Personal branding: the importance of personal branding
In this blog, I'll be looking at personal branding and how you can use it to improve your digital marketing.
The importance of personal branding
How to use social media for personal branding
Good examples of using social media for personal branding
‘The process of personal branding involves finding your uniqueness, building a reputation on the things you want to be known for, and then allowing yourself to be known for them.’ (Stelzner, 2019)
A personal brand is to showcase who you are, what problems you can solve and your expertise. It will draw people to want to work with you.
The importance of personal branding
‘A strong personal brand will lead to a multitude of opportunities, including:
Job interviews.
Internships.
Speaking engagements.
Networking opportunities.
Promotions.
Partnerships.
More.’ (Heitzman, 2019)
Personal branding makes you stand out from the crowd, will get you noticed and will bring you work.
Stelzner (2019) states it is important to define a clear message.
‘The narrower and more focused your brand is, the easier it is for people to remember who you are.’ (Chan, 2018)
Chen (2017) advises that you ask your friends and industry colleagues what five words they associate with you. Then set Personal Branding Goals and think about what you want to be known for?
How to use social media for personal branding
‘Create a logo and theme for yourself and keep it consistent throughout all your social media profiles.’ (Heitzman, 2019)
‘Profile consistency: Profile photo, bio, cover photos and website links are all similar.
Overall look: Colours, fonts and style are all similar.
Social media handles: If possible, make sure all of your social media handles are the same.’ (Chen, 2017)
‘Use social media to tell your story and promote your personal brand. One of the best ways to tell that story is through written content or video.’ (Chan, 2018)
Your content on social media will amplify who you are through:
Posts linking to your blog
Posts of interesting images
Testimonies
Engaging posts – polls, challenges, asking for opinions and insights
Short videos
Podcasts.
Share content that reflects your brand and engages with your target audience on a relevant topic.
Good examples of using social media for personal branding
Figure 1. Ajayi, L. (2021a) Twitter page [screenshot]
‘Luvvie Ajayi (Ajayi, 2021a and 2021b, see Figures 1 and 2) is her own brand. With the power of personal branding and professional services, her career has skyrocketed to most recently, a book deal. You’ll be able to see from all of her online personas that she has her personal branding locked down.’ (Chen, 2017)
Figure 2. Ajayi, L. (2021b) Website [screenshot]
Figure 3. Fogarty, M. (2021a) Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing [photograph]
Grammar Girl (Fogarty, 2021a and 2021b, see Figures 3 and 4) has a clearly defined personal brand promoted throughout all of her social media, podcasts and YouTube channel. She has grown from strength to strength extending her presence on social media and consistently portraying her brand. Opportunities have continued to open for her including book deals, television and radio appearances.
Figure 4. Fogarty, M. (2021b) Website [screenshot]
So clearly define your personal brand, be consistent across social media, promote your content and see what doors open for you.
I am a freelance proofreader and a qualified teacher with a love of learning. Thank you for reading 'Personal branding: the importance of personal branding'. Want to find more out about inbound marketing?
Check out my blog "Inbound marketing: how Waterstones and Foyles use inbound marketing to sell books" on my website www.alisonproofreader.com, or say hello on Twitter at @alisonproofread, or Instagram at @alisonproofreader, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.
References
Ajayi, L. (2021a) ‘Twitter page’ [screenshot] in @Luvvie. Available at: https://twitter.com/Luvvieref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor [Accessed 26 January 2021]
Ajayi, L. (2021b) ‘Website’ [screenshot] in luvvie.org. Available at: https://luvvie.org/
[Accessed 26 January 2021]
Chan, G. (2018) ’10 Golden Rules of Personal Branding’ Forbes [Online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-branding/?sh=7cea9f9a58a7 [Accessed 21 January 2021]
Chen, J. (2017) ‘The Ultimate Guide to Personal Branding’ Sprout Social [Online] Available at: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/personal-branding/ [Accessed 21 January 2021]
Fogarty, M. (2021a) ‘Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing’ [photograph] in Amazon.com. Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Grammar-Girls-Quick-Better-Writing/dp/B001CMONXK [Accessed 26 January 2021]
Fogarty, M. (2021b) ‘Website’ [screenshot] in quickanddirtytips.com. Available at: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl [Accessed 26 January 2021]
Heitzman, A. (2019) ‘What is Personal Branding & 4 Reasons Why It’s Important’ Search Engine Journal [Online] Available at: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-personal-branding-why-important/327367/#close [Accessed 20 January 2021]
Stelzner, M. (2019) ‘Personal Branding: How to successfully build your brand’ Social Media Examiner [Online] Available at: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/personal-branding-how-to-successfully-build-brand-rory-vaden/ [Accessed 20 January 2021]
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