Branding is one of the most critical components of success – whether you are chasing personal fulfilment or running a business. Some of the biggest brand names in the world have demonstrated just how much effort, time, and money it demands to brand an idea, a person, or a company. Nike’s ‘Swoosh’ icon and Apple’s apple icon are now familiar symbols all over the world. Coca Cola’s brand name and Toyota logo are two examples of successful branding campaigns. Are you looking for an effective way to brand yourself at minimal cost? Follow a successful example, like NetBet, who are a huge casino in the UK. Here are the five top tips to get you started.
- Focus on a Single Aspect of your Brand
The key to successful branding is repetition. Branding is primarily focusing on a single recognizable aspect of a brand, then repeating it until people associate it with you. Decide what message or symbolism you want the world to associate with you, then stick to it. Selling a focused message to your target demographic is more effective than trying to be everything to everyone. Besides, with a single message to sell, you will find it easier and cheaper to create content around the brand and to have others promote your idea within their circles.
- Integrity is Attractive
An easy way to create a personal brand and have it sell itself is to be authentic and genuine in all your dealings. We live in an age when authenticity sells because people can see through any malicious acts and brands. The mistake most people make when developing a personal brand is to copy a successful brand, make a few tweaks to suit their situations, then try to pass it off as original. Such a brand is dead in the water when the audience recognizes it as a copycat. When you are genuine in how you brand yourself promoting that brand should be harder in the beginning but will ultimately get easier.
- Tell your Personal Story
Humans love stories, from childhood through to adulthood. If you sell your brand as a telling story, you will have already won the attention of half your potential audience. When selling a personal brand, the most effective strategy is to create a realistic narrative around your area of focus. You should then write it down in an easy-to-read story or record a video for easier dissemination on social media and other platforms. You can create a high-quality recording with your smartphone camera today, and it will be good enough to go viral, reaching your fans, clients, and target audience in general.
- Consistency is Key
When creating a brand, you need to have a way to narrow the focus of your target audience towards a specific message, in this case, a focus on your story. This will make it easier for people to associate with your brand any messages you create and share to promote it. Consistency means that the voice you use to sell the brand, the format of content, and most importantly, the frequency of publication, is regular and anticipated. In time, the effort it takes to consistently sell your brand will be less demanding but will reach an even wider audience.
- Follow a Successful Example
Is there a celebrity, personal icon, or influential person you admire that has successfully branded themselves? Follow the steps they followed and take your own brand from zero to hero without re-inventing the wheel. However, before you blindly copy a successful personal brand, do some research to understand the circumstances that made them successful and determine whether you can replicate them. If not, keep looking for other branding success stories that best exemplify your strategy and ambitions and follow their example instead.
Creating a personal brand is not easy or cheap, but anyone can do it today and a recognizable brand in their industry, niche, or even geographical location. These five tips will help point you in the right direction if you want to brand yourself the most effective way.
