Your personal brand is all about how you appear to the world around you. It serves as an opportunity to “sell” who you are and what you are all about. Personal Branding is the process in which people differentiate themselves by identifying and communicating their unique value proposition ir order to achieve a specific goal. A lot of us don’t consciously cultivate our Personal Brands, but the truth is, most of us have one and continue to build on it through our digital and physical presence. The conversation isn’t really about you having a Personal Brand (which you do), but about the things you can do to cultivate it and own up to it! If you’re not branding yourself, be sure someone else is doing it for YOU.

A successful personal brand helps you achieve both your personal AND professional goals. It’s all about blending who you are with what you do.

Here are 5 ways for you to build your personal brand.

1. Generate value

One of THE most fundamental aspects in any brand out there is generating value. No matter what you do, it’s essential that you find a way to offer something unique and special that will attract your audience.

Find ways to create or share content that will generate value. The more you’re capable of doing for others and generating transformations or experiences in their lives, the more YOU will be able to develop your personal brand. So, how can you align who you are with what you do? How can the things you’re most passionate about serve people?

 2. Be You!

Think about those things that make you unique and different. What is it about YOU that attracts people? Whatever it is, it’s what makes you authentic.

Your Personal Brand is a reflection of who you are, and people will follow or believe in you when you are genuine with who you say you are. If you don’t appear to be real, people won’t connect with you. Listen, we’re all looking to connect and we connect with those people with which we share core values. So, what are yours? How do you get them across?

Building a Personal Brand is all about understanding your uniqueness and leveraging it to make others follow you.

3. #goals 

Defining your goals will enable you to build a strategy in order to achieve them. So, where do you see yourself in six months? A year? 10 years? Think of how your personal brand can grow and what things you should do in order for those things to happen.

Building a Personal Brand opens up countless opportunities for you on both a personal AND professional level. Clients, bosses, customers, people, all see you and treat you differently. You’re capable of growing stronger and more powerful relationships. What do you want to achieve?

 4. yourBrand.com 

Once you have determined the WHO and WHAT behind your Personal Brand, you have to communicate what that persona is going to be. Being online will enable you to reach the most amount of people possible. So, create a website and social media accounts that will serve as an opportunity for  your target audience to see the information you want them to see about you.

You want to get your message across in the most consistent way possible and taking into consideration your uniqueness, the value you’re providing and the needs of your target audience. Make sure you build a brand that makes you feel inspired and proud.

5. Get heard

You might be completely different from the rest and produce and incredible deal of value, but if nobody knows who you are, what good would that be? Yes, we all know your Personal Brand can be more visible online and perhaps reach more people, but don’t forget working on your “1.0” – a.k.a. offline – self too!

Join industry groups, give talks at conferences, get involved in your industry community! Establish your voice as much as you can, wherever you get the chance. Networking is a fundamental step to establishing your Personal Brand. The important thing is for your name to be on the top of the -right- people’s minds!