The Content Marketing Companion is a regular feature on the TCMA blog. We take a content marketing topic and pull together all the best content on that topic from the Internet. Our aim is to provide you with quick access to great content to help you develop your content marketing skills.
Back in 2010, before I uncovered my ideas for starting my own business and whilst I was working for another organisation, I was pulled into the world of personal branding and began my quest for uncovering what I was truly passionate about.
It all started when I read Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk. His first book gave me the motivation to take a deep dive into social media and the inspiration to start my very first blog.
I look back at that point in my life and I have marked it as the moment when I started building my personal brand.
What is a personal brand?
You might be wondering what a personal brand is and how you can use the tools available to establish and develop your own.
Building a personal brand is not unlike building any brand, where you need to have:
- Consistent and recognisable messaging
- Consistent colours and logo
- Consistent style of marketing
- Consistent behaviour and voice
- Consistent delivery of value
In essence, when we talk about personal branding, we are really talking about reputation and perception.
Two examples from my own experience…
Don’t forget to be awesome
You have probably noticed that I use #dftba and sign almost everything I do off with “don’t forget to be awesome”.
I knew that this was starting to work as a slogan or catchphrase when people started telling me to be awesome!
This is a good example of a consistent slogan or message – people now know me for using DFTBA.
Click here to read more about #dftba.
You’re that marketing guy…
Back at the start of 2014 when I was really pushing to get known in the Fife area I met a gent for the first time at a business networking lunch.
We had never met before, and when he looked at my name badge he said “Chris Marr…? Oh yeah, you’re that marketing guy that’s trying to put Fife on the map”.
At the time I thought this was amazing – another small signal that my messaging was working.
Examples of people who have built awesome personal brands
These are just a few of the people that I look up to that are doing an excellent job of building and developing their own personal brand:
- Gary Vaynerchuk – @garyvee
- Erika Napoletano – @redheadwriting
- Mark Schaefer – @markschaefer
- Marcus Sheridan – @thesaleslion
- Ann Handley – @annhandley
- Michael Hyatt – @michaelhyatt
- Chris Ducker – @chrisducker
- John Lee Dumas – @johnleedumas
- Tim Ferriss – @tferriss
- Jay Baer – @jaybaer
There are a lot more, and I’m sure there will be different people that resonate with you – and in essence that’s what personal branding is all about!
It’s about embracing authenticity and understanding that by being yourself not everyone will like what you do or resonate with you.
You’ll find some amazing advice from these people included the resources we’ve pulled together below.
I urge you to take the time to dig into the resources that we’ve pulled together for you, I know you will start to get excited about the possibilities.
I hope you enjoy building your personal brand!
What can you do to build and develop your personal brand?
1 – The Complete Guide To Building Your Personal Brand (Resource)
This guide is possibly THE best personal branding resource on the Internet right now!
This guide will take your through all the steps you need to take to create a your unique personal brand.
In today’s job market and entrepreneurial landscape, there is no room for being another face in the crowd. You have to separate yourself from the competition. You have to be more appealing to your target audience and you can achieve it by creating a recognizable personal brand.
Click here to read more
2 – Living Your Personal Brand (Article Series)
This article series from Entrepreneur gives detailed advice on how to create, manage and promote your personal brand.
If you are developing your personal brand it’s very much worth the time going down this rabbit hole.
You will find that almost every little thing you do has an impact on your personal brand.
Click here to read more
3 – A Dozen Ways to Build Your Personal Brand Online (Article)
“Your personal brand can be broadcast to a global network at virtually no cost and with a simple click of a mouse.”
“The key question is, who is going to control your brand? Others? Fate? Or you?”
In this article you will find 12 informative suggestions to ensure your personal brand is being seen online as much as possible.
For example:
- Own your online name
- Manage your LinkedIn account
- Leverage your LinkedIn account
Click here to read more
4 -Why You Need To Build A Personal Brand (Podcast)
“If you’ve thought about the option to build a personal brand and not pulled the trigger yet – today’s episode of the podcast will change that.”
In this interview Chris Ducker talks with Gary Vaynerchuk and explains:
- What you need to build your personal brand.
- Why being a big fish in a small pond is good.
- Why customer attention is more important than your number of followers.
- The golden rule of successful stage speaking.
Click here to listen
5 – The 5 Elements of a Powerful, Personal Brand (Podcast)
In this interview Michael Hyatt and Michele Cushatt discuss the 5 vital elements that create a influential personal brand.
These five elements are:
- A Well-Defined Audience
- A Clear Value Proposition
- A Compelling Brand Slogan
- An Engaging Headshot
- Simple Graphic Components
Click here to listen
Your Turn
- Who do you consider to be doing an awesome job of building their personal brand?
- What does personal branding mean to you?
- What are you going to do to develop and improve how you build your personal brand?
Let me know by joining the conversation in the comment section below.
Don’t forget to be awesome!
Chris.
