Your personal brand is how others see you in the world. Your core values, motivations, ideas and how you want others to perceive you professionally, all go into creating your personal brand. What you should seriously consider noting is that you have a large degree of control over what your personal brand is.

The biggest hurdle people encounter when trying to build their brand, is that they don’t know even know what it is.

What is a personal brand?

A personal brand can be likened to a curated professional identity. It encompasses all the skills and knowledge you bring to the table, but that’s not all. It isn’t enough to be skilful and not let people know, the point of building your personal brand is positioning yourself within your industry.

When you’re trying to work your way up the career ladder, a strong personal brand can set you apart from your competition. You should remember, however, that your personal brand can take time and dedication to build. As you grow and develop in your career, so does your brand.

Personal branding is becoming increasingly important in today’s world. From networking with other professionals online, to building your career reputation, your personal brand reflects who you are in the workplace.

How Can You Authentically Build Your Personal Brand?

Maintaining authenticity when building your personal brand is crucial. You want to showcase your best skills, talents and traits. At the same time, you don’t want to be caught out for lying about skills you don’t actually have.

When you sit down to conceive your personal brand, take into consideration the following factors:

1. Define Your Values About Work

What kind of work you want to do, and where you see yourself professionally plays a key role in your personal brand. If you want to be a corporate executive, then you would brand yourself very differently compared to becoming, say, a doctor.

The career you choose should also align to your personal values and goals. This gives you the best chance to build a fulfilling life for yourself, and create a magnetic personal brand organically. Ask yourself questions like:

• What kind of work do I want to do?
• Do I see myself working in an office environment, or something else?
• How much do I need to earn to support my lifestyle?
• What are my strengths and weaknesses?

The answers to these questions can help you understand who you want to be at work.

2. Perform a SWOT Analysis on Yourself

SWOT stands for ‘strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats’. When you perform a SWOT analysis, you essentially need to create four boxes. Then, you start listing out what your strengths and weaknesses are.

When you’re doing this analysis, try to be as honest as you can with yourself. By being aware of where your strength lies, as well as your weaknesses, you can improve your personal brand. Consider enhancing your strengths and limiting your weaknesses. Learning ways to overcome your weaknesses can also help you evolve in your career.

By using the ‘opportunities’ and ‘threats’ sections to monitor your career progress as well as your competition respectively, you can make informed choices about your career.

3. Social Media Success

A solid social media presence can do wonders for your personal brand. If you haven’t already, consider optimizing your social media profiles to reflect your personal brand.

You can also actively use social media to build your personal brand. The first step is to figure out who your target market is. Once you know who you want to market your products or services to, you can reach out and engage with them directly. A good way to do this is by disseminating valuable information or advice, in your area of specialization.

Content marketing in the form of videos, podcasts, webinars, live streams, e-Books, conferences and more can help you make people aware about your personal brand.

Do You Need to Have a Personal Brand?

Succeeding professionally in today’s world requires more than a steadfast dedication to the daily grind. The more you actively put yourself out there, the more career opportunities you will encounter.

You can expect your personal brand to grow with you as you progress in your career. If you want to maintain a great personal brand, then actively monitoring your brand will be necessary. Consider learning from any feedback you get during your journey. By regularly developing yourself professionally, you can keep adding value to your personal brand.