Personal Branding Strategy | How To Craft A Compelling Brand

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Stand out from the competition by building a powerful personal brand and get clients easily.

Once apon a time it was easier to get freelance clients. There wasn’t as much competition.

In the last 10 years there’s been a phenominal growth in the freelancing industry. Hiring managers expect a 168% increase in the amount of work done by freelancers.

But don’t let this put you off from being a phenomenal freelancer. Create a strong powerful brand and you’ll instantly stand out from the crowd.

Stand out and position yourself as an expert which equates to earningmore per task. Earn more per task than a typical agency would pay or a freelancing marketplace.

This is what creating a personal brand can do for you.

So what is branding? Isn’t branding just choosing some colours, font, and a logo? No, it’s a bit more complex than this.

Seth Godin was quoted as explaining branding as

Branding is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another

Seth Godin

Building a brand isn’t easy especially if you’re starting from scratch and have no idea how to get across your core story and why people should buy into it.

Whilst you can jump around and guess at the most effective strategy, the best brand builders are

  • Strategic
  • Have a niche
  • Consistent in their message

Ultimately, the best personal brands are unique, authentic, and trustworthy. They build a strong reputation about you that can help you personally and professionally.

Personal Branding Strategy | How To Craft A Compelling Brand

Your Value Proposition

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Value propositions? Sounds as exciting as watching paint dry!” But hang on to your creative hats, because we’re about to sprinkle some humour, insights, and a dash of pizazz into this seemingly dull topic.

Creating a value proposition is not as scary as it sounds. You need to know your audience, refine your material, and, most importantly, make them buy. Your branding strategy should revolve around your value proposition.

Why Value Propositions Are Like the Bacon of Branding

Let’s start by understanding what a value proposition is. Think of it as the crispy bacon in your branding sandwich – it’s the savoury, irresistible part that makes people crave more. Your value proposition is the unique promise you offer to your customers. It’s that special sauce that makes your brand stand out from the sea of competitors.

Now, picture this: You’re at a buffet with countless food options. Your value proposition is the dish that not only catches the eye but makes your customers rush to grab a plate. It’s like having a pizza in a room full of salad. Exciting, right?

Brand Identity

Creating a killer value proposition is like crafting a hilarious punchline. It’s all about understanding your brand identity – the quirky, unique traits that make your brand memorable. Just like how each business has their own styles and personas, your brand needs to have a personality that resonates with your audience.

Remember, folks, a brand with a strong identity is an entrepreneur who knows their audience inside out. Your brand identity is what sets the stage for your value proposition. But so you get an either clearer picture of what a value proposition is, here are some examples for you.

Examples Of Value Propositions

Enough theory, let’s dive into some hilarious examples of value propositions that hit the comedy goldmine.

1. **Dollar Shave Club**: “Our Blades Are F***ing Great!” – Talk about getting straight to the point! Dollar Shave Club’s irreverent humor became their signature, setting them apart from the traditional razor giants.

2. **Old Spice**: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” – Old Spice took the spice of humor and sprinkled it all over their value proposition, making it unforgettable.

3. **Poo-Pourri**: “Spritz the Bowl Before-You-Go and No One Else Will Ever Know!” – Who knew bathroom humour could lead to a billion-dollar business? Poo-Pourri’s value proposition is not just funny; it’s a breath of fresh air.

In the world of branding, creating a compelling value proposition is like crafting the perfect punchline – it’s an art form that, when done right, can leave your audience in splits. So, remember, your value proposition should be the star of the show, the comedian that steals the spotlight, and the laughter that lingers long after the curtain falls.

Build Engaging Content

Building a personal brand, you can’t just put one together and expect people to come flocking to you.

To start even getting a good trickle of clients to your personal brand, you need to put yourself out there.

Put yourself out there with awesome engaging content that your clients will love.

This content could be anything from

But before you start creating any content, you need to consider these two things.

Firstly think of what type of content your ideal customer loves to consume regularly. Secondly, what platforms do your clients prefer to hangout the most.

Platforms such as social media, YouTube, or Pinterest.

Do they love to read books, listen to podcasts, or browse blog posts when searching for a quick solution to their problem? Because these are additional platforms for these forms of content.

It’s Spotify, Amazon, and Google showing your blogs and other content.

Thinking about your own ideal client, where and how do they love to consume content? Jot down these platforms and content types. These are the places you are wanting to be.

Always hone in on the specific places you want to be. As a freelancer, you’ve not got time to be everywhere. Create a list of 3-4 places you could create content for.

Using the example earlier of a freelancer specializing in Instagram, you would want to be on these platforms:

If you specify exactly where you need to be then you’re not going to drive yourself crazy trying to be everywhere. Instead you’ll be calm and only showing up where you need to be that’ll give you the best results.

Add Personality To Your Brand

Brands spark emotions inside us whenever we see it. These emotions can be positive or even negative. So when you’re creating your personal brand, think of what emotion you want to spark in your clients whenever they come across you.

Adding these emotions is what’ll make your personal brand stand out. Not only stand out but help you to niche down further in your freelancing business so you end up working with the people you really do want to work with.

To add personality in your brand you need to list power words for the emotion you want to convey in your copy.

Also think about what words your ideal client uses in their branding. When you use words and emotions that are similar to them, you resonate with them faster.

What words and feelings would you want your followers and ideal clients to say about your personal brand?

Let’s look at the example of a freelancer who specializes in Instagram. They’re on Instagram, wondering how to resonate with their ideal clients so they convert faster into paying clients.

Firstly that freelancer would be looking at their ideal clients and writing down who it is they follow, and what hashtags they use. Do they align themselves with tribe specific hashtags like #BossBabe or #FemaleEntrepreneur?

Start looking at your brand, the platform you’re going to be using, and decide what words you should be using that’ll resonate with your ideal client faster.

Words we use are not the only way we spark an emotional response. Colours are also used in branding to trigger a psychological response to brands.

Color psychology is the study of how colors affect perceptions and behaviors. In branding, color psychology is focused on how colors impact consumers’ impressions of a brand and whether or not they persuade consumers to consider specific brands or make a purchase.

HelpScout

To help you see how brands are using colour psychology in their branding, here’s a great guide that you should check out.

building a brand colour psychology
The Logo Company

What colour should you be using in your personal brand?

Conclusion

Every freelancer has a personal brand, including you. To build your personal brand understand what value you are giving and how you can resonate with your ideal clients. After you’ve got clarity on this, you can create an awesome personal brand that your clients and followers are going to be raving about.

About Post Author

Alison Wolf

Helping you to build an online business so you have an extra stream of income or quit the day job. Don't forget to follow me on social media using the handle @heyalisonwolf