objectives, target audience, and some other industry leaders. I also added a few basic steps that’ll help me get started, some strategies to enhance my visibility and reach, and KPIs that will measure my progress.
Your document doesn’t have to look like mine; the important thing is to create a structure that helps you stay organized and on track.
3. Find a Niche, But Keep Exploring
You have to find a niche where you can carve out a distinct identity. Typically, this niche would be aligned with your business or the topics that interest you the most. Once you have identified that niche, you can put your efforts into deepening your expertise, building credibility, and attracting a dedicated audience who will value your insights.
However, it’s equally important to keep your horizons wide and avoid limiting your knowledge to one niche. It’s because most influential individuals talk about multiple topics and disciplines, which contributes to their uniqueness and broad appeal.
There’s a comment on this Reddit post that perfectly captures our POV:
Don’t stick with one. Some of the biggest brands don’t stick to one thing
Alex Hormozi – gym, philosophy, business (sales & marketing)
Logan Paul – fighting, Pokémon cards, Prime
Gary Vee – social media, NFT, NY Jets
Elon Musk – Rockets, Twitter, Electric cars
You are your own niche. Just be authentic.
“You are your own niche,” thus, you need to have a broad perspective and cultivate a well-rounded personal brand.
4. Create a Story Around Everything
Storytelling sells! It’s proven time and again that this approach helps engage with your audience on an emotional level. Thus, I suggest that you incorporate a compelling narrative into every aspect of your life, experiences, and achievements.
Mind you, this doesn’t mean lying or exaggerating about yourself. It’s important to stay authentic, but you can try being creative. For example, think about the emotions you felt, the challenges you faced, and the lessons you learned in each situation. Talk about a journey that is not just about showcasing achievements but also about sharing the experiences behind them.
5. Get Social
Almost everyone recommends getting active on social media to build a personal brand – and it’s for a reason. These platforms can give you unparalleled opportunities to connect with your audience and showcase your expertise.
Here’s how I do this:
The only catch is that you need to do this properly and consistently. After all, you’re not the only one trying to stand out from the crowd. The first step would be getting good, high-quality content that reflects your brand identity. You need to avoid sharing generic content, such as mundane quotes and sales pitches.
Then, you need visuals. Whether it’s an illustration, striking photographs, or engaging videos, a good visual is what will make your content more digestible and engaging. You can create these yourself by using a design tool like Canva or for a more professional touch, consider signing up for our unlimited graphic design services.
6. Network With Industry Peers
We talk about keeping an eye on our competitors, but we also need to talk about the importance of connecting with fellow peers or other industry experts. Because when you’re building a personal brand, it’s not just about competition; it’s about collaboration.
And here’s a piece of preachy advice: you don’t have to be afraid of getting out of your comfort zone. Networking with other people in your industry will allow you to gain valuable insights, exchange ideas, and build relationships that will benefit you both personally and professionally.
You just need to be careful about being salesy or transactional in your interactions. Instead, approach this step with authenticity and sincerity.
7. Keep Pushing Forward
Building a personal brand can take months if not years. You might not even see any immediate results even when you’re doing everything right. Therefore, the most crucial thing is to stay consistent with your efforts.
A great way of doing this is by tracking the results, even if it’s something small, like gaining one extra like or one new follower. You can start recording these metrics in a document and over time, you’ll see how these add up, leading to significant changes and growth in your personal brand.
8. Review & Adjust
On the same note of tracking, it’s also important to review your personal brand strategy to understand what’s working and what’s not. You can use this data to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and areas that need improvement. Then, accordingly, you can refine your strategy and optimize the content to better resonate with your audience.
Summing Up: How to Build a Personal Brand
Building a personal brand is a long and multifaceted journey. You’ll have to juggle various roles, whether as a content creator or social media manager. It might start to feel overwhelming; thus, I recommend you start delegating tasks whenever possible. For example, you can hire our professional team to handle the design aspect of your brand.
We offer subscription-based unlimited graphic design services that will allow you to request a variety of tasks, including social media posts, branding elements, and even videos. Just sign up, and let’s work together to bring your brand vision to life.
