How to promote your personal brand and not screw up!

The world is evolving - allowing those of us who want to be our own bosses and build the personal brand of our dreams to do so. Today we are aiming to give you a solid foundation on how to promote your personal brand and not screw up!

What is a Brand and what is the difference between a Brand name and a Trademark?

According to this Blog Marketing Academy article, a brand is an intangible marketing or business concept that helps people identify a company, product, or individual. When comparing a brand to a trademark it is important to understand that a brand is an image of a trademark on an individual basis. This determines the consumer choice in a competitive range. Whereas a trademark is a legal concept, quite specific and tangible - the perception of a brand that is made up of the little things discovered that form a clear picture of perception in the mind.

What are those important little things, you ask?

1. Fame - If the brand is unknown to the audience, then it is just a trademark.

2. Individuality - The brand should carry some kind of unique message that will attract your audience.

3. Positive perception by the majority of the audience - Neutrality does not work here. We either like it or we don't like it - that's the point.

4. Guaranteed quality - Your reputation in customers’ eyes is a guarantee of quality.

Every brand is a trademark, but not every trademark is a brand. 

Let's talk about the components of a personal brand: attributes, benefits, values, individuality, and brand essence.

Attributes are what a brand is physically associated with: color, taste, lines, shapes, smell, etc. It is also very important for a brand to have some kind of figure, a character that will communicate with the consumer.

Benefits are what the brand is willing to give to the consumer to cover his physical, emotional, or social need. Brands try to express their advantages in clear and simple basic elements: comfort, safety, recognition, attractiveness, and beauty.

 Values ​​are a combination of benefit and sensory perception. It should be such a combination that the buyer immediately understands that he has been looking for your product/service all their life.

Brand personality lies in one simple question: “If a brand were a person, what would it be?”

Brand essence - a squeeze of all of the above, a couple of words that fully characterize the brand.

Basic steps to building a successful personal brand.

As a rule, a company's brand appears when it is already well known and has its own audience.  All this happens gradually, as if by itself. A personal brand becomes one from the very beginning. That is, from the very beginning you take on the creation of your reputation and your image in the eyes of the future audience.

Step #1: Define the goal

Be honest with yourself about the purpose of creating a brand. Do you want a lot of followers? Do you want to be an expert in your field? Do you want to get famous and perform at various events? All your further steps depend on the answer to this question, so be honest with yourself and assess your capabilities and plans.

 Step #2: Budget

You can be a charismatic person, but what's the point if no one knows you outside of your small audience? You must calculate the cost of advertising and promotion of your brand.

 Step #3: Development strategy

At this stage, you should already decide what message you want to carry to the audience and how best to do it.

 Step #3.1: Determine the content format for promoting a personal brand

The most popular formats at the moment are storytelling, expert opinion, video, case studies, behind the scenes, personal, motivation, and training. 

 Step #3.2: The choice of platforms for promoting a personal brand

It can be a personal blog, YouTube channel, Instagram page, media, etc. 

 Step #3.3: Drawing up a content plan. 

Here you can prescribe when and what content should be released.  It is highly recommended to keep such a plan in a calendar in order to visually see the entire schedule. 

 Step #4: Let's Go Out!

That's it, there is nowhere to retreat, we start communicating with the audience and broadcasting our unique message to the whole world!  Do not despair if no one notices you at first, this is expected and normal, everything takes time. 

 Steps #5&6: Do not forget about periodically promoting your brand and constantly analyzing the work done 

One more important tip: Do not forget that you are not the first and not the last on this path. There are many experienced people around who have already passed it, so do not hesitate to ask for help or advice from more experienced individuals.

Written by Diana Kultishova