5 Tips for Building a Personal Brand

There are definitely benefits to working under the umbrella of a big company with an established brand. But do you know what’s even better? Having your own brand, regardless of who signs your paychecks.

Why…? We’re glad you asked:

1. Consumers today don’t want to do business with a company; they want to do business with a person they know, like, and trust and develop long-term relationships with those they depend on for professional services. 
2. If and when you leave the company you work for, your customers will follow, because they’re loyal to you, not to your company. 

A consumer trend we’re seeing a lot of is doing business locally. Since the pandemic began, 76% of consumers have made an effort to support local small businesses, 38% say they want to support their community, and 28% buy local for better service. 

Establishing a personal brand that people can connect with and relate to can help you win more business. And when you promote your personal brand within your community, it doesn’t matter what company you work for—you will attract new opportunities and connections that build your bottom line, both personally and professionally. 

What Is a Personal Brand?

Personal branding goes beyond your reputation, which is the impression others have based on their interactions with you. Your personal brand is more intentional and strategic—it’s how you want others to see and remember you.

Everyone has a story about what sets them apart from their competition, but not everyone is intentional in telling that story. Proactively marketing your story and what sets you apart as a human and business professional is how you build a personal brand. 

Intentionally crafting your personal brand allows you to tell your story as you want it to be told. It also allows you to establish yourself as an expert in your field and form real connections with clients and others in your industry that go beyond business.

5 Tips for Building a Powerful Personal Brand

1. Determine your target audience and what you want to be known for.

A strong personal brand is just that—it’s personal. When you’re building your brand, it’s important to integrate things that are important to you both personally and professionally. 

Maybe it’s a love for animals, your family, coaching or mentoring youth, charity work, or a passion project. A personal brand isn’t all focused on business: It should highlight your values both personally and professionally to help people connect with you. 

Remember, you’re trying to establish the “know, like, and trust” factor, and there’s no better way to do that than through your own interests, which you may share with a future client.

Next, think about what you bring to the table professionally. What are you really good at? What’s the work that most lights you up? Maybe it’s working with first-time homebuyers who have credit challenges, or maybe you’re an expert on VA loans. 

From a marketing standpoint, it’s not a bad idea to create a personal brand that includes a niche audience. 

2. Create content that aligns with your personal brand.

The goal is to create a personal brand where people can get to know, like, and trust you. Your audience needs to see your face and get to know your personality. This is why the content you post is critical in establishing your brand and making people remember you.

If you want to be known as the dog-loving local mortgage professional, showcase your dogs on your social media. Create memes around them, integrate them into your tips, and show them lying around your office or greeting your customers at the door. 

One thing we can tell you as experts in analytics: Social media users don’t engage with a branded company graphic with a stock image and a bunch of text. What they do engage with is a photo of your dog delivering your weekly marketing update. 

It’s also important to give your audience a regular and consistent sneak peek behind the scenes of your business and personal life. Don’t forget to add in your achievements, your clients’ awards, and your expertise related to your industry—these are all an important part of your personal brand. 

What’s the right balance between sharing branded content from your company with your own personal content? Here’s a good rule of thumb: At least 70% of the content should come from you and no more than 30% from the company you work for.

3. Integrate more video content.

Whether you like it or not, video is here to stay—and it’s one of the best ways to grow your brand awareness, credibility, and overall online presence. On your business or personal website, on your social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles), and in your email marketing and blog posts, video is the content that gets the most engagement. It is a must for your marketing strategy.

Video marketing also creates face recognition, which is important to building a personal brand. Watching your videos will make your audience feel like they are getting to know you as a person. So when they see you out in the community doing what you love, there will be an instant connection. 

If you’re running a mostly virtual business, video content can help people connect with you before they’ve even met you. 

To learn more about the different types of video content you can create, click here. 

4. Build your network.

You should always be focused on building your network and getting people familiar with your brand. That’s how you keep leads coming in the door. Connecting with people both in person and online is a great way to do that. 

Make sure you’re connected with people in your community, friends, prospective and past clients and referral partners online. Be intentional about adding new connections so more people are exposed to your content and your personal brand. 

Attending and sponsoring events is another excellent way to connect with others face to face and help grow brand awareness of you and your product or service.

5. Be consistent.

In terms of importance, this tip should probably be number one.

Being consistent is the key to success when it comes to building a strong brand to support your business. If you post once and your followers never hear from you again, there’s no relationship. Don’t expect any of them to call you out of the blue when they need a mortgage, because it’s never going to happen. 

If you want to build a strong personal brand that establishes long-term rapport, you have to figure out how to be consistent with how you show up, your messaging, and your content. If you need help building a personal branding strategy, the team at RMS is here to help. Click here to connect with us for a complimentary consultation today.