Building your personal brand online is important for all business professionals because you are investing in an asset that lasts for a lifetime. Building a strong online brand for yourself isn’t rocket science – it just takes some time to consider what you want to achieve and build a plan to achieve it.
The best part is that a strong personal brand can generate new clients, job opportunities, business development deals, speaking engagements, book deals and more.
If you are a professional (or anyone really)– this is definitely worth the investment.
How to Build a Personal Brand Online
1. Why?
The first step is to start with why – why are you creating a personal brand. What do you want it to deliver for you? Who should it reach? Start with WHY and the rest of your branding decisions will become more obvious. If you aren’t sure what you want to achieve, it will be very difficult to create a consistent brand.
2. What do People Think about You?
How do other people currently perceive you? What do they think sets you apart? What do people like about you? What are your strengths? Seeing ourselves through the eyes of others can be vital in the discovery process and help us to learn more about our strengths and unique attributes.
3. Explore and Discover Yourself
Spend time really thinking about yourself. What does set you apart? What experiences do you have that make you unique? What character traits or attributes help you to be successful? Identify your core strengths that separate you from others. Establish the parts of your experience that you want to share with others.
4. Build a Powerful Brand Mission and Mantra
One you know what your brand is about, package it in a meaningful way. Establish your brand mission & mantra – what are you all about? A mission helps you to create something that others can get behind. Your mantra summarizes what you are all about. Think of this as your elevator pitch.
5. Create the Foundations of a Powerful Brand
Establish the assets that you need for your brand to be successful. These may be real life assets or online assets, like a logo. Build the design elements so that you know what your brand looks and feels like so that you can consistently deliver it.
6. Bring the brand To Life Online & Offline
Finally, bring your brand to life. You may need to test and learn as you discover the parts of your brand message that stand out the most with people. Bring your brand to life consistently by your physical appearance, how you carry yourself and how you present yourself online. Consistency is key.
