Why should everyone have a Personal Brand?

Gist of the article:

What is Personal Branding & why do we need it?
Personal branding for Students & Freelancers
Personal branding for Business Owners & Partners of Firm
Personal branding for Employees
How to start building a personal brand?

What is Personal Branding?

Personal Branding is a conscious effort to create a public perception of an individual by positioning one as an authority in their respective industry, elevating credibility of self and differentiating themselves from the competition. It’s the best way to get organic traffic to your business/agency/freelancing business.

For a strong personal brand you need to deliver continuous valuable content related to your niche to your audience through your social media posts and blogs on your website. When the audience looks at your content they must feel that you are actually an expert in your field, that must pop out in your content delivery.

Why do we need Personal Branding?

At first the audience don’t relate to you as a person but they relate to your “content” which will be useful to them. When you deliver that value regularly to them, then they start relating to you and a connection is built. When the audience starts connecting with you, your strong personal brand is created and with that your authority is built that becomes a strong foundation for your freelancing, business, agency, employment opportunities.

You can build a personal brand through your own website and social media handles. When a personal branding topic comes up, a website is a very important thing to consider. You start building your brand with social media as it’s the easiest and fastest way to do it but with time focus on your personal website as it’s the most valuable precious digital asset you would create.

Personal Branding is very important for every person no matter if you are a business owner or a partner in a firm, freelancer or an employee or a student.

How to build a personal brand for each category?

Personal Branding for Students:
The best way to differentiate yourself from others is to build a strong personal brand as a student. It helps you market yourself as per your skillset, build your confidence and scale your network with like-minded people. When you start your personal branding at an early stage you reap the benefits of standing out from your peers. Your personal branding practice builds your tone, your message delivery ethics, content delivery and overall strong image as an individual. This helps you in the future job market or if you want to start freelancing or your own business.

Personal Branding for Business Owners: If you are a business owner along with your business brand it’s necessary to build your personal brand because you present yourself and your business through your personal brand. People connect to people more than a business entity. When you as a business owner deliver your thoughts, your messages and your ideas to the audience, people start connecting with you and your business brand also within a less time. Strong personal brand helps a business’s brand to grow and business to flourish in a short time if you are a start-up or a small business owner. For a huge established business, personal brand helps in a way that people connect to the owner personally and customer loyalty is maintained.

Personal Branding for Freelancers: Personal brand is very important for freelancers to generate continuous leads and quality clients. As a freelancer when you deliver quality content related to your niche regularly, people become aware of your work, what you do, what you can deliver to them and that you are an expert in your field. Your credibility increases and people approach you directly and you get quality clients to work with.

Personal Branding for Partners of Firm: Personal branding works in the same way for partners of a partnership firm as for business owners. When multiple partners create their personal brands individually, the overall firm’s brand is uplifted and in turn business grows as different audiences are connected with different partners and ultimately they are connected to the business. The firm gets the benefits of each partner’s individual personal brand and makes it successful in the long run.

Personal Branding for Employees: When employees build their personal brand it becomes an asset for them while working in the company as well when they want to switch jobs. A personal brand helps you be recognized as an individual other than the company you work in and defines your credibility and expertise as an individual. Your personal brand is very helpful when you want to create your identity. With this you deliver your thoughts, ideas and value to the people which separates you from your colleagues.

How do you start to build a personal brand?

Discover a topic of your interest which you believe you have a lot of knowledge about and also keen in learning further also. Start creating and posting content around it on social platforms. Written posts, videos whichever you prefer.

You can choose any platform but I recommend using LinkedIn too to build professional relationships and get known in the professional market. And with time you can also do it through your own website which is initially free and not very tough to build.

For social media platforms, build connections with people who have similar interests and also engage with their posts.
It’s as simple as that.
So don’t wait any further & start it today!