Consumers today buy brands, not just products or services. If you fail to build a trusted and beloved personal brand that is clearly defined and expressed, you will not be successful in the long term. As Antonia Hock, former Global Head of The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, explained:
“Consumers today want to have a meaningful connection to the brands that they endorse. This means that they are proud to be affiliated with your brand, they stand for the same things you stand for, and that there is a deep connectedness to the way that they experience your brand.
Here are five ways to create a personal brand that connects with and attracts your ideal customers based on our experience helping entrepreneurs & experts build their personal brand.
1. Remember Where You Came From
Your personal life largely defines you and many things about you. You can use and project these unique experiences to attract ideal customers because people connect human to human. The way you grew up often dictates your direction in business. For example, being raised in small towns where everybody knows everybody could shape how you appreciate relationships and the pride you take in everything you do.
2. Begin With a Brand Identifier
A brand identifier is a tagline or slogan that serves as the hook to get people to instantly take notice of what you stand for. Think of your personal brand as an entire book; your brand identifier is the book’s cover. You can’t put all your information on the book’s cover, but the title needs to be catchy enough to get people interested in opening the book.
3. Be BOLD in Your Approach
There’s only one you, so stop comparing yourself to everybody else if you want to create a trusted and believable brand. Your brand has to be authentic. Be confident and proud of what you stand for. People often ask for other people’s branding examples, but trying to emulate other people’s brands won’t help differentiate you. It doesn’t matter what anyone else’s brand looks like or what anyone else stands for. What matters is communicating who you are and what you stand for.
4. Define, Develop & Display
That is BrandFace’s 3-D Formula for personal brand building that attracts and converts more. It’s not enough to know your brand and what you stand for. You have to be thoughtful and thorough about putting it all together, so everyone else knows how that will help to make their life better.
Keep in mind the difference between branding and marketing. A lot of people miss this. Marketing uses various channels to get your message and image out to your prospects wherever they reside. Your brand is what you market. Your brand is the message and image conveyed on those marketing channels. Once you understand that difference, you can start working on your brand.
No one knows what sets you apart if your brand isn’t put together. Without a properly defined, developed, and displayed brand, you waste time, effort, and money on your marketing.
5. Unveil Your Inner Star
Everybody has star power inside them. Going through a personal branding process brings that out into the open. You know that many people are shy about putting themselves out there because they view that as an egotistical thing. You must change your perspective to unveil your inner star and succeed. Your personal brand should not focus on, “Look at me! Look at me!” It should focus on “Look at what I can do for you” and have that portrayed to your customers.
The Takeaway
Your personal brand is about building your identity, what you stand for, and who you are perceived across your industry. A strong brand helps you connect with your customers. The stronger the connection, the stronger the relationship will be. That translates to loyal customers who will continually buy from you because they believe in who you are and what you stand for.
Need some help with your personal brand building? Join us inside our free Facebook Group to learn how to position & present yourself and your offers differently in order to maximize your time and dramatically increase profits.
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BrandFace LLC is a personal branding firm for coaches, consultants and other experts who want to STAND OUT from their competition and attract their ideal customers so they can become recognized and sought after authorities in their space. Tonya Eberhart & Michael Carr are the partners behind BrandFace. Their mantra is, “People don’t do business with a logo. They do business with a person.”