Develop your Personal Branding - the 6 Winning Steps

Personal Branding is a very popular concept, and with good reason. It refers to the digital identity of each individual. 

Today, more than ever, digital communication is essential. It takes place via a multitude of channels such as social networks, blogs and various platforms. The sum total of all our online content is our e-reputation - the image our audience perceives of us. Personal branding is the result.

A true digital marketing strategy, it's all about "selling yourself" as your own brand. Whether you're the founder of a start-up looking for investors, a freelancer looking for new clients, a candidate looking for a job, a student looking for a mentor or an internship... Personal Branding is an invaluable tool for increasing your visibility.

However, acquiring a powerful personal brand cannot be improvised. Here are the 6 main steps in this marketing technique that will help you develop your Personal Branding effectively and achieve your goals. 

1. Be authentic to develop your Personal Branding

In this process, we're tempted to observe the methods of our counterparts, to draw inspiration from them, or even to copy them when they prove effective. And yet, this is the mistake we must not make. 

As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself, the others are already taken". The foundation of optimal Personal Branding lies in being authentic. You need to build a strong image, just as you would build a brand image. In concrete terms, this means putting in place a communications strategy that reflects you, your values and your aspirations. 

In this sense, introspection can be extremely beneficial. By refocusing on yourself, you'll be able to retrace your career path, analyze your past choices, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and determine what makes sense for you or what you want to achieve. 

The aim of this personal development process is to get to know you better. This is a crucial step, as it will provide you with the common thread on which to build your Personal Branding. 

Mastering the art of storytelling is a considerable asset when it comes to presenting yourself to your audience. This writing method, which involves telling a story - in this case, your own - helps to forge an initial bond between you and your target audience. 

2. Know your audience and define your objectives

Before diving headlong into content creation, it's essential to define precisely the profile of your target audience, and to be clear about the objective of your approach: "What is the goal of my communication? Who do I need to convince to achieve it?

When you want to talk to everyone, you talk to no one. This is the pitfall of untargeted communication. Your mode of expression, your content and your positions must be adapted to your audience in order to capture their attention and be consistent with the person YOU are. If your message is too general, it's likely to have little positive impact. That's why you need to personalize your message.

Once you've identified your audience, you can choose the right communication channels to address them. For example, LinkedIn is best suited to developing a professional network, while Instagram is best suited to boosting a BtoC business...

3. Identify your added value to develop your Personal Branding

This step consists in becoming aware of your intrinsic potential, so that you can bring it to the attention of your audience. Your previous work of introspection will have already revealed some valuable answers. 

Here are a few questions that might help: "What's special about me?", "What's special about my offer?", "What makes me stand out from the competition?", "Why me more than anyone else?"...

To promote your added value to your community, you need to highlight your area of expertise, skills, know-how and interpersonal skills, as well as your style, personality, ambitions and interests. This value proposition will enable you to start conversations with your audience and peers, and ultimately build a reputation with a well thought-out branding strategy.

When it comes to structure, make sure your LinkedIn profile is perceived as a brand in its own right, where the product is YOU. The packaging is your entire profile (name, photo, banner, experiences, etc.), the brand DNA is your storytelling.

How do you make your brand shine? By creating content that reflects you.
How do you ensure that your network has a positive image of your profile? By adding value to your content creation.  

4. Communicate less to communicate better

Faced with the incessant flow of information we are confronted with, it is sometimes difficult to select the ones that are of real interest. With the emergence of social media, this constant solicitation emanates from a multitude of sources, so much so that it creates a veritable mental load that is harmful to Internet users. 

Communicating less to communicate better makes perfect sense. This strategy of editorial restraint is based on writing quality, unique content that is less frequent, but which responds to a real need in the audience. Develop your image by defining your own editorial strategy for writing your content (editorial pillars, list of hashtags, keywords, etc.), a visual identity with a graphic charter to illustrate your content and highlight your personality. This will enable you to gain notoriety and legitimacy by making yourself known and recognized as an expert in your field on social networks.

What's more, your content will be more likely to be better referenced, making you more visible. Finally, your community will not be over-solicited and will surely thank you for it. Don't forget that your personal communication is broadcast via your LinkedIn profile. So it's your professional image that's at stake, as well as your reputation in your industry.  

5. Careful communication

The best content can lose all credibility if it's riddled with spelling, syntax, conjugation or grammar errors. For this reason, don't hesitate to reread your content several times, have it proofread or use a proofreading tool. 

The style is simple, precise and intelligible. The logic of "1 sentence = 1 idea" remains relevant when communicating on social networks. It makes messages easier to understand and more fluid to read.

Finally, when relaying content or taking inspiration from it, it's best to check the reliability of your sources beforehand. Sharing erroneous information could damage your reputation. A lack of vigilance impacts the image of your profile with your audience, and therefore their perceived image of your expertise. It would be a pity if this were to have an impact on your professional activities. 

As an employee, it will also be important to ensure that your personal branding is in line with your company's digital strategy and image, so that it doesn't detract from your success or that of the company brand you work for. In this case, get in touch with the marketing teams and talk to your manager to find out how you can combine your content marketing with that of your company. Internal communication upstream is essential to optimize the implementation of your personal branding without worries! Please note, however, that just because you want to start creating content on your profile doesn't mean you have to divulge a corporate image in the negative sense of the word. 

6. Maintain and develop your network 

It would be a pity to underestimate the importance of networking, which remains a formidable means of enhancing your personal branding. 

Some of the people you've come into contact with over the course of your life could prove to be important allies at some point in your career. They could recommend you to their friends and family, or share their experiences with you. These valuable relationships deserve to be nurtured over the long term. Start conversations to exchange ideas, develop your network and engage your community with your content.

To widen your circle of contacts, professional events are always a good idea. They enable you to meet new prospects or colleagues, forge links and make yourself known. If this approach doesn't appeal to you, you can consider a more traditional form of contact, with a personalized message.

The most important thing to remember is that it's important to think about your personal branding beforehand. Your Linkedin profile is just a virtual business card, so it's important to be yourself and control your image.  

Want to know more about optimizing your LinkedIn profile?