How To Master The Art Of Branding Yourself

A problem in today’s saturated marketplace is finding your unique place as a professional. Whether you are self-employed, a freelance writer, entrepreneur, or work at a large corporation, you are in charge of your career path.

A successful brand relies on its unique positioning in the marketplace. A successful person must understand the importance of branding yourself. Your unique identity sets you apart from the competition and contributes to the overall success of your company.

In today’s competitive marketplace, business professionals must perfect the art of personal branding; Developing a unique personal brand, and actively promoting that brand to others.  Branding yourself is not only beneficial for your own career, but it also benefits your company’s brand image.

Here are four easy ways to get started with branding yourself and getting ahead in your career.

The first and most important step is to completely switch the way you think, especially when it comes to social media. Social media is no longer about posting photos of delicious food, fancy vacations, and your pets.

The objective of your social media is to show off your skills and personality across multiple platforms that are consumed on a daily basis by over 2 billion people worldwide.

Define your expertise by simply outlining your experience on a piece of paper and use it as a roadmap for social media content and blog content!

Give some thought to the topics that most closely align with your skills and strengths, as well as your role at your company. Use this information to create a statement that describes what you have that sets you apart from others.

One way I brand myself to drive traffic to my personal website is through men’s lifestyle products. I believe in the products I personally use/wear, and promote them on my personal social media channels. To take it a step further I arranged a professional photoshoot of myself wearing a line of men’s clothing from State & Liberty.

With my knowledge of the clothing line and personal experiences with it, the photoshoot just added more credibility to my personal branding and positioned me as someone with experience in that space. And that pushed people who are interested in men’s clothing to my personal website, which converted to affiliate sales.

The term elevator pitch may be overused, but never underestimate the power of having one in your back pocket. You never know when an opportunity will present itself.

A great elevator pitch consists of just three to four sentences. It’s a concise summary of your skills, background, vision, and what you hope to accomplish. Look to your value proposition, passions, and skills for keywords and clues. Speaking of keywords, come up with three or four keywords or short phrases that describe who you are.

Use your pitch when you meet someone new. Whether that is on an airplane, a virtual conference call, a networking event, or (surprise, surprise) in an elevator. If you’re delivering your elevator pitch to someone in person, then you need to deliver it with passion, enthusiasm, and confidence. Check out this pitch on Shark Tank. Even though it is a product pitch, what I want you to pay attention to is how this dude delivers his pitch.

Emulate this guy’s passion, enthusiasm, and confidence as you’re delivering your elevator pitch (minus the jujitsu moves) and you’ll make a lasting impression.

Your personal elevator pitch could even be used on a cover letter to a potential employer. It can even come in handy during job interviews when you get asked to describe yourself.

Yes, be everywhere! Even on the platforms that you hate or don’t know how to use. You have to be on them, and learn how to use them! All of these social media platforms are free branding outlets, so why not take advantage of them.

And while you’re building your personal brand on social media platforms, don’t just build a one-way channel that broadcasts information out. Create an engaging community around you by engaging with like-minded individuals and businesses. You can do this by liking their posts leaving comments that not only attract more eyeballs but also get you recognized as an active person who provides value.

Branding yourself can help elevate your business to new heights. By following a combination of the above personal branding tips help increase your chances of success in your career. I know it can be scary to put yourself out there but the reward is great. You can have the power to really make an impact in the lives of people that follow you.