Personal branding is a popular term these days, especially for entrepreneurs and freelancers. And all the buzz surrounding it is apt as if you to grow, and have a successful business, you need to stand apart from the crowd, and personal branding can do that.
It is the best method to show yourself in front of others as an authentic and consistent entrepreneur who has a strong and powerful personality. Branding lets people know who you are and what you can do, one of the best ways to rein ahead of your competitors.
For a firm or a company, personal branding is all about their image, how people see their brand through their logo, packaging, and design. For a person, it means setting yourself apart by showing your hard-work, or creating an online logo & portfolio, and so on,
When you create a strong personal brand that is uniform, you stand out from the crowd. It enhances your opportunity to impress employers, customers, and clients and makes sure they always remember you and keep coming back to you.
Personal branding
Personal branding is personal to you, it is not only about career, but it also affects your social skills and life too. How you carry yourself, what you wear and how you conduct yourself while dealing with people, all reflect your brand.
When it comes to your career, your soft and hard skills both make up your brand. Other elements include qualifications, personality, and experience. Due to the job culture and putting the interest of the company before ours, we lose our branding, but you need to maintain it.
Why personal branding is important?
Having a personal brand is not only about how a company will use your skills to place you. It is also about you knowing your skills, values, and aspirations so that you can work according to your work without compromising on anything.
Here are some benefits of personal branding
Trust: Having a personal brand instills more trust between you and your customers, clients, and company. It helps you get more work because people respect and trust that you will provide quality services.
Media recognition: When you have a personal brand, it makes it easy for media people to find you.
It brings more clients for you: When you have a personal brand, you position yourself as an expert in a particular field or industry. It is something that will help you gain more clients.
Premium pricing: For an entrepreneur and freelancer, having a personal brand mean you can justify charging prices that are a bit higher than others.
Elements of personal branding
Core Values
Core values are the principles that you have set for yourself. These are the rules that you live by. These core and individual values set help us create a benchmark for us both psychological and behavioral. These values help you live and work in an environment that is comfortable for you.
Knowing what drives you can help you contribute more toward the betterment of society.
Ecosystem
The activities you indulge in from day to day tell a lot about you. Your hobbies, friends, and social life are the ecosystems that tell a unique story about your brand. What you do tells a lot about who you are as a person. For instance, if you like reading books more than going out, it shows your brand will be more creative and imaginative.
Personality
It is important to know who you are and what you can bring to the team and the people you are working with. Your personality helps you stand apart as you can be a serious member of the team or you can be the one that brings a lot of humor.
Strength
Maybe you are great at writing or your design is top-notch, all these things are important to grow a business. But they will only help you if you know them. If you are aware of your strengths, you can use them to make a mark for yourself and work better.
Aspiration
Knowing what you want from your job or career and in life is important. Whether you have a specific map or just vague details, knowing what you want in life and where you are heading is important.
Also, knowing how you will reach that goal is important. Your aspirations have a relationship with core values. What you want is based on how you live your life, if you value writing, make a career in it, but make sure you have the freedom to write about anything you want.
Lastly, make sure you look good as appearance matters in your professional and personal life. All this information will set you apart and help create a personal brand for you.
