Share prices of a company drop when a CEO leaves. On the reverse side, share prices of a company rise when a new CEO joins. This is personal branding. People are ready to bet on a company because they trust the person at the helm. In current politics, the biggest example is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Whether you vote for the BJP or not, he is the deciding factor, the personal brand.

A personal brand is strategically built. It shapes and promotes an individual’s identity, expertise, and reputation, in such a manner that people are eager to spend money on the business that individual is associated with.

You must have seen in TV ads how famous actors and players become brand ambassadors of certain products. When Amitabh Bachchan endorses a product, he is putting his name and his reputation behind that product. He wants people to buy that product because people trust his judgement. They believe that if he is saying something, it must be true.

While reading this you must be thinking personal branding is all about mega businesses and mega personalities. Where does that leave a small business? Can you use personal branding to promote your business? Yes you can. If you believe your business depends on trust and reputation, you can add your own personal branding to the overall trust and reputation that your business has so far enjoyed.

The benefits of building your personal brand

Your personal brand helps you build credibility and trust in your niche. When people recognize your expertise and consistency, they trust your opinion and through your opinion, the trust your product or service. Your personal brand also helps you build your network. You connect with

like-minded people who have established themselves as an authority in their field or profession. Through your powerful personal brand, you can positively influence people. You inspire change in their thinking. You can help them decide. Also, in a market full of similar products and personalities, your personal brand helps you stand out. Your customers and business partners can differentiate you from your competitors.

How do you build your personal brand?

Building a personal brand is not as difficult as it used to be. There are multiple platforms available to you where you can increase your visibility and the good thing is, 99% of such platforms are available on the Internet, and mostly free.

But before that, do an audit of your strengths, passion, and your mission. Why do you do what you do? What unique value can you offer? Why should people pay attention to you? Within your field, where would you like to excel and make your name? What sets you apart? What strengths you already have that you can build on? Who is most likely to benefit from your abilities?

Once you have written down answers to these questions, you need to decide how you want to elevate your visibility so that more people know about your expertise. You can write a book. You can create a social media presence by regularly posting insightful, authoritative content. But before that find out where your audience spends time looking for content you are interested in sharing. Is it LinkedIn? Is a Twitter? Is it Instagram? Be consistent. Add value to people’s timelines. Inform and encourage.

Share knowledge and insights that others don’t share.

If you have contacts in popular publications like newspapers and magazines, you can get your expert opinions published over there, for example, getting an article published in Forbes can immediately enhance your authority. Using blogging platforms like Medium and LinkedIn you can even publish your own blog posts as authoritative commentary on your chosen topics.

Take up speaking opportunities. There may be many conferences and seminars where you can speak and share your experience to enrich the audience.

Building a personal brand these days requires a strategy. Continuously evaluate your effort. Gather data of the responses that you get on social media. What type of content gets the maximum traction? Publish more of such content. What topics excite people? Talk about those topics.

Participate in ongoing discussions. It takes time, effort, and dedication. Be persistent, remain consistent in your efforts, and above all, deliver value.