The Advantages of Creating a Personal Brand and a Personal Brand Foundation

The steps to creating a personal brand and building your own personal foundation.

 “A strong personal brand is one that has a high level of impact, which then leads to influence amongst the people who follow you. The key is to leverage social media and other social platforms and environments to create relevant and meaningful dialogues between you and the people you want to impact.”

– Mark Lack

I can break it down to three fundamental steps that are key to personal branding. 

• Define your brand and brand values
• Create your online presence (website and blog)
• Reach out to your warm audience/ networks 

How do I define my brand 

It is crucial to identify what sets you apart and what your unique value is to potential clients. These steps can help

• Define your brand values – what do you personally and professionally stand for.
• Niche your brand – what are your major areas of specialisation. Try to be as specific as possible.
• Who is your ideal client
• What is your USP (Unique selling point)
• Create a visual identity (logo, brand collateral, your brands visual elements, website etc.) 

Defining my brand’s values

“A great brand starts with understanding who you are, what you stand for, understanding your marketplace, and understanding your positioning. What is the perception that you need to create in order to appeal to the target audience that you’re trying to appeal to?”

– Re Perez

As a brand part of attracting your ideal clients to your product/business is to be able to define your personal and brand values. As a brand your aim is to connect with like-minded people, clients who will value your products and services. Part of this process is an alignment of values between your brand and your client. What is it that you and your brand stand for. 

• Examples of brand values are consistency, honesty, quality design etc. 

Importance of specialising and niche your product or service

“Having a personal brand is important for an entrepreneur because now more than ever, it’s important for CEOs and founders of companies/brands to come out to the forefront and connect with their audiences. People connect with people.”

– Kevin Stimpson

• Through niche marketing it is possible to build brand loyalty for a business. Customers are aware that your product/service is specific to their needs and that it is not possible to get the same focused service or product from a generalised business.
• A niche has less competition because it is a specialised area of expertise. Customers are more likely to purchase a specialised service or product that speaks to their specific needs.
• A niche brand can position itself as an expert in its field. The saying “Jack of all trades, master of none” is a perfect analogy for niche brands vs general brands.  Your skills and products are refined around a specific area allowing your authority and expertise to grow exponentially in this area.
• You can target your marketing efforts at your niche market which directly translates into less money spent on marketing.

Why is creating a personal brand so important to your success as a brand 

• Experts and specialised fields can charge premium rates – your brand is justified in charging premium prices as you have excellent skills/products and services. Your brand is now an authority in your niche and you are not a commodity that competes on time or price. Rather your unique selling point is that you are offering a lot more value than your competitors.
• You can attract more of your ideal clients – more clients who need your specialised services will be referred to you and more clients will be attracted to your brand as they are aware of the unique value that you are offering.