4 Steps to Build a Personal Brand
PERSONAL BRANDING CAN SEEM LIKE A FUZZY CLOUD IN THE SKY—AMBIGUOUS, HARD TO PUT INTO WORDS, AND BEYOND YOUR REACH. IT’S NOT EXACTLY A PHYSICAL PRODUCT THAT YOU CAN EASILY TOUCH, DESCRIBE, OR GIVE TO SOMEONE.
Instead, it is something much deeper. It is an entire experience—a journey that you create for your audience—that represents what you are all about.
To begin building a personal brand, or to refine the one you have already created for yourself, it is important to understand the building blocks that create a clear, consistent, and visually appealing brand.
Most of all, it is critical that, as you evolve (because you’re a human being and growth is natural in your human journey), you develop a brand that can evolve right along with you and still communicate to others what you are all about at this point in your life.
Let’s talk about the 4 V’s, the main building blocks of a clear personal brand, to help you get started.
1. VOICE: The words you use to talk about your brand
The voice of your brand is all about the words that you choose to talk about your brand. These words should be intentionally and strategically used to represent your brand in a way that feels true to you. At the heart of your brand’s voice are your core values—the things in life that matter most to you. In other words, the things in your life that you could not live without.
Think about the voice of your brand in terms of specific keywords that are going to jump out at your audience and connect with them the more consistent you are. The more you sprinkle these keywords consistently across the different touchpoints of your brand—for example, through your newsletter, blog posts, social media, and website copy—the more these keywords will be reinforced. This means your audience will soon begin to associate your brand with the strategic keywords that you have chosen to best represent it.
AS YOU DEVELOP AND CONTINUE REFINING THE KEYWORDS BEHIND YOUR BRAND VOICE, I RECOMMEND ASKING YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:
What words instantly come to mind when you think of your brand? For example, I think of wonder, curiosity, adventure, inspiration, and freedom when I think of The Humanista brand.
Review your last two week’s worth of social media and write down words or themes that you see repeating.
What words do you find yourself intentionally using in your messaging?
After doing your social media review, what words do you find yourself intentionally avoiding? Why?
2. VIBE: How your audience feels when interacting with your brand
This is a very important building block and possibly the hardest to define, at first. You brand’s vibe is all about how you want your audience to FEEL whenever they come across your brand. If you first focus on the feeling behind your brand, this will be a powerful factor to determine the visuals that drive your brand in the long-run.
Your brand vibe is the emotional experience that you want your brand to create for your audience. Once you determine the emotions, this will inspire ideas for the visuals that convey those emotions. That’s why I absolutely recommend starting here BEFORE you dive in to the visual elements of your brand, otherwise you will find yourself having to start all over and wasting precious time and energy.
HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED:
What do you want someone to feel as soon as they get to your site or social media? For example: high-end, simple, clean, bold, loud, bright, inspirational, down-to-earth, etc.
How are you conveying how you want your audience to feel through your brand? For example, are you using slang words? Are you making jokes? Are you sending supportive words to your audience so they feel encouraged?
What do you want people walk away with after interacting with your brand? For example, when people interact with The Humanista, I want them to walk away feeling that the world is full of possibilities, that their voice truly matters, and that their struggles are worth sharing because it is all part of our journey as human beings.
3. VISUAL: What your audience sees when interacting with your brand
Now that you have identified your brand’s voice and vibe, it’s time for the fun stuff— your brand’s visuals! This includes things like: your brand photography, color scheme, typography, and even the layout of your website to create the desired experience you want for your audience. When done intentionally, this can create a very impactful experience for your audience that can act as a magnet for your dream clients who connect with how you are representing yourself.
I recommend starting by identifying a brand theme. (READ THIS POST to learn my signature process for creating your own brand theme.) This could be a situation or a scene that you want your audience to experience when they interact with your brand. For example, for The Humanista’s brand theme, I chose “it’s all about the journey.” From that theme, the visuals that came to mind were wide open spaces, nature, scenes from the desert, beach, and panoramic views from above.
Keeping this one theme in mind was incredibly helpful when choosing the visuals for my brand because images that were consistent with the theme immediately started jumping out at me. I also found that the visuals were very consistent with how I represent myself in real life, from the fashion I choose to the way I decorate my home. You will be amazed at the power of this brand theme exercise and how it can create more consistency across your own brand.
4. VIRTUAL: The platforms you use to communicate your brand
I know it can be overwhelming trying to do ALL THE THINGS across ALL the platforms. You want so badly to grow your brand and attract your ideal clients. You have an incredible message and amazing work to get out into the world, and it can be so discouraging when you feel like nobody is noticing or engaging.
Whether you are building your brand from scratch or trying to refine the one you already have, it’s important to remember that when trying to be relevant on ALL the platforms at once, you run the risk of diluting your brand and the content you have worked so hard to create. You scatter your focus and energy when you try to use too many platforms at once, and this can lead to disappointment and burnout.
Instead, I’d recommend a more focused strategy for the virtual side of your brand. First, think about the platforms that you naturally use anyway and that are enjoyable for you. Then, choose just one platform (or two if you feel it is manageable right now) and decide to FULLY commit to showing up there.
REMEMBER, IT’S YOUR BRAND. YOU GET TO DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO GROW IT. JUST BECAUSE ONE PLATFORM WORKS GREAT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL WORK THE SAME FOR YOU. START WITH WHAT COMES NATURALLY TO YOU.
When you show up consistently, you are setting yourself up for success. This is a useful and realistic strategy because, if you are consistently nurturing that platform and content, people will follow you there because you are more focused on that platform. Sooner or later, the people who are attracted to the authentic person you are WILL find you.
Your dream clients and opportunities are out there waiting for you, but it’s up to you to put in the hard work to show up, stay consistent, and stay true to who you really are.