Are you in the middle of creating a personal brand or thinking of creating one? Are you unsure how much of yourself you should expose?
As a visibility consultant, the personal brand industry is a big part of what I do and I’ve learned quite a bit along the way.
Personal brands can be tricky. It’s a playful dance of how much to share and when to share it. There is apart of you that is afraid to expose your true self, yet you are the very product that you are trying to sell.
Parts of your mind will play tricks on you and wonder if you are attracting your ideal client or pushing them away.
You know that people buy from those that they know, like and trust but yet you’re still on the fence about sharing the inner most parts of yourself.
If you’re revising your current brand or thinking of stepping outside of your comfort zone and going all in with your own personal brand, please keep in mind my 5 key elements below.
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Key Element #1 – Authenticity
Being real is less and less the popular choice these days. We reside in a world full of filtered photos, highlights and celebrations that fill our social media newsfeeds. Rarely do we see the lows or challenges that one is facing. This creates an illusion that we live on a pedestal where life’s downfalls can’t touch us.
We appear to be perfect, which is unrelatable to others.
Once we share our own personal challenges or what we’ve overcome is when others lean in and want to get to know us better. We have their full attention when we share our own personal stories of how we felt defeated or afraid but chose to stand tall anyway.
People want to learn from others that have also overcome challenges. Appearing to have it “all together” is not going to pull people towards you, in fact it’s client repellant.
Example, no one wants weight loss advice from a person that has never been overweight. We want to learn from those that have faced the same giants that we have.
One side tip – share what you’ve overcome, not what you’re currently going through. It creates more credibility.
Key Element #2 – Personality
This is where you get to shine above the noise. Never be afraid to show off your personality. Keep in mind that there is only ONE of you and the more you share, the more we will relate to.
Your personal brand should show your favorite colors, your hobbies and most of all what brings you joy. Your ideal audience is seeking for things to have in common with you.
Those that choose to be bland and very vanilla with their brand are not thinking with an abundant mindset. All you care about is attracting your ideal client or customer. You will pull in the right people to work with by exposing more of yourself ahead of time.
When someone lands on your website or social profiles they should immediately get a sense of the type of person that you are and right then they may decide to take a step closer and book a call with you.
Show off your family or your hobbies, be playful with your brand and stop trying to please everyone and you’ll have more success with rising above the online chaos.
Key Element #3 – Unique
The best way to stand out from the crowd is to share what makes you unique. Often this is accomplished when you share your expertise.
We each come to the table with a unique blend of experiences and skills. Your past background is going to be very different from your competitor. You’re not going to have the exact same portfolio, therefore you should display this with confidence with your branding.
This is where the trust factor comes into play. Show off your accomplishments, what makes you the right person for the job. No different than a resume that you’ve put together for a job interview.
Your ideal client needs to know what dragons you’ve already slayed so that they feel confident when hiring you.
A lot of my clients are public speakers and meeting planners want statistics as to why you’re the ideal expert that they should hire to educate their audience members.
Never be afraid to show off a little, this is the time to shine!
Key Element #4 – Consistency
Is your messaging consistent? When a prospect shops your brand online, what are they seeing?
Are they seeing that all of your messaging, branding, and graphics are the same on all social platforms along with your website or are they getting mixed messages?
Your ideal client may feel very confused if your messaging isn’t consistent. They may also lose trust and confidence in hiring you as well.
If your Facebook profile says that you’re a stay at home mom, and your LinkedIn profile says that you’re a realtor, you may not get very far with your ideal prospect.
What’s even more concerning is that you don’t really have a clue how many prospects you’re losing due to inconsistent messaging as they’ve never gotten to the first step with you.
Always Google your name and take a step back from the outside looking in to make sure you’re not sending mixed messages with your personal branding and services.
Key Element #5 – Visibility & Credibility
This is my favorite element as this is what my agency does for my clients across the globe.
Once you’ve created your personal brand, now it’s time to get it out there. My personal tagline for my business is, “In order to be KNOWN, you have to be SEEN”.
Visibility is telling the world through online marketing strategies that you’re the best person for the job. Some may think that step alone is enough to create all the revenue that they need to be a sustainable business.
Sadly, there is one step that is often overlooked.
Credibility is when our public relations side to our business gets to step up and show the world that a third party also feels that you’re worthy of the spotlight. This could come in the form of media, testimonials and events.
No different than giving recommendations at a job interview. Your ideal client wants to know what others have to say about you as well.
I know that a lot of what I’m recommending can be overwhelming and often daunting, which is why I started up my agency years ago. We take on the heavy lifting of creating your brand and publicizing it to the world with our unique private consulting and VIP catered services.
If you would like to schedule a private consult, please click HERE to apply.