Personal branding is one of the strategies you can use to expose your business to a wide range of audiences. A strong personal brand differentiates your business in a competitive market and helps build trust with your audience. Your personal brand reflects who you are as an entrepreneur. So, in this article, you will learn how to develop your personal branding online.
If you have a strong personal brand online, you are more likely to be successful. That’s because your personal brand is your marketing masterpiece. And it tells people all they need to know about you at a glance, including your area of expertise.
You still don’t understand what personal branding means?
Alright, let’s do a little exercise…
Search your name on Google right now and tell me what you are seeing? Do you like what you see? Well, that’s your personal branding online.
Whether you like it or not, these results are the first impression people will have about you when they search your name online.
So, you need to be consistent with the information you are sharing online about yourself. That’s the best way to develop your personal branding online.
Interestingly, you can decide to control the narrative of your online reputation, or you allow it to take on its own life. If you opt for the latter, we both know that there may be consequences.
Read Also: Searching for a Brand Name? Check out these 12 Free Brand Name Generators
According to Jeff Bezos, your personal branding is what other people say about you when you are not in the room. Whether you are a job seeker or an entrepreneur, your personal brand will always pave the way for new opportunities.
Without further ado, here are some tips on how to develop your personal branding online;
#1. Identify What Makes You Unique and Emphasize It
One of the tips on how to develop your personal branding online is to identify what makes you unique.
Every entrepreneur has what makes them unique. Try to identify your uniqueness and emphasize it consistently throughout all social media platforms.
Your uniqueness could be in your upbringing, the hardship you faced, the failures you have experienced, etc.
Try to identify what makes you unique, point it out, and highlight it. It will help you build a strong personal brand both online and offline.
For instance, Elon Musk had a challenging journey as an entrepreneur. His perseverance, despite the many hurdles in his journey, is one of the things that make him unique.
When he was working on his SpaceX project, Elon Musk approached Russians twice to sell him a rocket to send mice and plants to space. But they refused. He remained positive and explored other options.
Similarly, he launched his space rockets three times consecutively, and they all failed. But he became successful on the fourth attempt. And that got him a 1.6 billion dollar contract from NASA.
You see, Elon Musk’s story pointed out that he consistently stayed positive even in the face of adversity. And that helped him to create a personal brand for himself both online and offline.
So, it’s important to identify what’s unique and constantly highlight it across several social media platforms.
#2. Continuously Educate People
One of the best tips on how to develop your personal branding online is to educate people in your niche. Educating people can easily make you a thought-leader or an influencer in your niche.
Whatever industry you are operating in, try to educate people through Youtube videos or content writing. Within a short while, you will become a thought-leader or influential leader in your niche.
Ensure that whatever content you are producing for your audience either solves a problem or provides an answer to their question.
For instance, personalities like Neil Patel and Brian Dean are thought leaders in the Digital Marketing space. They have written articles and created several videos on almost every topic in the digital marketing space.
These people have been able to create a strong personal brand for themselves online. And their audience knows them as experts in digital marketing and SEO practices.
Funny enough, Neil Patel and Brian Dean didn’t build their personal brand overnight. It took them years of hard work and consistent effort.
If you are experienced in a particular area, try educating people on it. With consistent effort, you may be able to establish a personal brand for yourself in no time.
#3. Model Others With Powerful Personal Brands
One of the most effective tips on how to develop your personal branding online is to model influencers and thought-leaders in your niche.
Instead of building your personal brand from scratch, you can model others with great personal brands.
If you are in the digital marketing niche, for instance, you can model Neil Patel and Brian Dean. Learn from their strategies, study what they are doing, and replicate those strategies in your process.
If creating high-quality and thought-provoking articles is the secret behind creating powerful personal brands online, you can implement the same strategy.
#4. Create Your Career Narrative
Every entrepreneur has a story to tell. So, don’t hesitate to tell yours, whenever you have the opportunity. That’s how to develop your personal branding online.
The more personal and inspiring your story is, the more it will get people’s attention. And that is a subtle way to promote your personal brand.
Of course, it’s sometimes challenging to write your story, especially if you aren’t a good writer. But you don’t have to be William Shakespeare to create your career narrative.
If you want to create a personal and emotionally appealing narrative about your journey, ask yourself the following questions;
- What inspires me to embark on this entrepreneurial journey?
- What is my greatest challenge so far?
- Why was I about to give up during my early days?
The answers to these questions will give you enough information to write an appealing narrative about your journey so far.
#5. Use Social Media to Your Advantage
You can’t have strong personal branding online without using social media platforms. These platforms are the lifeline of your personal brand.
Learn to connect with people on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Contribute intelligently to trending topics, and share leadership tips once in a while. With some hard work and some time, you may be able to build a strong personal brand online.
