Personal branding is such a buzz word at the moment… but what exactly is it?
Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room - and personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.
It’s the conscious decision to shape your brand so that it accurately reflects you and your business. If you don’t work at moulding your personal brand - then you let your brand be determined for you.
Here are my Top Ways to build your personal brand:
Audit your social presence and ensure that your content is purposeful.
In busy feeds, your visuals need to be thumb stopping and your captions need to reflect the tone of voice that your target customer will resonate with. When you’re posting make sure it is addivng value to your audience.
For example, I am madly passionate about shopping small and so every week I do a shout out to a different brand I think my audience would love to buy from.
Associate with other Brands
Try doing a loop giveaway on Instagram - a great way to build your audience or do an Instagram Live interviewing someone else in your field to reach their followers.
An Instagram Takeover is also a great way to broadcast to a different community - I recently did one for Mama Tribe to over 10k followers - I was so nervous but was the ideal opportunity for me to reach my perfect target audience, demonstrate my expertise and showcase my services.
Be Unique - Because Everyone Else is Taken
Start thinking of yourself as a brand. This can be uncomfortable but the best brands are ones we know, love and trust - they have a unique way of talking to us or an individual style.
By taking the time to think about how you want people to feel when they see your brand (e.g. for me I want my audience to feel reinvigorated about social media through my passion, I want them to feel inspired to book a workshops or a 1 to 1 and I want them to see my brand as trustworthy, expert and professional as well as young, energetic and funky!
Invest in Design
My brand was designed by Design by TIC - it goes deeper than just a logo and so often the businesses I meet make that key mistake - to only get a cheap logo created and then several years down the line it’s not right and too restrictive they need a whole brand developed anyway - so invest now!
Invest in Personal Branding Photography
From when we are first born we look to connect to people through eyes and expressions - if your photo is a static one with a false smile - how can you get your incredible personality across and build a relationship with them?
A free headshot from that networking event you once went to just simply isn’t going to cut it when you’re trying to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Working with Lisa Jordan from Little Beanies Photography was an easy and obvious choice for me for these three reasons:
1) She’s experienced in photographing postpartum Mums like me!
As a Mum herself and through her extensive newborn photography experience, she could cleverly disguise those lumps and bumps I’m so senstive about having only had Barney last year!
2) She’s a Marketing professional herself
With a background in corporate marketing and as a small business owner herself, Lisa knows the importance of professionaly projecting yourself as a brand in a busy marketplace.
What I loved was Lisa’s collaborative approach - she took time through a secret Pinterest board to brainstorm angles, shots, looks and backgrounds so we were both confident going into the shoot.
Lisa took time to understand my brand values and I loved her suggestion to shoot on location at some of my favourite local independent businesses Coffee Architects, Warwick Street Kitchen and House.
3) She’s super fun!
The shoot just felt like hanging out with a girl friend all day (minus the cocktails!) we had such a giggle and she really put me at ease. My cheeks hurt so much and by the end of the day I needed a nap!
So if you are ready to take your business to the next level then do not hesitate to get in touch with Lisa from Little Beanies Photography and book a discovery call
Lisa specialises in Bumps, Birth, Newborn, Family and business photography using natural light to capture real life in your own unique setting. Have a good luck at her work here.