Everyone in the business world has a personal brand. The extent to which it works, however, depends on how hard you work on branding yourself. Take Richard Branson for example. He’s a poster of modern personal branding with 10 million followers on LinkedIn and many more admirers of his fun and playful personal brand.
In fact, his status is so great that if for some reason he were to leave Virgin, the company would never be as special. After all, Branson’s iconic personal brand is also responsible for the extension to more than 200 companies.
Clearly, having a strong personal brand is critical if you want people to perceive you in a specific way and reach incredible heights. If you’re a leader looking for tips to supercharge your personal brand and make it work for your benefit, check out the secrets that can propel you to the top of your career and life.
Secret #1: They Help Others
Helping colleagues, customers, and anyone you can is one critical requirement for building and supercharging your personal brand. A person who makes selfish moves simply cannot succeed in personal branding because no one would like them.
Of course, not everyone you help will come to your side when you need it, but many will, and they will also return your generosity by helping you in something else.
Branson, for example, is known for his philanthropy and an unrivaled commitment to customers. He created a culture where his companies put their employees firstbut also didn’t forget about customer care; in fact, he refused to place the Virgin name on a company until he was sure that it provided the proper caliber of customer service.
Secret #2: Publish, Publish, Publish
To become a voice of authority, a recognizable name, and to help people at the same time, you should create helpful content and publish it in top publications. They will be a huge help in building your image and credibility, and help you stand out from the pack.
Start with small articles, eBooks, or videos, and move on to books and other in-depth content (a good idea would be to start your own blog). Take a well-known writer and digital marketer Neil Patel for example. His companies’ sites always feature his in-depth instructional content, and you can always find his books on marketing – both free and paid – online.
Secret #3: Speak Anywhere You Can Find Your Audience
In addition to writing and making videos, you should also be available for education. For example, you should give speeches at conferences, webinars, events, and other gatherings where you can educate and add massive value to your audience.
The fear of public speaking shouldn’t stop you. For example, it’s a known fact that Richard Branson absolutely hated public speaking, and it may be hard to believe, but he does!
“I loathe making speeches, and always have,” he admitted, “I deliver a lot of them these days, but it’s almost as true today as it was when I first spoke in public as a student some 50-odd years ago.”
If you have to travel a lot to give speeches, make sure to give yourself some downtime, too, sometimes taking a break is the best way to improve productivity.
Secret #4: Build Relationships with Influencers
As someone involved in entrepreneurship, you know that networking is one of the essentials of business. It has the same importance for building personal branding as well. They can share your content and raise awareness of your personal brand, so you should try to establish relationships with known people in your industry/niche like influencers.
They could be bloggers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, actors, and many other people who have a significant online presence. “For example, you can contact bloggers for guest blogging,” recommends Brian Mayer from Write My Essay For Me. “It’s also a fantastic way to gain experience as a writer and improve your writing skills.”
Secret #5: Be Active on Social Media
If you’re not using the power of social media to connect with your audience, you’re making a big mistake. Set up your profile on every major social media platform – Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn – and get active.
According to a Forbes contributor Sujan Patel, the ways in which you can use them to build your personal brand include:
- Join groups focused on topics in your industry/niche
- Engage regularly by sharing quality content
- Don’t try to sell or pith something
- Ask questions on topics interesting to your target audience
- Be responsive and join online discussions
- Monitor your name by using alerts for your name and keywords involving your area of expertise.
Secret #6: Live Your Brand
No one is going to believe you if you don’t live the brand you’re trying to build. Remember, your brand is a feeling, a vision, a sound, a behavior, a symbol, and an emotion. It’s also an emotion and a perception that you create to your followers.
Remember, you can only build a successful personal brand if you believe in what you teach and walk the walk to demonstrate that it’s the right way.
Secret #7: Smile!
It’s the simplest way to boost your personal brand that many people overlook. Smiling costs nothing but can have a powerful impact on your image because a smiling person looks friendlier. Therefore, by smiling, you’re making it easier for others to connect with you.
Besides, a smile activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness, so make the world a better place by smiling!
And One More Thing
Keep in mind that building your personal brand isn’t something that happens overnight, so a continuous effort and constant investment are equally important here. Good luck!
About Guest Contributor Tom Jager
Tom Jager is professional blogger. He works at A-writer. He has degree in Law and English literature. Tom has written numerous articles/online journals. You can reach him at G+ or LinkedIn.
