Before you begin building a brand, do some self-reflection and determine exactly what it is you want to portray. Remember, your brand will distinguish you from others. It forms an impression. When you build it, you control the ideas, strengths and skills that you showcase to the world.  A personal brand creates trust. It’s a strategic approach to showcasing you. It should be a reflection of your skills, passion, values and belief. It will be unique to you. 

Ask yourself: 

• What skills have you acquired throughout your life?
• What trainings, certifications, or awards have you received?
• What topics are you most interested in?
• What are you passionate about?
• What are your future career plans?
• Are their companies you admire?
• What are your most important core values?
• What do you believe in?
• What do you fight against?

Now, consider what the overall vision of your brand will be? What do you want to be known for? If you became known as the world’s go to expert, what topic would it be on?

What’s your brand mission? Why do you want to create a brand? What is your purpose? Who do you want to influence? What do you want to accomplish?

What’s the brand personality? Your personality needs to shine through. How can you weave that into your brand? Are you a basketball freak? Then what about live-streaming a video message for your profile from the court or wear your favorite jersey. How do you want to be perceived? Polished? Professional? Studious? Quirky? Adventurous? It’s up to you to craft the public image of you. 

Your Brand Needs to be Genuine

No one likes fake or a copycat. You will get called out. Engage as yourself. Remember people follow people – not products. Think about how often the “it” product changes. Instead think about how influencers create a personal brand around their  businesses.

For example – how many of you watched the most recent Space X rocket launch? Elon Musk is the guy who owns Space X. But he also owns Tesla and Solar City. His personal Twitter account has more followers than those 3 companies combined.  Any of you familiar with Arianna Huffington? She’s the creator of Huffington Post – Thrive Global. She’s built a business based on her personal brand and uses it to attract customers. Look at how they use their personal space to represent their core beliefs and values and see how they carry over into their business profiles.

It’s personal. It shouldn’t be something that just happens in an online environment. It’s about making an impression. You all know how hard it is to undo a first impression right? When you’re at school, at the mall, at church, on the playing field – you should be embodying the brand you are creating. It follows you everywhere you go – especially today since everyone has a camera in their hand or pocket.

Your Brand Needs to be Consistent –

Show up every day with content, ideas, or activities that are on message. It can be something as simple as using a catch phrase. You can’t have a wild, fun type of message one day and a conservative, low-key one the next. People don’t understand who the real you is. One of my coaches has a saying, “Clarity Attracts and Confusion Repels”. The key is not to confuse people about who you are and what matters to you. Whatever platform you choose to use, you’ve also got to be a regular contributor. Set aside time each day to comment, post or add to your profile. I’d suggest LinkedIn be your go to place if career development or advancement are your goals. It’s the number one place recruiters and employers utilize to find candidates. Just like other platforms, LinkedIn rewards those who are faithful users by making your profile more visible to others. That means you’ll show up in their newsfeed and if a recruiter is looking for certain skills you’ve listed, you’ll top the list. 

Your Brand Benefits from Your Network –

You know you’re on to something when other people start helping you tell your message. It’s just like when someone describes you to another person. If you’re trying to create a name for yourself in a certain genre or industry, you’ll know it’s working when you start getting asked to share a podcast platform, have a newspaper article written, get featured on someone’s blog, or get asked to share your strategies with a group of young entrepreneurs. 

Remember, great brands begin with understanding who you are, the message you want to share and the knowing the audience who needs to hear it.