Why Should You Build A Personal Brand Online?
Nov 28, 2022
“Why should we focus on building our personal brand online? To create visibility, establish credibility and trust, find and attract clients, and set yourself apart from the competition!”- Nancy Evans
As a coach or consultant, your personal brand showcases who you are and what skills and abilities you bring to the table. It helps you connect with others in your space and can lead to new and different opportunities. According to websiteplanet.com, about 42% of the US workforce comprises freelancers and contract workers (that is over 67.6 million Americans) that doesn’t even include professionals (such as doctors, lawyers, financial services, realtors, and more).
If you are in any of these spaces, building your personal brand can help you build your credibility, create trust and help connect more with your ideal audience. It also makes it easier for potential clients to find you.
Even if you are not building a business online and looking for career growth, over 70% of employers screen candidates by checking their social media. They also check employees who currently work there often.
So whether you are looking for a job or building your business, building your personal brand is a good idea. When I met with one of my first business mentors, Jessie Phillips, who also happened to be a professor at a local college, she told me how important it was for graduating students to think about their personal brand and who they want to become in the world. Well, the world is now online, and social media is everywhere. The time is now :-) and there is no better time to work on YOUR personal brand.
I want to also reflect on an amazing point; personal brand expert Brittany Krystle brought up in one of her podcast episodes; she said, “Your personal brand is your insurance policy.” She meant that just because things are going well in your business and work doesn’t mean that will always be the case. People lose their jobs unexpectedly every day. Industries change, and things change, so will you. So building your personal brand is necessary if you want to truly control how others perceive you (whether it is future employers or companies and clients you would like to work with).
I want to give you a couple of scenarios to help paint the picture of how your personal brand can be a safety net for you.
Example 1: You are a network marketer, and you have spent the last five years growing a team and business underneath a company. You just get word that the company is going public, and your entire business and income massively decrease overnight.
If You Have Built a Personal Brand: You have spent those same five years building your own brand and can easily transition to a new focus, product, or service.
If You Have Done No Personal Brand Building: Your eggs were all in one basket; you are now in panic mode, trying to figure out how to start building your brand from scratch rather than relying on just sharing the company you were a part of.
Example 2: You are a financial advisor and have been silent on social media. Many clients you acquired through word of mouth have dropped off, and you realize that you are not getting the leads you once had.
If You Have Built a Personal Brand: Your clients have watched you and observed your content before connecting. They understand you're an expert in your field and know your stuff. They appreciate how you authentically show up online and have already built some trust with them. You can now invest more time connecting and growing your audience, to attract more leads for your business.
If You Have Done No Personal Brand: You are falling behind and realize that most leads are now coming from word of mouth and social media. You are now playing catch-up and stressing how to get started online. You feel behind.
These are just hypothetical examples, but I want to reiterate that building your personal brand is no longer an option. Plain and simple it is your reputation and what people think of you. Don’t you want to have control over that? Don’t you want to show up authentically and be yourself? Well you can and you should :-) Let’s dig into how to do that…
It’s time to grow your personal brand if:
You want to be seen as an expert in your industry
You want to attract your ideal clients and audience
You want to close more sales
You want to grow your business
You want to be known for your expertise
You want to create additional streams of income
“It’s important to build a personal brand because it’s the only thing you’re going to have. Your reputation online and in the new business world is pretty much the game, so you’ve got to be a good persona. You can’t hide anything, and more importantly, you’ve got to be out there are some level”- Gary Vaynerchuk.
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