Personal Branding has never been more important than it is in today’s world. Anybody with access to the internet and social media can build an audience that helps them to build their brand and that’s exactly what people are doing nowadays. To better understand this let’s take an example – Try to Google yourself and see what you’ll find? For most of us. We’ll not find anything! Now try to Google Mark Zuckerberg. Most of us, don’t even need to Google this but if you do, you will find tons of pages on what his brand is and what he does! That’s the power of a personal brand.
Now, most of you will think that you can’t be at that level as personal branding was better left to models, Hollywood celebrities, and Tech Giants but what if we say that with the help of Social Media you can be the next brand. Now, you must be curious to know that how can you create your brand, right?
So, with that said, let’s get into ”What is a Personal Brand?” Many people nowadays have a wrong interpretation of Personal Brand as climbing a ladder of success or to boss people around or a way to earn a lot of money but it is not what most people think it is! It is something related to how you influence people and how you add value to someone’s life and make their life a little better.
Personal branding is the key to success in many phases of your life, as today’s world is getting highly competitive, and better with their set of skills, so for you to stand out you have to do a bit of effort and if you want that influence in other people’s life you have to act apart to be a part.
”It’s not about being arrogant, it’s about being authentic”
Now as we know what personal branding is, let’s see why it’s important for you to build your brand. Here are a few reasons:
- It helps people more to reach out to you for help! And build connections.
- Gets you more opportunities in life – Job interviews, Internships, Speaker at events, etc.
- It helps you to create a small impact and add value to other lives.
- It indeed helps you to stand out from others.
- It helps in building confidence while gaining trust.
- It generates trust, respect, and a mutual feeling of belongingness in your audience.
Once you build your brand, it will help you to get more exposure and build connections with more people. People around you will know what you are good at and this will further help you to grow your brand and later can even monetize it. Let’s take an example – Suppose you are good at building websites and people around you know that you build websites or you do any particular work of their interest. Then if someday they want some work done related to your niche, they will contact you or can even refer to potential clients and you both can benefit from that!
Now, you’ll be thinking ‘OK’ we understand how important it is! But how do I even get started? Don’t worry we’ve got your back! Here are a few tips on ”How to get started?”
It’s easy. You just have to keep a few things in mind. The first thing you’re required to do while creating a personal brand is –
1. Building a strong online presence
You can do this by documenting your journey each day. Whatever you are building or learning just showcase your skills on LinkedIn, Twitter, and all other social media platforms. Let’s say if it’s 100 days of code, design, or anything just share your work and watch the magic happen. The key point to remember here is that you have to be consistent and authentic.
2. Promote and discuss work
An important thing to remember here is that first, you have to build your brand around something that you want to be known for. As it is the reflection of who you are and what you want to be. Then only you’ll be able to promote and can discuss your work.
3. Attend talks, meetups, and conferences
Whether it is talking, meetup, or conferences on soft skills, good practices, or anything… Attend! These events are a good opportunity for you to learn about different subjects, topics and to know people with the same interest as you and with different technical backgrounds as well. It is a very good opportunity for you to expand your personal or professional network. Soon, you’ll realize that you’ve compounded a huge network that’s more valuable than your net-worth and that’s what we call a brand!
So, these are a few steps that you can follow to create a personal brand. But, you need to be consistent and have faith in yourself during this journey as it is not an overnight process & it will take some time to show the results. However, all your hard work & dedication in creating personal branding will reward you with some ravishing & worthwhile career opportunities!!
