PERSONAL BRANDING | 7 Beginner Tips To Accelerate Your Online Business
I have a question for you.
What do Oprah, Elon Musk, Dave Ramsey, Lady Gaga and Tony Robbins have in common besides being ultra-wealthy?
The answer?
A powerful personal brand.
Don't be fooled. These influencers didn't wake up one day with a gift box on their bedside holding the golden key to success. Nope, they built their personal brand from scratch.
I know, it's hard to imagine that at one point in their lives, they were average joes, just like you and me.
And in today's episode, we're going to talk about helped get them to where they are today.
Especially going in-depth on what is a personal brand, why build a personal brand, how to start a personal brand, and the essential seven personal branding beginners tips to help you go from unknown expert to ultimate authority with your online business.
Hey there, Business Strategist Molly Ann Luna; I'm the founder of The Legacy Leaders Academy, helping entrepreneurs amplify their income and impact. I'm so happy to have you tuning into The Online Business Clinic.
This show is all about helping you achieve financial independence by leveraging intelligent online strategies to start, scale and skyrocket your online business. Ultimately giving you the freedom to work less and earn more so that you can be more present for the moments that matter most.
If you're interested in discovering intelligent strategies that'll give you the freedom to work less and earn more so that you can be more present for the moments that matter most, then be sure to SUBSCRIBE and turn on the bell notification. New episodes are released every week.
Ok, first things first, let's get on the same page.
What is a personal brand?
Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception of an individual by positioning yourself as an authority in your industry, elevating your credibility, and differentiating yourself from the competition, to ultimately advance your career, increase your circle of influence, and mega-boost your bank accounts.
Sounds pretty good, right?
Why Build A Personal Brand?
Whether you realize it or not, if you have a social media account, whether it's on youtube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, you are navigating social media marketing as a personal brand.
Whether you've already started to build your online business or you're thinking about starting an online business, the time to build your personal brand is now.
Those with a strong personal brand will lead more, win more and earn more. And who doesn't want that?
How to Start a Personal Brand?
Creating a memorable personal brand does not happen overnight, but the work you put into it can help you reach your career or business goals.
Your personal brand is the way people perceive or remember you. It's what you are known for. Having a personal brand can help distinguish you in your career field or business industry.
Think about Elon Musk - he has a personal brand. Elon Musk himself is known as a visionary and an inventor. His projects - Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink - reflect his visionary personal brand. Elon Musk's projects show that he stands for pushing the limits of what is currently possible.
Whether you are trying to excel in your career or be known for your businesses, a personal brand can help.
Creating a brand shows your values and highlights your strengths. When a prospect looks you up online, your personal brand can give them a snapshot of what you represent.
It's a way of expressing who you are and your long-term vision. When your personal brand resonates with you and your values, you attract people you connect with within your inner circle.
These days, you can use social media marketing to your advantage to build your personal brand. The personal brand can help you sell a product or course or distinguish your reputation in your industry in the long run.
Plus, the work that you put into your personal brand can compound. People will reach out to you knowing your expertise. You may receive requests for speaking engagements. If you launch a product of your own, you could have an audience of people who trust you.
Personally, since focusing on personal branding for myself, I receive 2-3 emails a week with unique money-generating opportunities from potential collaborations with other businesses. It's incredible how building a personal brand does attract more opportunities to lead and earn more.
7 Steps to Creating a Compelling & Profitable Personal Brand
Build your foundation for your personal brand.
Start with a story. Stories drive our world. They evoke feelings, take people to another world, and help others associate themselves with you. Tell a story people will resonate with. How did you get to where you are today? What's the "why" behind your work?
Your story doesn't have to belong or be extravagant, but it does need to be relatable.
For example, one of my personal brand stories is that I'm a U.S. Army Veteran and former Certified Financial Advisor who kicked corporate America to curb in pursuit of creating lifestyle and financial freedom - aka building True Wealth. My first business, a personal training business, went from $0 to six figures in 6-months. But, because I didn't have smart systems and processes in place, my business and bank account went up in flames. I now have dedicated my life to helping entrepreneurs leverage intelligent online strategies to work less, earn more, and be present for the moments that matter most.
See, short, sweet to the point, AND relatable.
I'm sure you or someone you know is in a dead-end job they hate and would also like to experience lifestyle and financial freedom. If that's the case, do me a favor; let me know by typing FREEDOM in the comments below.
Bonus points for you if you grab this episode's link and share it with that person who was just top of mind and invite them to subscribe to the show and join our community here.
Choose your target audience.
● Who do you want to impact? Who do you like to receive your message?
● Which brands in your industry does your audience follow?
Pull out your phone or computer, do a little research, and define your target audience. The research you do can create lifelong superfans. It might sound unusual at first, but doing research will help you get clear on who your brand is for, as well as the brands in your industry they follow.
Create an irresistible offer.
Create a brand promise. A brand promise is a statement that communicates what followers can expect from you whenever they interact with your brand or company. It can turn into a tagline on social media. Regardless of the businesses you start or products you launch, what brand promise will tie those things together?
Often I refer to this as a power promise statement. For more in-depth training on this, be sure to tune into this episode 88. I'll leave a link in the show notes.
Optimize your online business presence.
Build your online presence. Get started building digital platforms so that when people stumble upon you online, they can learn more about you.
Social media accounts are outstanding. After all, they're free, but a website with a domain name that you own is better.
Your website is your digital storefront that tells people about what you offer. It can also be the archive for your Creator content.
Your email marketing platform comes next. Establishing a branded email marketing campaign and sending regularly scheduled newsletters into followers' inboxes can build a personal, intimate relationship, further strengthening your personal brand.
Be sure to pay attention to the small details. Use headshots, graphics, and brand colors that convey your brand personality. Keep that personality in everything, including your email signature!
Social Media Platforms. Have a social media marketing content strategy.
I don't think I have to explain the power of social media marketing to you. I'm sure if you took a second to think about it you've likely purchased several things that have been recommended to you via an online influencer.
As an online business, the content you post on social media matters. Your content not only can reach your existing audience but also expand your audience. And if done wisely, one piece of branded content can be repurposed and shared across many platforms, further developing your personal brand.
Build a community.
The strongest personal brands have a community element when it comes to personal branding. Think long-term. Thinking long-term helps you get crystal clear on where you want to take your brand. What is the purpose of your brand? In what way does it align with your goals? How can building your personal brand helps you in the long term?
Take, for example, Lady Gaga. She is not only an uber-talented artist; she has built a powerful, unique, visually captivating personal brand. She knows that her target audience is the LGBTIQA+ community, and she's lovingly referring to her fans as 'Lil Monsters.'
For me, my community is a group of heart-centered entrepreneurs who desire to build a legacy business that will generate wealth for their future generations to come. We call ourselves Legacy Leaders.
I'm curious, who is your ideal target audience for your online business, and what type of community will you build for your personal brand? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Grow As You Go
Through creating recognition, branding can be the elevator to achieving your goals. And feel free to be human! You don't have to trap yourself in the box of your personal brand.
To further help you build your own powerful personal brand, I've created a downloadable pdf success sheet for grab your copy today by clicking on the link in the show notes.
And until next time, if you want to discover how to make a more significant impact and income with your personal brand? Then be sure to tune into this free training video.