Personality Matters: Building Your Brand

“How you look +
how you act +
how you speak=
Your Personal Brand”

Photo by- Mayowa

Hey New Blogger,

I’m gonna take a leap here and say you’re on this post because you’re interested in blogging and you’re trying to figure out how to start. Well, welcome cause I am new at this too. I would never call myself an experienced blogger but the little I know, I love to share, and I hope they are helpful to the next person.

So, where to start? Well! At the beginning! Who are you? As a newbie blogger that’s the first thing, you need to ask yourself when building your own brand.

Think about this a little bit, your brand is what other people say about you when you are not in the room so how do you make sure you are sending the right message to the audience you are looking for- what message are you sending to what seasoned bloggers call, your target audience.

So how do you get your target audience?

It’s easy. Figure out what you can give them, and that’s where YOU as a brand comes in. Let me give an example. Some of the most successful bloggers have this down. They are their own brand, and you applaud them and know them for it. An example below is-

Jenna Kutcher- Her story is simple- She is a 30-year-old living in small-town Minnesota who began a photography business and tells stories about her family, self-love and her love for mac and cheese. She is super relatable, and her audience knows that about her. That’s her BRAND.

When I started following her- from her IG captions to her email correspondence, her message was clear and precise, and her PERSONALITY drew me to her.

Your personal brand is how people see you; how they’d describe you— Your personal brand is what makes you, you.

Being aware of, and ultimately in control of, your personal brand is an essential component of building a successful blogging career. It’s essentially what will lead brands to you, your audience and helps build your reputation.

So how do you solidify your BRAND?

Here are a few things I did-

Write down five things people say about you

I went to a few friends as well as strangers and asked them to say the first 3 things they thought of when they thought of me. I got answers like, Happy, ambitious, authentic, student etc. Once I compiled all these, I did the next thing on the list.

WRoTE DOWN FIVE THINGS I WANTED PEOPLE TO SAY ABOUT ME

I also then wrote five things I wanted my brand to be about. This was pretty hard to narrow down and was not niche based. I wrote things like- stories, positivism, family etc. Very broad yet specific to what I wanted my brand to be about.

I then defined my brand using the words people described me and words I wanted to describe myself. I wrote down the words and values that were honest and chose words that were positive and authentic to who I am. Once I did that, the hard part was over.

Your work and actions speak volumes about your personal brand—and you, as an individual. You can say you hold certain values, but your actions, your experience, and your words have to embody them. Work towards the set goals you have set by spreading a unique message about who you are to your following.

Now where does Personality come in all of this?

People are attracted to PERSONS not BRANDS. You can have a clear set out agenda for your brand but without a personality, your audience won’t find you or be active. Social media is perfect for this reason. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and other social media platforms help promote the individual behind the blog posts, podcasts, business etc. Its a way to draw in more readers while also promoting the brand.

And you can see brands catching up to this. The Fenty beauty twitter account and Wendys twitter account are leading the charge in understanding the need for personal branding/relatable branding. Bloggers like Jenna Kutcher, TheConfusedMillenial, Lola of the Blogger-etiquette have also all nailed this down by finding a way to remain personable while also being content creators/bloggers.

Find your Personality and Build your brand and success is knocking right around the corner. One thing that has stuck out with me is that it is obvious I am passionate about my blog, my grad school career and my followers. I have always thought that being passionate, positive and entrepreneurial was part of my personal brand, and it became clear through my review of my website and social media platform that I actually embody that. My posts are personal, sometimes way too personal and I think my audience accept me for that and relate entirely to the things I write about and go through.

Now, you don’t need to pour your entire life out on social media, however, I believe you can find a nice balance that would work for you. By developing a personal brand- you are making it very clear to your audience what exactly you are all about.

So, Lets play a game. In the comments below write 3 things that you think people say about your brand and 3 things that you say about your brand. Do they match?