What is personal branding?
In an era of information overload, when consumers turn to trustworthy and inspiring companies, a strong brand is crucial. Your digital reputation can determine your future and help you make a sale, a new connection, or a job transition. For this reason, the idea of personal branding can be considered more important than ever. Self-branding is how you promote yourself online. It is a unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want to share with the world. You can tell your story and see how it reflects your conduct, behavior, and words by differentiating yourself from other people.
In this article, we will introduce you to the five golden rules of branding yourself and give you a free checklist to build a personal brand on Linkedin in 2020.
Why you should consider building a personal brand on LinkedIn
If you want to be considered influential, you need to create a strong personal brand. It will help you stand out from others and demonstrate your knowledge and skills about your areas of expertise. With a growing trend towards influencer marketing and the increasing distrust of advertising by younger generations, it is even more important for business people to build a personal brand. By using LinkedIn for your brand strategy, you can share your knowledge, showcase your experience, build relationships, and stand out from other people.
Personal branding tips for success
Before you start building a personal brand, you need to define what you want to stand for. It requires self-reflection and introspection, which is the biggest thing most individuals struggle with. For a successful individual brand, you need to make sure you come across as human, with similar problems as your target market. The only difference is that you can show them the solutions you found for some of these problems and are willing to help others.
1. Be genuine
It would be best to find what is unique and special about you and your brand that will make you stand out from the competition. An easy way to have a unique personal brand on LinkedIn is to be genuine and authentic. Reach out to your audience, engage with your contacts, and be an expert in your field with your skillset. Set aside time to go through your LinkedIn feed and find opportunities to share, like, and comment. The key is to build relationships over time.
2. Tell a story
Create a story around your brand that your audience can engage with. Each one of us has a unique career journey and makes you stand out. Your story needs to include examples of how you faced uncertainty, adversity, or even dealt with failure. It will help your audience identify with you and make you more human and authentic. The best way to tell your story is through written content or video, to make a personal connection with prospective clients and connect with your network.
3. Create a positive impact
When building a brand, it is essential to be consistent with your posts and engagement in your industry or niche. Your LinkedIn profile should represent the type of influential person you want to be. Keeping a positive attitude and helping others will help your personal brand on LinkedIn grow in the long run.
4. Live your brand
When starting with your self-branding, it is easier for you to have your actual lifestyle and brand be the same. Your personal brand should follow you everywhere you go and showcase your authenticity and amplify what you believe. Your LinkedIn profile should not only be a reflection of your CV but also help you to strengthen your network.
5. Identify your area of expertise
It is essential to have a focus on a topic, to make it easier to create content around your brand. The more unique and engaging content you create on your topic of expertise, the more you will stand out in your chosen field.
Ready to get started?
Having a personal brand helps to build trust and position yourself as the go-to expert in your industry. With our five golden rules, you can build a personal brand that accurately reflects your personal and professional identity. For more information about our Personal Branding services and consultancy, send an email to hello@what.digital.
Your Personal Branding LinkedIn checklist
We have put together a checklist for you to download, so you can quickly start improving your personal brand on LinkedIn. Fill in the form below to get your free download.