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When we talk about branding, we often think of commercial brands and the image they project, but have you thought about your personal brand? Whether you are a professional, a freelancer, a contractor in a specific field, an independent consultant, a speaker, a coach, or whatever. Your personal brand can play a crucial role in your professional and personal life.
Regardless of your level of skill or expertise, here you will find tips and tricks to help you develop a strong, authentic personal brand that will help you achieve your goals.
In this blog, we will define and discuss in detail the benefits of personal branding, as well as the steps needed to create a strong personal brand.
What is personal branding ?
Creating a brand image for a company involves associating specific feelings, values and expectations with the brand in order to inspire consumer confidence. Every company has a story and an identity that distinguishes it from its competitors.
According to a McKinsey study, strong brands have a competitive advantage of up to 73% over lesser known brands.
This underlines the importance for companies to focus on building a strong and distinctive brand image to stand out in the market. The same goes for you and your personal brand.
Your personal brand is your promotional strategy, the distinctive set of skills, experiences and personality you wish to project to the world.
It tells the story of your background and shows how this is reflected in your conduct, behavior, words and attitudes. In short, your personal brand is an expression of your unique professional identity.
Why is personal branding important?
By choosing to adopt a personal marketing approach, you can benefit from several advantages:
You can improve your visibility
Well-constructed personal branding will help you improve your online visibility, drive traffic to your website, blog or professional profile on social networks .
You can strengthen your network
Personal branding will help you expand your professional network, meet influential people in your field and build lasting relationships.
You can build your credibility
By sharing your expertise and knowledge through quality content, you can build credibility with your audience and industry professionals.
Differentiate yourself
In a competitive job market, differentiating yourself is essential to increasing your chances of success. No matter what your area of expertise, you will be competing with professionals from all over the world.
Having credentials and skills is no longer enough, you need to showcase them to attract the attention of employers or potential clients.
Developing good personal branding can help you differentiate yourself from your competitors and position yourself for career opportunities or new contracts.
Leads you to opportunities
By developing your personal branding and establishing your expertise in your field, companies will be more likely to offer you opportunities to collaborate or participate in new projects.
In short, developing a strong brand image can open doors that you might not otherwise have been able to reach.
-If you are looking for a job, you will attract recruiters to your profile
If you are looking for a job, it is essential to stand out. To do this, it is important to work on your personal marketing in order to attract the attention of recruiters and land a job without having to send unsolicited applications.
Indeed, by highlighting your skills and experience in an effective way, you can be spotted by recruiters who are looking for candidates who match their profile.
This can be done through professional social networks (LinkedIN..), participation in recruitment events.
-If you are a freelancer, work on your personal branding to adopt an effective “inbound marketing” approach
This method involves creating engaging content for your prospects, rather than spending hours searching for them yourself.
By developing a strong personal brand, you can attract your prospects’ attention and get them to come directly to you, rather than using traditional prospecting methods.
As a result, you can make the most of your time and spend more energy on creating quality content that will attract potential clients to your freelance business.
Offers you greater freedom
By increasing the number of opportunities available to you, you give yourself the opportunity to choose from a variety of options, both in terms of employment and clients.
Indeed, by establishing your expertise and increasing your perceived value, you attract more opportunities, allowing you to choose those that best suit your goals and aspirations.
In other words, by working to strengthen your brand, you can gain the freedom and flexibility to make decisions that best suit your needs and ambitions.
Create a personal brand-The key steps
Personal branding is an effective way to differentiate yourself from other professionals and get noticed by companies or potential partners. Here are some tips for creating a strong personal branding:
Identify your added value
The first step towards creating your personal branding is to find your uniqueness (what makes you unique, what makes you different), identify your added value, your skills, your strengths, your achievements and your professional goals.
This will help you determine your unique positioning in the marketplace and effectively communicate your competitive advantages.
Make themselves known automatically via digital channels
Use content marketing
Content marketing is an effective way to share your knowledge and position yourself as an expert in your field. You can publish relevant content on your website, your blog, your social networks …
Optimizing your profile on social networks
Social networks are powerful tools for creating personal branding. According to a 2020 survey of 1,005 hiring decision makers by the Harris Poll, social networks have become an increasingly important recruitment tool.
Indeed, 67% of employers said they use social media sites to search for potential candidates. In addition, 70% of managers said they had successfully recruited candidates via social media.
These results highlight the importance for professionals today to be active and present themselves well on social networks. Whether it is to look for a new job or to expand their network and create a strong brand image.
Here are some steps to help you make the most of these social platforms:
-To start with, you need to choose the right social networks. Not all social networks are interesting for you. It all depends on your goals and the audience you are targeting.
-Use a professional profile picture
-personalize your profile header
– Write a clear and concise bibliography that describes your activity and expertise
-Publish relevant and interesting content on a regular basis to attract the attention of your target audience
Create your own website
A professional website is a great way to showcase your services, skills and expertise. You can also publish quality content, such as blog posts or videos, to demonstrate your experience and expertise .
Write books or e-books
If you have particular knowledge or expertise in a field, writing a book or ebook can help you position yourself as an expert and build your credibility.
Offer webinars or online courses
Webinars and online courses are an effective way to share your knowledge and focus on your target audience.
Create a consistent online presence
Your online presence is one of the first things businesses or potential customers will see. Make sure your brand image is consistent across all online channels, including your website, social media profiles and online portfolios.
Networking
Attend in-person and online events, conferences and meetups to meet other professionals in your field.
Networking is a great way to build your reputation and find opportunities for work or collaboration.
In conclusion, personal branding is a key element for success in an increasingly competitive and connected world. Whether you are looking to launch your business, expand your network or land a new job, a strong personal brand can make all the difference.
If you are looking to optimize your personal branding and improve your chances of being recruited, contact Pentabell.
As an expert recruitment and HR consultancy, we can help you to
