Nowadays, brands pop up and burst like balloons. Here one day, gone the next. To sustain and grow your personal brand creating a genuine online presence is critical. Your brand shapes how people see you and has a big influence on your life, whether you're a life coach, an entrepreneur, or an aspiring professional.
What is authentic branding?
Authenticity in branding is the cornerstone of building a strong personal brand. Being genuine and transparent sets you apart and builds trust with your audience. It is easy to create a profile and claim to be someone they're not. Fake profiles and inauthentic branding strategies may provide short-term gains, but ultimately people can identify fake communication and behaviour.
My mission is to reconnect people with their inner voice. To reach as many people as possible, I started sharing my insights and journey of transformation since 2016. I have put out snippets of my work, photographs, quotes, articles, videos etc. This helped me communicate and build my brand of authenticity as a leadership and life coach. Gradually, as I built connections, some of them became my professional associates, some became my friends and some invited me work collaboratively. It has been very fulfilling how some of my virtual friends have become my real friends. By staying true to myself, and consciously communicating my with my audience, I have successfully established a digital reputation.
As a life coach, I have curated my brand over the years by following a few strategies:
Identify Your Brand Identity: To begin, understand your main beliefs, interests, and areas of competence. What is unique about you? How do you want people to identify with you? I cannot fake it, and that has been my biggest strength and weakness as my brand has built gradually.
Be Consistent: Consistency is critical to developing trust with the audience. Ensure that every aspect of your online presence, such as your website, blog, and social media accounts, reflects your brand identity. I have always personally written and reviewed my content to ensure that my brand does not get compromised.
Tell Us Your Story: Telling stories makes people connect, so don't be shy about sharing yours. Talk openly and honestly about your experience, your triumphs, and your setbacks. Sharing my story has made my brand relatable and accessible.
Engage with Your Audience: Communicating with your audience is just as important to developing a strong personal brand as spreading your message. I promptly respond to questions, emails, and comments, as a mark of respect and gratitude. My connections don’t feel like strangers because we have been chatting regularly for the last 7-8 years.
Provide Value: Knowledge is the biggest gift that we can give to another. I ensure that my communication is empowering and motivational by sharing insightful articles, helpful tools, and content. Over time, you will gain the audience's confidence and reputation by continuously providing value.
Michelle Obama is an outstanding example of a successful personal brand. As a bestselling author, attorney, and former first lady, Michelle has developed a strong personal brand that is based on advocacy, empathy, and sincerity. She shares her narrative and uses her platform to uplift and encourage people via her books, public appearances, and social media accounts.
Essentially, creating a genuine online presence that represents who you are and what you stand for is the key to personal branding in the social media era. You can develop a powerful personal brand that opens doors and spurs you on to success by establishing your brand, being consistent, sharing your story, interacting with your audience, and offering value.
