Crafting a Robust Personal Brand in 7 Simple Steps
If customers can’t distinguish you from your competitors, they’ll have no reason to pick your products over the competition.
This means you’ll miss out on sales as potential buyers pass you over for more memorable brands.
While this may sound blunt … the truth is personal branding is crucial.
It’s a chance to craft a compelling story that connects you with your target audience.
If your brand identity could speak, it’d say: “Hey, I align with your values, and I’m here to serve your specific needs.”
But how do you build a personal brand strategy that reaches clients that will stick around for the long run?
Read on to find out.
- What’s Personal Branding and Why Is It Important?
Personal branding is about showing the world who you are, what you do, and what sets you apart.
It’s the story you create around your company so customers connect with and remember your brand.
And it’s pivotal to your success.
Your personal brand framework helps you stand out and convinces potential customers to pick you over your competitors.
The aim is to capture and connect.
You’re creating an aesthetic and narrative that aligns with your target audience.
After all, 82% of customers pick brands that align with their core values.
But what does personal branding really look like?
Here are a few personal branding examples:
- Designing a distinctive logo and visual style so you’re memorable across all platforms
- Showcasing achievements and testimonials to prove your value to your customers
- Creating blog posts that offer educational content to show your industry expertise
- Sharing experiences on social media to highlight your values and purpose
- Posting valuable content to solve your target audience’s key issues
- Determine your communication style, are you humorous or super serious?
These activities show your target audience that your values and purpose align with theirs. This builds trust.
And trust is imperative to driving sales and increasing customer and brand loyalty.
In fact, 91% of business executives say that their ability to build trust directly impacts their bottom line.
And 58% of buyers say they recommend brands they trust to friends and family.
As Audrey Chee-Read, principal analyst at Forrester, explains …
“When a company is trusted, consumers will reward that trust with their wallets. Doing business with a brand is the most popular method by which consumers will honor trusted brands.”
Think of it this way …
Imagine a small consulting firm that isn’t getting any new clients.
So, they decided to focus on a personal branding strategy.
Starting with a blog, they begin to offer valuable content that addresses common problems their prospective clients face.
They share these on LinkedIn and engage with their audience consistently.
Recognizing the importance of keeping their existing clients engaged, the firm also invests in retention marketing strategies, ensuring that current clients feel valued and are more likely to remain loyal.
In just a few months, customer inquiries increased because customers started to recognize the brand as a go-to expert in their industry.
7 Simple Steps to Building a Personal Brand
When you’re building a personal brand, you’re creating meaningful connections with your ideal clients to show what makes you unique.
That’s why the key messages in your content strategy should align with your target market’s values and needs.
With that said …
Here’s how to craft a personal brand that captures soulmate clients — and gives you a competitive edge:
1. Identify Your Unique Value Proposition
Your unique value proposition (UVP) is a clear statement that tells your customers exactly who you are and what you do.
A well-crafted UVP describes your main offer, who it’s for, and how it meets your client’s needs.
It’s a concise, impactful way to highlight why your ideal clients should choose you over others.
To build a UVP, you need to understand your audience’s needs, fears, and desires.
You also need to nail down your product’s benefits, features, and the experience it offers.
Then, build a short statement that clearly states what you offer or do, who it benefits, and how you’ll deliver it.
Take a look at the following example by divorce mediator, The Aurit Center:
Its homepage features a well-defined UVP that says: “Healthy divorce begins here. We help you avoid a harmful court battle and guide you every step of the way.”
Let’s break it down:
- Offer: A healthy way through divorce
- Who’s it for: People who want to avoid court battles
- How they’ll do it: Offering guidance every step of the way
2. Know Your Niche
- You need to know exactly who your ideal audience is and what they need.
- This allows you to focus your messaging and content strategy on attracting the perfect clients. Otherwise, you’ll waste your marketing efforts on those who aren’t a good fit.
So, how do you identify your target audience?
- Create an ideal client profile or buyer personas that outlines their demographics, interests, and pain points
- Use social media and online forums to “listen” to your ideal clients’ conversations and understand their needs
- Conduct market research to understand the types of people that use similar products and services
- Look at your existing clients to understand who benefits most from your services
- Analyze competitors to see who they’re targeting
Let’s look at WealthUp as an example.
Founder and CEO Riley Adams is a licensed CPA and former Senior Financial Analyst at Google.
He uses his expertise to cater to a specific niche: Families looking to manage their finances better.
By understanding his audience, he can directly address their concerns, such as how to choose a family investment account or pick the right teen debit card.
In other words, with a strong UVP and a deep understanding of your niche’s problems and behaviors, you’ll know who to target, what they need, and how they’d best like to hear from you.
3. Craft Your Brand Story
When you tell your brand story, you share your journey with the world. You show your customers who you are and what you stand for.
Using your UVP and target audience profiles, create a story that fosters a personal connection.
A key element of your personal brand strategy, this story should be consistent across all your platforms.
A strong brand story appears in many forms, in all different places, helping weave your experiences, values, and goals into a compelling narrative.
You’ll see a brand’s story:
- During presentations or speaking engagements
- On its website’s “About Me” page
- In sales and marketing materials
- In blog and article introductions
- In social media bios and posts
Take Patagonia, for example.
The founder built the company after feeling dissatisfied with poor-quality climbing equipment.
But the brand’s story extends further than this.
Patagonia positioned itself as an environmental pioneer after the founder became concerned with the environmental impact of climbing and hiking.
This also demonstrates how your brand story can evolve over time. What used to be a climbing brand has now evolved into an eco-friendly supporter.
Now, the brand’s story revolves around providing environmentally friendly, high-quality outdoor gear — backed by eco-conscious corporate social responsibility projects.
4. Design Your Unique Aesthetic
Your style is also key to making your brand memorable.
Make sure your visual identity reflects your values and resonates with your target audience.
This helps buyers recognize and remember your brand every time they see it.
Here are a few of the tangible elements to consider when branding your business:
- Color schemes that align with your core themes and brand message
- A distinctive logo that captures your brand’s style and mission
- Readable fonts that reflect your brand’s personality
- A suitable business name that stands out
Consider using online business tools to help with branding.
For instance, tools like Wordlab can spark inspiration for a captivating business name, while Canva offers resources to craft graphics.
You can also try Tailor Brands AI logo maker to brainstorm logos and other design element ideas.
5. Position Yourself as the Expert
Customers need to see you as the go-to expert in your industry.
So …
Position yourself as the industry leader who has the answers.
By deeply understanding their problems, you can create content that offers solutions. This builds authority and trust.
Demonstrate your expertise by:
- Publishing educational content on your blog or website
- Sharing helpful tips and insights on social media
- Hosting webinars in your field of expertise
- Contributing to industry publications
Take Henry Meds, for instance.
Since Henry Meds advises customers on weight-loss medications like Ozempic, it’s imperative to show its audiences it’s an expert.
Its educational blog explains complex concepts to its audience to unpack and solve their worries.
But the blog doesn’t just showcase the brand’s knowledge. It also cleverly incorporates SEO to enhance visibility as an industry leader.
6. Build and Maintain Your Social Media Presence
Social media is key for spreading brand awareness and cultivating a following.
Identify where your audience consumes content and understand the type of content they engage with.
Use social media analytics to guide your strategy.
Here are a few quick tips to help you build your online presence on social media:
- Post consistent content that aligns with your values and purpose
- Optimize your profiles with a clear bio and links to your website
- Analyze performance data to improve
- Engage regularly with your audience
- Leverage trends and hashtags
- Use meme wherever possible.
- A good example of this is how Windscribe, a free VPN service, uses memes to stories educate the public about privacy and cybersecurity and to fight censorship.
7. Endorse Your Brand with Social Proof
Social proof backs up your brand.
That’s why it’s important to leverage past clients to show new customers how they positively benefited from your services.
This builds trust and credibility.
In fact, half of all buyers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Here are some ways to incorporate social proof into your personal brand strategy:
- Feature user-generated content with videos and photos from clients
- Add testimonials from clients on your website and social media
- Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive online reviews
- Post case studies that highlight your successes
- Highlight awards you’ve received
Wrap up
In short …
People don’t buy products. They buy experiences.
Personal branding is your chance to sell an experience.
You target the right audience with a relatable narrative that shows you align with their beliefs and solve their problems.
But remember, it’s not just about the story you tell. Memorable brands have distinctive aesthetics that stick in a customer’s mind.
This starts with your business name.
Need help picking a winner? Try Wordlab now.
Here’s to your success!