In the world of today, branding isn't limited to products, businesses and organizations anymore. More and more individuals are realizing the importance of branding themselves, and basically marketing their names.
Fact is, you are just one among the zillions of people around the world, so how do you make yourself stand out? It’s through branding yourself that you differentiate who you are, what you do, and why people should consider hiring you or using your services.
Let’s face it – even if you wish you could stay with the company or organization you’re working for forever, it doesn’t always happen that way. Or if only you were Mark Zuckerberg, then the world already knows you as the founder of Facebook. But well, unless you’ve invented something that becomes answer to everyone’s prayers overnight, you’re going to have to exert some effort into branding yourself. Because you can’t really expect that you’ll always have a company to fall back upon – and honestly, don’t you want to be able to stand in your own two shoes and your own name without having to add the name of a company next to it just to be recognized?
And if you think this is a monumental task, think again. It’s actually quite achievable with the right strategy. Everyone has the chance to stand out and be noticed for themselves, since everyone has a unique set of skills, talent, personality and experiences to offer the world.
So how do you market your name? How do you establish a personal brand? Here’s a guide to help you.
1. What differentiates you?
The first thing to do is establish what exactly makes You different. Stop thinking of yourself as the employee of X company. Because you don’t really know how long that’s going to last. You have to begin thinking of yourself as a brand.
Think of all the famous brands out there – Apple, Starbucks, Coke, McDonald’s, etc. Even if you’re not a product or place, yes, you should still think of yourself as a unique brand. What can you offer to the world that’s different from what everyone else can offer?
You can start by identifying what characteristics or qualities you have that differentiates you from your colleagues or competitors. What are your strengths? What are you most proud of about yourself? What are your significant accomplishments in life?
This is your unique personal brand. This is what you need to establish. You need to find out what your expertise is, your special niche, and carve out a place for your name in that field or industry.
2. Be known as the expert
Now that you know what makes you different from everyone out there, it’s time to position yourself as an expert in your field. How do you do this? You can start by putting up a website or blog with your name as the domain. Start putting out content out there that establishes what your niche is and what you want to be known for. Network and get recommendations from your peers or colleagues for what you do. Become active in your local scene and join organizations that are related to your expertise. It’s all about establishing yourself as the go-to person in the specific field you chose.
LinkedIn is a great way to highlight your name and what exactly you do and where you’re an expert at. Facebook and Twitter may be the leading social networking sites, but professionals know the importance of becoming established in LinkedIn. It also helps that Google likes LinkedIn profiles, so having a complete profile there can help you market your name in the search engines.
3. Promote yourself
Though some people may consider self-promotion a rather vain thing to do, well-known personal brands know the importance of promoting their own selves. How else will people get to know you and your brand if you’re just going to closet yourself in your own little space?
You don’t have to be all about business or be serious all the time. People like a unique style and personality, since it helps engage them. Engage with people, build relationships, get on board with social networks, and you’re pretty much good to go.
But perhaps the most important part of marketing your name and yourself is that you should always remain authentic – you should always market the real you. Don’t exaggerate or create false data just to establish yourself. Being honest and sincere is the best way to establish a great personal brand. So make sure that you don’t get carried away in marketing your name.