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What does personal branding mean to you?
Personal branding is big business these days. Even if you don’t realize you have a brand, you do and you want to make sure that you are in control of what people know about you. What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think about creating your “own”personal brand? You may be thinking, “where do I start?” but the truth is, you are already living the life of “You, Inc”, so it’s simply a matter of figuring out how you want to tell your story. People are drawn to authenticity, so be sure to take some time to think about the path you have taken to get where you are today.

Here are a few things you can do to manage your personal brand:

1. Be Authentic. There is only one you. Embrace it. By being yourself, you’ll invite opportunities for your audience to connect with you on a personal level. If you try to be someone other than your true self online, it won’t last and it will eventually ruin your brand altogether.

2. What is your “WHY”? Every entrepreneur should start out with a strong sense of what their “why” is. If you are passionate and truly get your “why”, this will be easier to translate to your brand, your message and the image you want to project.

3. Know Your Worth. Know what you stand for and be able to share your value. If you can’t define what makes your special, it will make it difficult for others to figure out too.

4. Serve others first. People are always looking for inspiration, meaning, and truthfulness. Share content that embodies those qualities and it will take on a life of its own. If you create a brand around the people you want to serve, your personal brand will always have power and reach.

5. Promote Honesty. Being honest helps build trust and credibility with your audience, which will lead to a loyal following who know, like, and trust you.

6. Get Involved with People. If you’re not engaging with your audience, then they will have no reason to stick around. Continue to build relationships and you’ll find that your loyal followers will soon become your adoring fans.

7. Position Yourself. Don’t create a brand that’s just like everyone else’s. Figure out what makes you good and showcase your talents in ways that will attract others.

8. Live Social. Stop trying to do social media and just be social. Treat social media platforms and new connections as you would in real life, be human. People like to be able to relate.

9. Be Contagious. Create and publish the best contagious content you can in a variety of media including text, video, and images.

10. Grow your own content distribution networks. Build a large following on social networks, grow an email list and optimizing your content for search engines for distributing your content. Successful people nurture contacts. The more you know, the more your grow.

Closing Thoughts

Keep in mind, creating your brand is not just one-way self-promotion. People pay attention to individuals or brands that are memorable. If they see something in you that they resonate with, they will keep coming back to see what you have to say. If they believe they can learn from you, your audience becomes more interested in meeting, getting to know and working with you.
Building a personal brand takes time and effort, but it’s worth it. If you were to take any of these tips and incorporate them into your own branding, which ones would you use first and why? Let us know.