The topic of personal branding seems to be coming up more and more in the digital industry. So, what exactly is personal branding and what does it mean when a prospective client asks your business if they do personal branding?
What is Personal Branding?
Personal branding is how you promote yourself as a person, a human, a living being. It is essentially who you are and reflects your conduct, behaviour, spoken and unspoken words, and attitudes. It helps your career and how you can position yourself as an expert in your field. It’s a combination of skills and experiences that makes you and offers many benefits to your life and your career.
Who is it for?
Personal branding is for those individuals that want to stand out from the crowd, who want to build a reputation on things they want to be known for and those wanting to become and expert and leader in a specific industry. An example of this in social media influencer, Nadia Jaftha, she created her personal brand on social media by being authentic, being a thought leader in fashion and beauty and serving content that is unique, entertaining and relatable. Jaftha has now become a huge influencer in SA’s Fashion and beauty industry.
What are the benefits?
- It creates trust. People get to read the history of who you are, what motives you and the type of person you are. People will feel more comfortable working with a person they trust, know and are real.
- It creates credibility and value. As you grow your personal branding, people will begin to see you as a leader in a specific industry. They will look to you for your knowledge, opinions and advice on certain topics in a specific industry.
- It creates job opportunities. People can see who you are, your skills and expertise all through your personal branding.
- You can stand out from the crowd.
- You can take your personal brand wherever you go. Whatever adventure you go on next; your personal platform will be able to go and grow with you, it’s all about you.
Tips to start your personal branding
- Focus on your content and keep the message your trying to publish consistent.
- Be real and not a copycat. What do you want to be known for? Beauty, fitness, foodie, singer, the list of opportunities is endless.
- Tell the story of who you are, video can be the best method for storytelling as it shows you, your behaviours, attitude and authenticity.
- Create content that has a purpose, find a niche that you can offer something valuable to people.
- Take the risk. Starting a personal brand may be hard but everyone’s got to start somewhere right? You may fail but don’t give up, learn from your mistakes and try again!
Personal branding is the first step to standing out from the crowd, building connections, becoming a thought leader and showing your authentic self in your industry. For help getting your personal brand started, get in touch with our team and we can help you build your brand!