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Build your own personal brand

Of all the PR services to choose from, profile building should be at the top of your priority list.

Not only will it boost your business, becoming a key person of influence – a term coined by entrepreneur and author Daniel Priestley – is also an essential way to enhance your brand awareness.

Don’t believe us? Here’s how.

Make a name for yourself

The fastest way to grow a business is to build a key person of influence (KPI) within the business: a thought leader, someone recognised as an expert in their field. More often than not, that will be the boss.

Face it; for all our modern technology and gadgets, at heart we are all still tribal beings with a basic need to connect – and that’s not to a faceless corporation.

Think about Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla. In terms of recognition, he’s far bigger than the brand he created, with 50m followers on Twitter compared to Tesla’s relatively paltry 8.6m.

That’s because people buy from people, not from businesses; consumers are more drawn to individuals and so you shouldn’t hide behind your company’s brand – you should embody it.

So now you know you need to become a KPI, how are you going to get there?

Know your purpose

If you’re going to share your persona with the rest of the world, you need to know what it is. And if you can find your niche in a specialist area, so much the better.

Remember, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it, so be clear on your mission, values and beliefs and break them down into one clear concise message.

Align your beliefs with those of your audience, and you’ll make your way into their amygdala – the part of the brain responsible for emotions and feelings.

Overall, it’s not just about finding yourself in the spotlight, it’s about becoming the spotlight, and using that power to lead the conversation, highlighting certain trends, issues and key ideas.

Tell your story

Stories are the most powerful form of human communication and every brand has one – starting with you. This is your chance to share your origin, mission and vision.

Start at the very beginning – why and how did you launch your business? Your back story makes your brand seem authentic and relatable, which in turn builds trust and emotional connections.

Even if it’s as simple as unemployment or needing the money, that’s a real genuine story, and can even make your audience more likely to buy from you than a profit-hungry corporation.

Be visible

Once you’ve come up with your story, you need to make sure it is heard – after all, you are who Google says you are.

You could be the most knowledgeable person on the planet with the best, most cost-effective product, but if you’re not on the first page of Google, you may as well be nobody.

Enter awards, look for speaking opportunities, offer quotes for any relevant stories – it’s all about making sure you as an individual are visible.

It will also help if you can make yourself memorable and stand out from the crowd in some way – Leader of the Pack Charlotte was always known as the girl with the dogs. Glamorous? Not particularly. Effective at getting audiences to remember her? Absolutely.

Publish

Think of this like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for your brand. Create content that can be shared through blogs, social media, books or traditional media, which all leads back to one person – you.

A bulk of written material to your name also makes you look credible and lends an air of authority – if you’ve written about it (and being published) then you must know what you’re talking about.

Be consistent and coherent

We bang the consistency drum a lot, but that’s because it’s so important; if you want to build your brand, you need to be consistent with not just your activity but your content too.

That’s because, as social psychologist Robert Zajonc’s theory of the mere exposure effect explains, familiarity – for whatever reason – breeds likeability.

So it stands to reason that, to create a place for your brand in your audience’s consciousness, you need to be consistently visible, building a strong and likeable reputation over a period of time – we never said becoming a KPI would be overnight.

Social media is great for this, and the good news is that it gets easier, working on a compounding effect. For example, it may take you 1,000 posts to reach 1,000 followers, but then just 100 posts to get to 5,000, as more and more people share your content.

However, as well as being consistent, you also need to be coherent; sharing a clear, authentic message across all your platforms and content.

Look at fashion designer Gucci; it works on a variety of platforms and offers a variety of manifestations, but the themes of eclecticism, romance and progress run through it all like a red thread, weaving an exciting but coherent story.

Care

And finally, another way to become a KPI is to show that you care – just look at Marcus Rashford.

Choose a cause close to your heart and get involved, whether that’s through donating money or volunteering your services.

However, it’s not all about the big gestures; treating people kindly and with respect will get you a long way and leave everyone you come across with a positive impression.

And, as your mother told you, good manners cost nothing – but can really add value to your brand.

To learn more about becoming a key person of influence, check out Daniel Priestley’s book.

Or, if you’d like some help building your own personal brand and becoming a KPI, throw us a bone on 01325 486666 or email us at info@harveyandhugo.com to get our free framework tool.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .