Creating a personal brand can feel overwhelming and intimidating. It’s very easy to get lost when you don’t know where to start. Even someone as iconic as Oprah Winfrey started her career with various roles on a small local show before developing one of the most influential personal brands globally.
In today's job market and entrepreneurial landscape, it's essential to differentiate yourself and stand out due to the cultural shift that emphasizes uniqueness. Everyone can benefit from personal branding.
10 golden rules for effective personal branding
1. Focus on a Specific Niche
“Too many people are unfocused when it comes to press and coverage, trying to be "everything to everyone." Decide what your key message is and stick to it," says Klickly's founder and CEO, Cooper Harris. Her personal brand has changed dramatically from a working actress to a respected tech entrepreneur. She has navigated this shift by focusing on one message for each project. Keeping your message focused on your target audience will make it easier for you to create content around your personal brand and for others to identify who you are.
Choose a niche for yourself, then select a more specific speciality within that niche. The best personal brands are precise and clear. Ensure that your message and content align with your speciality so you stand out among your target audience. The more specialized and focused your brand is, the easier it will be for people to remember you. When choosing a speaker or hiring a new employee, your specialized brand will be at the top of your clients' minds.
2. Authenticity
Being truthful with yourself and others is an easy way to develop an authentic personal brand. Authenticity is essential, as the audience can easily detect any inauthenticity or dishonesty. The public will undoubtedly detect when a brand is just a copy. Therefore, genuine and deep communication with your audience will make your brand grow and thrive.
Managing your brand will be much easier when you are honest with yourself. Your brand is your guide for creating content and engaging with your audience. Also, being an expert in your field is crucial before you start personal branding. This will enhance your content, voice, reputation, and popularity.
3. Storytelling
You risk losing at least half of your potential audience if your brand isn’t telling a story. Creating a genuine and impactful story is one of the best modern personal branding strategies. Traditional promotion has become boring, especially in the branding industry; no one wants to see you promote your brand in the typical way that only focuses on product features. You must tell a compelling story about your brand that your audience can engage with. Therefore, you should connect with your audience genuinely to strengthen your brand and win over more hearts.
Using written or video content is one of the best ways to tell your story. Online communication is particularly effective when done via video. You can simply use your smartphone to record videos and send them to your clients, connecting with colleagues. Your smartphone is always at hand, making it a powerful and effective tool for building and enhancing your personal brand.
4. Consistency
Maintaining consistency is similar to focusing on a clear and precise speciality. It is much easier for people to recognize you when you create consistent content revolving around that speciality. Also, it is essential to uphold your brand promise and consistency offline and online. Your message content, appearance, and communication should all be consistent. Be aware because small inconsistencies can harm your brand's attractiveness and efficacy.
Creatively, you can give your brand a standout visual component or an exclusive personal feature—something that people will recognize as being entirely yours. For example, you could repeat a catchy phrase at the end of each video or use a memorable logo or any other element that people can fall in love with and connect to. These unique elements make your brand more appealing and distinctive. Therefore, consistency is key to a brand’s success and uniqueness, whether it’s an entertainment or a professional one.
5. Preparing for Failure
Failure is difficult, and our human instinct usually drives us to avoid it. However, you have to accept failure and grow from it if you want your personal brand to be exceptional. Businessman Walt Disney often spoke about this, recalling his early failed attempts to create an animation brand. He said, "I think it’s important to have a good hard failure when you’re young. I learned a lot from that. Because it makes you aware of what can happen to you." What can happen is not as scary as never trying at all.
You cannot build a successful brand without facing multiple failures while pushing your comfort zone’s boundaries. Brand success is not dependent on immediate excellence but rather on experience, failure, and repeated mistakes.
6. Creating a Positive Impact
There are two primary strategies to maintain your personal brand after it has been established over time: either grow steadily by creating a supportive community or ignore others and miss out on collaboration opportunities. Remember that you are your brand, regardless of your job, project, or current priorities. Always strive to make the world a better place, and remember that your brand is reflected in your reputation.
Maintaining a positive attitude and helping others are crucial for your brand’s long-term growth and enhancement.
7. Following a Successful Role Model
“People interested in personal branding need to start marketing themselves like the celebrities and influential people that they look up to every day,” says Wonghaus Ventures CEO Jason Wong. His personal brand has gained widespread recognition several times on topics such as ice cream in Japan, inflatable pool toys, and viral memes, earning him the title of Meme King. His ability to creatively apply trends and well-known figures from various social media platforms was one of the factors contributing to his success. So, you can learn how to creatively interpret analytics on social media and identify the next big trend if you focus your attention on all platforms rather than just one.
8. Living Your Brand
Personal branding is difficult when you separate your brand from your personal life. It is easier to create a personal brand when your lifestyle aligns with your brand.
Your brand should reflect your personality and values, accompanying you wherever you go. This means that your brand represents your job, field of work, values, and morals, such as giving back, wise leadership, and mentoring.
9. Encouraging Others to Tell Your Story
Word-of-mouth referrals generate the best public relations, and a personal brand in the public sphere is no exception to this rule. Shopify Plus’s Editor-in-chief Aaron Orendorff uses colorful videos and special guest hosts to share his personal story, leaving a lasting impression on his audience. They can remember his bright outfits and animal friendships, connecting these story elements to their interpretation of his brand. "Personal branding is the story people tell about you when you're not in the room," he says so beautifully.
10. Leaving a Legacy for Future Generations
Once you’ve built a credible personal brand supported by your audience, you should consider the legacy you want to leave behind. Focus on the words and actions you want to be remembered for, and prioritize leaving a legacy for future generations.
In Conclusion
Personal branding is a constant, dynamic project that takes time to develop. There are no set rules for personal branding, as experts who create the biggest brands in the world know. Still, this article’s golden rules offer a good starting point, particularly when starting a new brand or rebranding.
Successful personal branding will help you gain recognition in your field, secure job opportunities consistently, and become an influential figure whose presence and impact are valued by others.
