How to make a personal brand?

The concept of "personal brand" in many ways is similar to the term "reputation". What does it mean? In simple words, this is how people perceive you as a person, an entrepreneur, a representative of a social movement or a certain organization, the bearer of any goals. Are you an expert? Genius? Can I trust you? What ideas do you advocate? Whom do you represent? What associations and thoughts do people have when pronouncing your name? If you own a personal brand, then everyone will know you. People are aware of what you are offering and what you are working on. In this article, we'll figure out how to create a personal brand.

Work on the image. Popularity at any cost

Sometimes overcoming an unpleasant situation can create a reputation for a strong person. But in most cases everything will end with a ruined image. It is always worth remembering that people should take you seriously, and a "soiled" reputation will greatly impede this. Do not do bad things just to attract attention. This will not help make a personal brand successful. If you are in a similar situation, then take all necessary measures to correct it. As practice shows, when leveling out the consequences of bad glory, people only gained more confidence.

Core Values

In the process of creating a personal brand, it is important to determine how customers and customers should perceive you. Think every detail. After all, a person's personal brand is a collection of emotions, words and thoughts of other people that form your final image in their heads. And then everything will depend on how you act in society. Well, this process is easy to control. Just select the image and act according to its behavioral patterns. The most elementary thing that can be brought to people is moral values. Therefore, it is worth starting with them.

Become the best

If you sell expensive paintings, then you need to be the one for whom they recognize the right to explain to clients all the nuances of this direction. If you provide design services, then you must submit yourself as a talented specialist. Any good brand implies the availability of professionalism and experience. So, the company "Nike" positions itself as an expert in the field of creating fashionable and high-quality sportswear. A good example of a personal brand is Jeremy Clarkson (presenter of Top Gear). He knows a lot about cars. Even if you do not have plans to promote and advertise your own services, you still need to create the impression of expertise.

Be constantly trained and watch for changes in the chosen field. Especially if you work online. None of the areas is developing as fast as this. Therefore, if you stop developing and take a break for several months, then your competence will be lost.

Unique image

In fact, personal branding is selling people to oneself. Therefore, it is very important to think carefully about how you are serving yourself. It is necessary to model a recognizable image that would be easily remembered even for strangers. At the same time, its uniqueness is important. But this does not mean that you need to collect a team and brainstorm to discuss how to stand out among the crowd. Just be yourself, do not copy others, and everything will turn out automatically, and the promotion of the personal brand will go faster.

Communication with people. Constantly communicate and be open

In this age of high technologies, social networks should be adopted. Let people look into your life. Even if this is not the main means of communication. But you will give them the opportunity to be closer to you. Only use the same name everywhere. So it will be easier for people to find you. Well, tell me about your skills and interests in detail.

Personal site

It's a great way to tell people about you and your projects. They respect the biography and appreciate the quality of the work by looking at the portfolio. This way you can develop a personal brand. Therefore, you need to make a presentable site and update it regularly. Make sure that every aspect is thoroughly worked out. Be sure to add a section about the latest projects and works, about the services provided and about the results achieved.

Blog

Some people start creating a personal brand with its discovery. Blog - this is one of the most popular ways used in the professional world to claim about yourself. It's very easy to configure. There are a lot of free hosting for opening blogs and the most popular of them is "Wordpress.com". There are other platforms on which you can open your page without investing funds. For example, "Blogger.com".

But it is not enough to simply maintain your own page. To promote the personal brand was a fast pace, you need to actively engage readers and offer them various ideas for improving it. This will help in attracting even more visitors. Well, show your activity. Offer readers a discussion of new topics and participate in discussions. Your answers should be professional, so that users understand the seriousness and relevance of the blog.

Regularly make friends

Do this every day. Try to get to know the maximum possible number of people. Also, you should think about what new friends can do for you, and what you can do for them. Just make friends who are really worth something. And when you need the help of a professional, then the right person will be at hand.

It is necessary to learn about people as much as possible: details of the biography, full names, etc. Thanks to this they will see in you a friendly, not indifferent and serious person. And, the more you remember about specific people, the more impressed by them in personal communication. Your good friends, with whom you are in close contact, will tell you about them to your friends. Thus, it is possible to significantly strengthen the personal brand.

Find "allies"

It can be public people, public figures, stars, etc. In general, media people whose audience is similar to yours. It is necessary to get into the circle of their communication. Follow the pages of media people in social networks, comment on publications, and if necessary, necessarily offer assistance. If one of them is blogging, then write a guest post (only he must be sincere and really good!). These people can learn a lot. In addition, they can give an excellent recommendation to you or your product simply by making a repost. Thus thousands of people will know about you.

But even in this matter moderation is important. Do not bother or ask for more services if you yourself have done a little. Do not bend the stick and do good, then the "allies" will remember you exactly. But it is worth considering this process as a long-term one. For a couple of weeks, few people can make friends with famous people. As a rule, this process lasts for months, or even years. Communication itself should be non-aggressive. In blogs of "allies" it is not necessary to write things that require an answer in the comments. For this, there is "Twitter" and e-mail.

Communicate without direct contact

If you are physically unable to respond to all messages received from your audience, then you should tell about it on your main page (along with apologies). After all, the surest way to induce negative people is to disappoint them. Well, if you explained everything in advance and apologized, then they will not be offended. In order not to respond to similar questions many times, it is worth starting a FAQ on your site and giving a link to all those who wrote it.

Take photos and videos

A person needs to feel as if he has known you for a long time. This is especially true for business on the Internet. Such an impression is created only when a person can see you. You can implement it with the help of video and photos. Put on the avatar of your profiles in social networks the most successful shot. It is not out of place to take advantage of the help of a professional photographer. Spread the video on "Youtube", where you share future plans or talk about the nuances of professional activity. This way you will enter the personal space of your viewers.

Success in the long run. Content Creation

A strong personal brand can not be used one hundred percent if you do not add something interesting: a useful application, an interesting blog, high-quality services, etc. But to create such content it will take approximately the same time as to establish friendship with media persons.

Suggest original ideas

In the chosen field, you must be active. You need to be innovative, make some contribution, constantly change. If you do not, then your personal brand will eventually sink into oblivion. Find out what can be changed in the chosen area for the better. But here is an important point. This should be exactly the innovation.

Speak

We need to use every opportunity to speak out publicly. Take the initiative at different meetings and discussions. Do not hesitate to express your own opinion. After all, people want you not only to see, but also to hear. Actively participate in the events that take place in your life and in the world. It is worth listening to and respecting the opinions of other people. Then they will feel involved in your success.

Maintain the brand's relevance

It's unlikely that any media person would want people to think of him as repetitive, boring, one-off, and outdated. And no matter how good its content at the moment. If you do not work on the quality of the material, do not add something modern, do not accept new challenges, then the spectator interest will gradually fade. It is impossible to constantly use the same idea. Regularly add new layers to your image.

Aim for a long distance

It is worth considering the construction of a personal brand as a long-term investment. It is possible that he will live longer than his master. While your business projects fade or make a profit, a personal brand exists always and gives extra value to any undertaking. If people feel involvement in it, they will always follow your activities. That is, a personal brand gives some guarantee that in the event of a crisis you do not have to start from scratch.

Advice

To succeed, it does not have to be the best in everything and at once. There are top bloggers and people who have a rather weak personal brand (in terms of the number of their own audience). The most frequent reasons for this are the arrogant manner of communication and the transparency of their motives (a frank desire to make money on viewers). On the other hand, there are many people with a strong brand, which is several times higher than their own projects. At the same time, the audience can be quite small. In this case, the personal brand will be an excellent launching pad for growth and development.

Edit Warnings

You should never be a hypocrite. Avoid actions that run counter to the values being promoted and that are contrary to your image. Do not advertise your professional failures. Dips in other areas are normal. After all, there you do not pretend to be an expert. And here it is worthwhile to think in advance what kind of failures can be shared, and what are not. An exception may be a mistake made public. If this happens, you should not avoid an answer. So you can be a liar. It's best to tell your audience honestly. Let people find out about the mistake from you, and not from hostile third parties.

Avoid exaggeration during self-presentation. Do not be intrusive and vain. Remember: you should not praise yourself, but other people. Promotion of a personal brand should go slowly and confidently. Excessive assertiveness and aggressiveness can expose you as an egoist and do not go for good. Between your own progress and boasting there is a very fine line, it is not worth it to cross.