Personal Branding – 3 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand

In today’s economy, the traditional ways of sales and marketing, which used to work very well, even up to 2-3 years ago, are becoming obsolete. The reason for this is the emergence of the new technologies and trends that drive our decision-making process. We have never been as much connected as we are now thanks to social media: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and many more.

As a consequence, people these days buy from those whom they know, like and trust, not from faceless organizations. 

Today the key to business success is not selling – it’s attracting. It’s about building real authentic relationships and communicating a clear message and values so that the right people will naturally be attracted to you.

Your personal brand is your online footprint that determines how people perceive you today, both online and offline.

All the things people find about you when they Google, check your Facebook page, Linkedin profile or any other account on social media, represent your personal brand. What is more, everything people say about you is part of your reputation and thus your personal brand.

So here are the 3 steps to building a powerful personal brand that will naturally attract the right people and opportunities to you.

1. DISCOVER YOUR PURPOSE AND UNIQUE SKILLS

What Unique Value do you bring to the world as a person and brand?

People are always magnetized by those who are living their purpose, are passionate about what they do, have a clear message and contribute to the world in their special way. If you are authentic, embrace your own uniqueness and provide value to others through your skills and purpose, you become naturally appealing to others.

There are so many confused people in the world, with no clear message or purpose, that if you manage to get really clear about who you are, come out with a clear message,  present yourself with authenticity and integrity, know the values you stand for and do your work with skill and passion, you will stand out and the right people and opportunities will be naturally and automatically attracted to you.

Do you doubt if there is anything special and unique about you? Then read the paragraph sentence below and, if possible, repeat it to you daily as an affirmation.

Everyone has a unique purpose and skills. No two people are the same and it’s up to you to discover what is special about you and present it to the world in your own way. 

2. BE YOUR TRUE AUTHENTIC SELF AND CLEARLY COMMUNICATE YOUR VALUES

People nowadays make a decision to purchase something based on shared values and an alignment in perspectives.

Your customers don’t just buy what you sell; they buy who you are – the person behind the product or service. They ultimately buy your values, beliefs, and personality. This is your personal brand. So take notice of that and communicate your values with authenticity. 

If you do express your values and you are authentic, you will attract people with the same values as yours and these are the right people for you. On the contrary, if you pretend to be someone else than who you truly are, you will simply attract the wrong people.

Greek philosopher Socrates said more than 2000 years ago: ‘The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.’

People today are tired of watching and interacting with the people who pretend, lies and pose for the camera. Therefore, they love and appreciate authenticity. The online world has made everything extremely transparent and word of mouth moves with lightning speed. Even if you do try to hide, position yourself as someone who you are not, the truth will always come out, especially in today’s digital world.

So be authentic and transparent, communicate what you stand for, and the right people will hear your message clearly and will naturally be attracted to you, without you needing to do any selling or convincing. 

3. BUILD AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS ONLINE AND OFFLINE 

If you want to create a strong personal brand, you need to put yourself out there, at the right places, with the right message, on the right platforms. These places and platforms are mainly the social media, youtube, websites, blogs, iTunes, traditional media like TV and Radio, books, networking events, meetings with key people, and stages at events where you can present.

Make sure you put in the effort to connect and build authentic relationships with others by being sincerely interested in them. Don’t see people as numbers, ‘likes’, followers, companies or business cards as this is the vibe you will give out and it will bring you the opposite result. People want to know that you care, so give them your attention.

You can’t build a personal brand by sitting at home on the couch, with no online or personal presence and expect people to find you just because you have a good product or service.

Instead, you need to be active on social media, on other platforms, at business networking events, conferences and any other places where you can connect with people and build relationships. But do this without expecting anything in return. The best results will come indirectly and over the time from the relationships you will build.