Let’s say that you work all your life, save and invest diligently, and make a healthy 10 percent return on all your investments. Who is going to have more money at the end of the process, you or Robert Downie Jr.?
You guessed it: it’s going to be our favourite Iron Man actor. But why? What makes him so special? It’s all to do with personal brand. Yes, there are probably many other people out there who could act as well as him and, yes there are other movie stars. But Robert Downie Jr. has a personal brand. People want him, not somebody else.
Building a personal brand is important because it makes you irreplaceable. There is only one of you in the whole world, so if people want to access you, they’ll need to pay a hefty fee to get it.
That’s why having a personal brand is so valuable. It creates demand for your time and services. If people know you as the best for something, then they’ll only want to consult you, not somebody else.
But how do you build a personal brand? That’s the million-dollar question.
Firstly, it’s not something that’s going to happen quickly. It takes stars many years to build their brands, and some completely fail, even if they have periods in their lives of massive success.
Second, it’s only something that you can achieve if a lot of people know about you, so you’ll need to prepare yourself for fame.
Here’s how to build a personal brand:
Grow Your Social Footprint
If you’re not on social media yet, you should be. Growing a personal brand is all about growing your social footprint and getting more people interested in what you’re doing. You need to build a tribe of loyal followers.
Try to make your outreach consistent. Use a mobile video player that works across all your platforms. Make sure that all your content is accessible, regardless of the device a person is using.
Make A Plan
The next step is to create a plan for yourself – how you’re going to get from where you are now to where you want to be. How you approach this very much depends on the level of success you want and the impact you wish to have. Building a personal brand is all about associating a particular activity with your name. If you think of the coaching industry, the first person who comes to mind is Tony Robbins.
Your plan has to specify how you’re going to become that person – the leader in the industry. What are you going to do to prove it?
Create A NarrativeThe next step is to tell a story that engages your audience. You need to explain why you are so interesting and why they should choose you.
Allow Your Passion To Shine
Lastly, you need to let your passion shine. The more vibrant you are, the more people will naturally follow you. It’ll happen like clockwork. If your passions lie elsewhere, chances are that you’re choosing the wrong direction for your personal brand.
I built my brand long before social media was a thing but there is no doubt it has value. Even now when I’m retired and not worried about making any more money, having a well known face, name and reputation lets me pick and choose between the volunteer activities I enjoy in retirement. I know your focus is on younger people building their businesses but being well known and frequently sought out continues to have great value even after you decide to stop working. I’m traveling to two volunteer gigs and one paid one next week that I never had to search for, they found me because in my niche I’ve got a popular brand. And of course you really have a good one yourself!
Thanks, Steve! And I’m glad to hear that having a brand continues to be so useful even in different stages of life!