Make your name known – guide to personal branding

Everyone is aware of the importance of a company’s brand to its overall performance. Consider the reaction of your kids as you walk past two fast-food burger joints. If you stopped at Billy’s No-Name Burgers or McDonald’s, which would your children yell for you to visit? A random burger place vs. the globally renowned brand that is McDonald’s. It’s human nature to pay more attention to a familiar name than a completely unfamiliar one. Personal branding is similar to branding a business. Therefore, many people see the importance of building their own unique brand. And this is especially true when you’re your own boss and your success or failure hinges on how attractive you are to customers.

Your personal brand might include how others see you in person, how the media presents you, and how others perceive you based on what they read about you online. How exactly do you go about making a name for yourself? In this article, we explore the viewpoint of one of the top digital marketing agencies in New York. Here’s everything you need to know about developing your personal brand.

Personal branding 101 – what is it, why is it important, and how to grow it?

Before making efforts to build your personal brand you first need to understand what a personal brand is. How you market yourself is the essence of your personal brand. Your ideal self is the sum total of your education, work experience, and character traits. It’s the account of your life and the manner in which your actions, words, and nonverbal cues reveal who you are and how you think.

Individuals can tell you apart from the crowd by the way you market yourself online. If done well, social media marketing New York experts claim that personal branding can help your company in ways that corporate branding can’t. Basically, one’s professional reputation is one’s own brand. People’s first impressions of you may be formed by a combination of their direct observation of you, the media portrayal of you, and the information about you that is publicly available online.

You can choose to do nothing about your personal brand and let it emerge naturally, possibly chaotically, and independently of your influence, or you can actively shape it to reflect the person you want to be seen as. Before the advent of the Internet, a person’s brand was essentially their business card. Few people would know who you are unless you were a celebrity or a central figure in a major advertising campaign. Your ability to maintain anonymity has been greatly diminished in today’s open, social media-driven society. As things have changed, this makes personal branding that much more important.

Why is personal branding important?

You probably already know how branding is crucial for start-ups and businesses. However, investing in building a name for yourself in the marketplace has numerous advantages, too. For instance, if people are considering working with you, they will be able to make up their minds swiftly. Prospective clients or employers won’t feel comfortable or familiar with you when you have a limited or generic LinkedIn page as they’ll have more questions than answers. Or, visitors to your social media pages can quickly determine if they like your point of view and could imagine themselves working with you based on the way you express it to the public.

Benefits of personal branding

Here are the main advantages of building a personal brand:

• The competition will be no match for you. Your online persona will exude cohesion and professionalism if you invest time into establishing and maintaining a distinct brand identity. This will set you apart from rivals that don’t uphold the same standards or present an entirely different image. It’s important that people who come across your profile or search for your name online feel like they know you on a personal level and share your values.
• Having this knowledge will equip you to start your own business. With a solid identity under your belt, becoming a successful business owner will be a breeze. When launching a new product or service, establishing brand identity is essential. Creating a strong identity for yourself is essential.
• More sales will result from your increased credibility. Prospects know they can acquire the same thing from another vendor regardless of what they’re purchasing. They can’t have the same sales experience with the same salesman from any source. Due to the fact that customers are more likely to find authenticity in user-generated content than in content produced by brands, it stands to reason that consumers are seeking out individuals who can create content that accurately reflects the characteristics of a certain individual. Establishing your own unique brand identity can help customers pick your business (and you) above the competition.

The best marketing channels for growing your personal brand

Now that you understand what personal branding is and why it is important, let’s focus on what tactics you can employ to grow your personal brand. Hiring a web design company NYC to build a great website for you is just a start so here are the most important marketing channels you should focus on.

Use social media to grow awareness

Social media is often cited as a top marketing strategy. There’s a common misconception that social media marketing is a breeze to run and expand. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

With careful planning, social media may become a potent instrument for advancing one’s own reputation. However, it’s not as simple as spamming your network with links to articles on Twitter or LinkedIn. Therefore, consider what content your audience will benefit from, how can you position yourself in your field using your feed, and how the social media presence of your company’s brand look. Consistency is key so once you’ve “found your voice”, make sure to maintain uniformity in your brand voice, content, and posting frequency.

Newsletters can add value

Once you’ve established your brand’s identity and are looking to foster a more meaningful relationship with your audience, newsletters are an excellent marketing tool to employ. It’s important to consider your email subscribers’ points of entry and establish a logical progression before sending out any content. In order to avoid any doubt about the origin of your newsletter, it is important to have the same branding, messaging, and identity as your website.

You may add extra value to what you’re offering your subscribers by using newsletters. Deepen the discussion of blog pieces by providing additional information, advice, insider info, exclusive offers, and other goodies. Don’t make promoting your service the focus of your newsletter, but feel free to mention it in passing (or offer your service later on). Whitepapers, manuals, reports, webinars, etc. are all excellent ways to demonstrate your company’s dedication to giving value. If you’re a beginner, Substack is a great platform to start. On the other hand, if you already have experience, we highly recommend trying ActiveCampaign.

Get in touch with your audience through podcast

Podcasts have become increasingly popular as a means for individuals to spread their namesake products and services as the popularity of audio material rises. Because of the personal nature of podcasts, they are a powerful tool for increasing exposure to and interest in a business. Many podcasters have established trustworthy relationships with their listeners, resulting in a loyal following.

Podcasting is a more involved process than other forms of content distribution like social media or email newsletters, but that’s for good reason. As your podcast grows in popularity and your audience expands, you can transform it into a second source of income by including monetization tactics like advertising, swag sales, and patronage sites like Patreon into your show. Your podcast should center on a subject in which you are well-versed and at ease. Perhaps it is copywriting, internet advertising, or building design…. the possibilities are virtually limitless.

The bottom line

We hope our article helped you understand what personal branding is and how to use it to make the most of your online presence. In today’s world, our digital footprint is as important as what we show in person so by growing your personal brand, you will make sure your target audience (and wider) know who you are.