Personal Branding and How To Go About Establishing Your Identity

In today’s globalized world of constant communication and savvy social media users it is easy to get lost in the mix of personalities that occupy these mediums. Establishing your personal brand in an online context is a a great way to grow your business but, the truth is, it can be intimidating to try and formulate an identity that garners attention among the vast amount of content in the media world. However, with a little care and a lot of nurturing you can forge your identity to make a face that sticks out from the rest of the crowd.

Know Your Story

Before you begin to establish a name for your personal brand or business it is paramount to know your own story.

• What is your personal narrative?
• What is the story of your life and how did you get to where you are now?
• How have your past experiences, influences, and interests shaped you to become the person you are and hope to be in the future?

Know yourself and your personal narrative before you begin to shape the story you share through your brand — it’s like knowing the route to your destination instead of jumping in the car and hoping you make it there.

Find Your Niche

Find a segment of the population where you can be an expert. Don’t focus on general topics — for example: nature, non-profits, writing, food, business, or marketing. Instead, find sub categories within topics of interest where you can become a specialist in the field. A personal brand and identity are intertwined with your intimate knowledge of a subject and how relevant the content you share is to the topic on which you are speaking.

If you vary too much in what you are trying to communicate people will become confused in the brand you are trying to create. You want to be personal, on topic, and consistent when communicating. Once you become established, it is okay to venture out into other topics of conversation — but, in the beginning, stay specialized.

Create High Quality, Compelling Content

This cannot be stressed enough! Start writing and publishing works that people want to see and read. If your content is lackluster or disengaging from the beginning people will begin to associate your brand and identity with incomplete or low quality work. Create content that people are able to find useful. There is a lot of content shared on the internet — a lot of it good, but most of it bad. Don’t be in the latter category.

Be Engaging and Active

Be engaging with what you share on the internet. Call people to action in writings that you post — thought-provoking questions, requests to share similar ideas or stories, thoughts on improvement, or opinions. When they do engage, interact with your audience. Half of the work establishing a brand identity is creating the content that people what to see/read, but the other half is in the interaction that follows. Show people you are more than just a post-ghost.

Network

Networking is the behind the scenes branding work. While your identity is created through the content you produce it is shared through the connections you make. Interact and engage other people in different brands of expertise and invite them to share content in areas where you may not be as much of an expert.

Engagement, activity, and networking go together like syrup and waffles, coffee and donuts, or whatever food combination metaphor you prefer to use. The point is, don’t be afraid to share some of what you are cooking or to invite others over for a meal every so often.

Transparency, Honesty, and Vulnerability

This is really the glue that keeps your identity and personal brand together. While creating content, engaging your audience, and making new friendships to help spread the word of your brand be sure to be transparent, honest, and vulnerable. It’s easy to get caught up in fabricating who you think you ought to be when it is really not who to be. People can generally sniff out inauthenticity like they do a 13 year old’s B.O. in a stuffy mini van. If you are thinking about creating an identity that fits that metaphor, think twice and put some TH&V (Transparency, Honesty, and Vulnerability) deodorant on those pits instead, like a respectable adult.

All stinky metaphors aside, when creating your brand people want to interact with someone that they can relate with and feel like they could have a relationship. When you are not being yourself, it becomes a burden to play another character all the time. It is okay to fail, show your short comings, and ask for help. None of us are perfect and as much as we try to hide our imperfections it often takes more strength and earns a lot more credibility to be honest and vulnerable in your interactions.

If you have any ideas to further this conversation, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts and make your acquaintance.