Knowing Your “Why” in Personal Branding
One of the misconceptions people have about personal branding is the idea that they don’t have anything important to say. Here’s a secret: you don’t have to be the smartest, loudest, or most popular person in the room to have a personal brand.
You just need to know your why.
“Claire, what does that mean?”
So glad you asked!
Your “why” is stronger than just your passion or your product.
Why do you do what you do?
Think beyond your chosen career or education path and get down to the human element of what drives you. For example, my “why” can be broken-down like this:
- My work in social media → connecting
- My work in employee advocacy → helping
Why is it worth it?
As a marketer, I’m always thinking about the ROI of my decisions. If a strategy is contributing to lead flow, brand awareness, engagement, etc. The same goes for my personal brand as well.
- Why do I put up with periods of stress at work? → Finding better, proactive ways to connect our audience to the brand. Speaking their language, making them feel heard and connected to the brand on a human level.
- Why do I put myself in vulnerable situations and accept public speaking engagements? → Pushing through those short moments of anxiety in order to educate others, help them see their purpose and feel confident posting on social media. Being a safe space for my audience and their growth.
Why should people care?
What makes you different from everyone else talking about this subject? (This is where we kick imposter syndrome to the curb.) There is something in you that makes your voice worth hearing.
I use my trauma and mental illnesses to guide the way I approach educating. I want people to feel like they can trust me not just because I’m good at what I do, but because I’m a good person.
People should care about me because I understand what it’s like for your anxiety to be so debilitating that you can’t leave your house, or for depression to convince you that you’ll never be good enough to get a job in your field. To spiral out and build yourself back up. To fight to feel good enough and make sure that others do too.
I know that just got deep, but these types of soul-searching thought exercises are what will help you develop a brand that is a natural extension of your humanity. Whether it’s a Medium blog or a tweet, your audience will hear your voice in everything you put out into the world once you define what that is.
My parting advice:
- Spend a few minutes to write (or type) out your “Why’s”
- Think about what space you want to take up (social media channels, niches, etc.)
- Map types of content to your answers for 1 +2
- Comment below and let me know how it goes!
