How to Create Your Personal Brand

With the professional world becoming more connected through social media and online portfolios, creating a personal brand is a smart way to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Many professionals spend too much time focusing on their company's brand, forgetting altogether to incorporate their personal brands into the company. Establishing a personal brand boosts your reputation, and developing a brand involves a few simple steps that any industry professional can accomplish.

Establishing your personal brand involves setting up a platform that highlights your expertise and dedication to the industry. Marketing expert John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, defines a personal brand as "the art of becoming knowable, likable and trustable." A personal brand permits the company brand to become personable and within the grasp of consumers. To develop your personal brand, you need to establish a professional, online presence using social media and a website and by spreading your expertise to your followers.

Build a Website

Build a website that focuses on your personal brand. The website becomes the place that consumers and industry professionals visit to see your latest developments within the industry. Use the website to present your past and current projects, and develop a brand mantra that you can uphold. A website instantly puts you on the map in your field and serves as a stepping off point for all of the ventures that are involved in creating your brand.

Spread Your Name

Use your author biography, professional headshot and byline to maintain a sincere presence on popular industry websites. Spreading your personal brand involves writing columns, guest blog posts and articles for your niche to prove your credibility in the industry. Ask publications to include a byline linked back to your website to increase exposure to your personal brand.

Sign Up for Speaking Events

Creating your brand requires an online and personal representation of your personal brand. Speak at industry conferences and set up online webinars on your website that offer insight into your practices and expertise to network with consumers and colleagues. Providing free advice through webinars entices consumers to return to your company, while speaking at conferences bolsters your visibility in the field.

Publish an E-book

Take your personal brand a step further and write an e-book that offers inside information and advice on the industry. Write a concise, informative e-book on a specific topic in your business to develop credibility and readership. A successful brand requires followers, and e-books are the perfect way to acquire email addresses that you can use to distribute a monthly newsletter.

Communicate With Followers

Take your personal brand a step further with social media profiles that allow you to connect with clients and colleagues. To convince consumers and industry professionals that your personal brand should be taken seriously, respond to messages directed at you on the social media platforms that you use. Involving yourself in mentions of your company allows you to control the conversation and direct traffic back to your website.

Following through with these steps can help you establish a trustworthy, credible personal brand that boosts your company's reputation and makes you a leader in your niche. Keep your personal brand updated, and allow it to evolve as your business goals change over time.

Photo courtesy of Suwit Ritjaroon at FreeDigitalPhotos.net