As entrepreneurs, you lovingly set up your business and invest a lot of time and effort in scaling it. But what is it that makes your business unique? Effective marketing strategies can set you apart from rest of your competitors and boost your company’s sales. But have you ever thought about building your personal brand to create a greater impact on people? As Seth Godin says, "Don’t be different to be different, be different to be better." Your business should be unique in a way that it can positively impact the lives of people. And for that you need to connect with your audience on a more personal level. You can do that using personal branding.
Personal branding is the process of marketing yourself to connect with your target audience. It is indeed a very powerful tool which helps you secure your business and improve your client reach. A strong personal branding can also establish you as an industrial expert in your field.
Here are 5 tips to create a brand called ‘you’.
As Seth Godin says, "Don’t be different to be different, be different to be better." Your business should be unique in a way that it can positively impact the lives of people. And for that you need to connect with your audience on a more personal level.
Here are 5 tips to create a brand called ‘you’.
1. Define who you are
As mentioned earlier, it is crucial that people know who you are. What line of work are you associated with? Do you consider yourself a marketing guru or a small business expert? What do you do in your free time? Are you learning a new skill? Putting down these and similar details about yourself on a personalised website will help people get a better insight into your personality. You can also participate in various business engagements or start writing a blog about yourself. .
2. Spin a beautiful story
All those successful companies and brands we love have beautiful stories to tell. People are always curious to know more about your life. You can pen down the story of your initial struggles and your journey into becoming what you are today. Who do you look up to as your inspiration and what did you learn along this journey? Write about your experiences and start publishing them in the form of blogs or on your social media handles. You can even write on trending topics related to your business. Take the example of Dharmesh Shah, CTO of Hubspot. His blog covers a wide range of topics on startups. Being an entrepreneur himself, his genuine passion and interest shines through his writing. Trust us when we say that this practice will gradually make you a known face amongst like-minded people and will help you grow your network and eventually your business.
3. Understand how you are adding value to the system
Writing blogs and publishing your thoughts on social media platforms will only work in your favor if you understand the value you are providing to others. Blowing your own trumpet without any real credibility can impact your business negatively. People believe in a person because their work speaks for themselves. A classic example of this is Marie Forleo, an entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist. Her website speaks volumes about her brand and vision. Her web show Marie TV is equally popular with her fans. Another example is that of Ankur Warikoo. He is an internet entrepreneur, motivational speaker and an angel investor. He co-founded the company Nearby and Littleapp which was previously known as Groupon. His TEDx talks are so relatable because he talks about his problems, experiences, solutions and photography, things which he is passionate about.
4. Live your brand
Implement the brand you have created in your every day life as well. As famously said, “practice what you preach”, never shy away from following your thoughts and ideals in your daily life as well. For you never know, the next person you meet might become a prospective client!
5. Be consistent
While the above points will help you create a strong personalised brand for yourself, being consistent will bear the real fruit of your hard work. As mentioned earlier, creating a personal brand is a slow evolutionary process. Stick by the right means and you will surely see the results of your arduous efforts.
Below are some classic examples of personal branding we all can take a lesson or two from:
- Neil Patel: He was recognised as top 100 entrepreneurs under 30 by Barrack Obama. With a world of digital marketing knowledge up his sleeves, he has managed to capture his audience with his creative blogs and ideas. A very small but a significant thing that sets him apart from the rest of the crowd is, he takes the sincere effort to reply to every comment on his blog!
- Elon Musk: His approach to branding goes on to show that personal branding can beat company branding. He has successfully tied his face to his brand ‘Tesla Motors’ and the fact that he doesn’t shy away from engaging in conversations and discussions on social media has led to the immense popularity of the brand.
- Lewis Howes: A professional athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur, he inspires others using his own personal story. His podcast ‘School of Greatness’ has attracted many viewers and inspired many. The thing to learn here? Build a business around what you love doing the most. It would come effortlessly to you.
- Varun Agarwal: This entrepreneur, storyteller and public speaker runs AlmaMater, an online store for personalized college merchandise. He gathered his experience of running a company into a book ‘How I braved Anu aunty and co-founded a million dollar company’ which went on to become a huge hit. Added to that is his social media presence that helped him create a strong personal branding. Here is his website.
These amazing entrepreneurs have been in the game for a long time now. But building a strong profitable personal brand is not a sprint or something that you can do and achieve overnight. It takes time, patience and passion for what you do in order to become an expert in your respective field. It is an ongoing evolving process.
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