We hear the term personal brand a lot these days. I have written several blog posts on what a personal brand is and several posts have referred to the attributes of successful personal brands, but for the sake of simplicity, I am going to outline them in one post.
Attributes of successful personal brands include:
Authentic
Confident
Intentional
Generous
Curious
Let’s dive a little deeper into each one.
Authentic
The strongest personal brands are built on authenticity. When we talk about authenticity we are speaking about the representation of a personal brand digitally and in person. In order to develop the know, like, and trust factor one must be their authentic self and be true to their values, visions, and passions in person and online. Let’s face it. If one is not authentic and represents themself one way online and another way in person, others are going to catch on, really fast! Doubt will creep in and the audience you are hoping to convert to clients will not trust you.
There may be others who do the same thing, but they don’t do it the same way, with the same values or the same purpose. Replicating what another is doing to build their brand is not going to help you build your brand. Your brand must be authentic to you, your product, or your service. Your ideas on how to create something or make something better must come through. They must be presented through your visions and your values. If you come across as trying to mimic another person in your industry, you are going to fail the know, like, and trust test.
Being authentic is about staying true to yourself, your beliefs, and your opinions. It’s OK to be yourself. The people who like you will be your lifelong clients and referral sources. Those who do aren’t your ideal audience.
Confident
People who are confident attract other people. Other people find people who are comfortable with them self to be inspiring. When people are authentic with their choices, opinions, values, and beliefs they are more confident and other people want to get to know them more.
Have you ever met someone who stated their opinion in their own way using their own style and no matter how many other people disagreed or had a different opinion they stood their ground? I have. And these people are intriguing. They may or may not be right and I may or may not agree with them, but the fact that they are being true to their authentic self and are confident enough to hold on to their beliefs makes me curious and I want to learn more about them. I want to understand them and am attracted to their confidence in themselves.
Confidence in the fact that you are an expert in your area of expertise is also very important. Confidence that you know who you serve, how your service is, and why you serve them is also important. When all of this confidence is demonstrated, people believe in you and want to purchase from you.
Please note that confidence should not be confused with being arrogant. There is a big difference. Confidence with humility is what attracts people.
Intentional
Another attribute of successful personal brands is intention. The people behind the personal brands are intentional with their why who and how. The why who and how are intentionally defined at the creation of the personal brand so that the ideal audience has no doubt why the person does what he/she does, who they serve, or how they serve them.
Being intentional with your why who and how is a critical component to developing content that your ideal audience can relate to and understand. When your why, who, and how are definitive, your content will be more engaging and will be clear, concise, and consistent.
Generous
Generosity is not what you think when it comes to building a successful personal brand. I am not talking about giving away your services and products on a regular basis. Once in a while, yes, for a donation to a cause that you believe in and want to support for the sake of getting your name out in the community.
Generosity comes in all shapes and sizes. I am a believer in the thought that success isn’t truly achieved until we serve others. There are so many ways to serve others by sharing our expertise. And listen, you don’t have to give everything away for free. Instead, consider the following:
- Be generous with your time, that commodity that is so limited, and mentor a young graduate in your area of expertise.
- Share your energy and enthusiasm by teaching at a community event or at your local chamber of commerce.
- Connect people that can use each other’s services or who might be able to collaborate.
- Create a mentorship program or membership program at a low cost that will help others and provide a source of revenue for you.
- Be visible and provide value when posting to social media.
- Provide valuable content when writing a blog post.
- Praise and acknowledge others who inspire you or are working to support you.
The more value you put out into the community, live and digital, the more eyes you will have on your personal brand. With that recognition, you will also build the know, like, and trust factor.
Curious
Successful people never stop learning. We may be experts in our niche, but that doesn’t mean we know everything. There is always something we can learn about our business and about life. I’ve read that leaders are readers. Living in the digital world we have content at our fingertips. The influencers and thought leaders in any industry are well-read and have spent a vast amount of time learning via written content, and podcasts, going to seminars and engaging with others in their area of expertise.
Time is often an excuse not to read. Even if you set aside 30 minutes a week, you will learn something that will help propel your personal brand. If you don’t like to read, listen to a podcast. With almost 600,000 podcasts available on the market, you are sure to find something that will educate and entertain you. Stay curious and search for information that will make you and your personal brand a powerhouse.
Additional Resource
If you are curious and want to learn more about personal branding, you can browse my past blog posts or read articles on Forbes. Forbes has a plethora of content on personal branding.
Do you have questions about the attributes of successful personal brands? Or, would you like to collaborate? Schedule a call with me! I’d love to connect!
