The importance of personal branding in the digital age

Personal branding is one of the many developments brought about by the digital age. Having a personal brand is something I assist my clients with since it is more crucial than ever in a world when everyone can start a blog or a social media page. You can direct your own story with the help of a personal brand, which can also make you stand out from the crowd. In this article, I’ll go over the value of personal branding in the digital age and how to go about developing an authentic, distinctive brand of your own.

A personal brand can help you stand out in a sea of social media profiles and draw the attention of potential employers or clients. Selecting a platform on which you can start curating an audience that best matches your skills is a practical first step in developing your own brand. Make a commitment to post for at least a year, every single day. Consider your advantages and how you may best utilise your strengths. Starting a podcast, for instance, can be an excellent idea if you have a distinctive voice or are a strong communicator. Starting a vlog channel can be right for you if you have charisma on-screen or are thought to be witty. If you have a talent for writing or storytelling, a blog can be the ideal choice for you.

What Is Personal Branding?

The process of developing a brand identity for a person or a business is known as personal branding. This is a brand for you or your company, as the name implies. In essence, it is the way you represent your company to the outside world, guarantee that your target market is aware of who you are, what you stand for, and why they should choose you over your rivals. Being your own marketer is a key component of personal branding, not only marketing. To command respect and confidence from your peers and clients, you must stand up for yourself and your company.

You market yourself using your personal brand. You want the world to recognise you as a special blend of abilities, experience, and personality. It is the telling of your story and how it portrays your actions, demeanour, verbal and nonverbal communication, and attitudes. To set yourself apart from other individuals, use your unique brand. If done correctly, you can successfully integrate your personal brand with your company in ways that corporate branding cannot. Your personal brand is how other people see you professionally. It may be a result of a combination of how people perceive you in person, how the media depicts you, and the perception they build based on online information about you.

Why Is Personal Branding Important?

Gives you a definite advantage over others.

In today’s digital world, millions of people, including students and young job seekers, fight for the same positions, clients, and consumers. For instance, LinkedIn has 810 million users, 57 million of whom work for recruiting organisations, according to Kinsta’s statistics.There is a lot of competition as a result, but recruiters will be interested in candidates that have a strong personal brand. Making a lasting impression and standing out from the crowd can be made easier with personal branding.

2) Promotes credibility and trust

People are more likely to recognise you and believe in what you do if you have a unique personal brand. Additionally, you can gain their trust by presenting yourself as an accomplished expert through the help of personal branding

3) Creates opportunity for employment

New career opportunities, speaking engagements, sales leads, etc. will become available thanks to a strong personal brand. This makes perfect sense given that, according to a CareerBuilder research, 70% of employers evaluate candidates using social media sites like LinkedIn. Additionally, if you have a strong personal brand, employers are more likely to find you and get in touch with you about employment openings. However, if you’re a politician, a personal brand can also draw voters, allies, and supporters. Depending on the industry you work in, there are different options.

4) Aids in achieving your objectives

You’ll be more successful if you match your brand with your objectives. Here are a few instances:

Focus on developing a personal brand that reflects the values and qualifications the organisation is seeking in candidates if landing a job there is your ultimate aim.

If you are a politician, you want more people to support you and vote for you.

If you want to draw in more customers, concentrate on creating a personal brand that speaks to them and what they want from a company.

A personal brand strategy will be adapted to each person’s wants and goals, regardless of the goal.

How to elevate personal branding

1: Define your main goals

You must first decide exactly what you want from a personal brand. What do you hope to accomplish? What are your objectives? Once you have a good understanding of what you want, you can start working on building a personal brand that will help you reach those objectives.

2: Do substantial research

Now that you know what you want, it’s time to conduct some research. This step is important because it will help you understand what already exists in the market and what you need to do to stand out.

Target audience:

Strong personal brands excel at delivering what a particular audience desires. Before you start your strategy, make sure to define what are your primary target audiences. The chosen target audiences need to be aligned with the main goals you want to achieve via this personal branding strategy.

For example, if you are a musician, your primary target audience will be your listeners and people who like your style of music. On the other hand, if you are a climate change expert, your target audience could be people who want to learn about climate change, potential employers, or other industry experts you might want to work with.

Take some time to define your main target audiences and think about their needs. This will help you communicate in a way that resonates with them.

3: Create your unique personal branding strategy

Even if a personal brand differs from a corporate/organizational brand, the process of building it is very similar. Here are the main elements that should be included in the strategy:

Brand essence: what is your purpose, vision, mission, and values?

Brand positioning or value proposition: What is your brand positioning statement? What makes you different from everyone else in your field? Which services can you provide that no one else does?

Brand identity: name, personal story, personality, visual identity, communication style

Communication strategy: audience, main media channels, messaging, content strategy.

Conclusion

Making a personal branding statement is not difficult. Making a list of your areas of expertise and goals should come first. Finally, distil it down to one or two sentences that best capture who you are and what you want to accomplish.

Personal branding statements are frequently found in the bio area of social media sites, but they are also useful when introducing yourself to various audiences offline.