Every individual whom you meet in your daily lives is a brand in itself. The brand was and is mostly used for organisation. Let me ask you this – How many people, whom you know, know them as a brand? Trust me on this none. These people can be anyone such as the social media influencers. With the feet firmly planted on digital media and with the help of friends, family, their colleagues and bosses they turn out to be a brand. Is that the only thing which is required to be a brand? Well the answer is no!!
There is a lot of time and effort that goes in to make yourself a brand in the market and today this is what I am going to talk about. For obvious reason this comes down as something really important for upcoming entrepreneurs. Before we move ahead take a note of this quote by Gary Vaynerchuk–
You need think yourself as a BRAND
Understand the fact that you should be making yourself as a brand on just one particular genre. So you need to think and know what do you wish people should think when they hear you name? Are you exceptionally awesome on a particular subject? If yes then make that your genre and excel in it. Being a brand by yourself you are a great contributor to the society and your organisation. Once you have established yourself as an entity of a particular subject you can go out in the market with all guns blazing.
Check your presence in the digital ecosystem
Which page do you come on Google? Ever checked that? I sure you wouldn’t have. So go to Google and search for your name. If you do not find yourself on Google then maybe it is time for you to pull up your socks and work on yourself.
Time for you to grab the internet with a new website
This is one of the most widely used technique and perhaps a surefire way to create your personal brand. Make sure your website is something which has your name within it. Don’t select a domain name which will be hard for people to remember. The best part – use this website to create a blog of your own. Blogging is a great way to get noticed and shower everyone with your expertise.
Make sure you are adding value to the lives of people
Ever seen a friend or family member posting something ridiculously stupid stuff? Do not do that. There is a very thin line between hilarious and stupid. If you foresee yourself as a brand then make sure you post relevant information for your audience. So if you consider making yourself as a brand from marketing genre make sure you post articles related to marketing or write articles related to marketing. If you are on Twitter then follow marketing gurus like Daymond John (from Shark Tank) and retweet his tweets. Sharing posts from people of your genre will not only give out relevant and authentic information to your audience but you will get noticed by other brands as well. Here I would like to say that it will take time but you need to hold on tight.
Get connected with other brands
Want to succeed? Make connections. Not that simple as it may sound but following certain verified accounts on twitter and Facebook and retweeting their tweets or sharing their posts will be useful. However before doing that you need to stick to the basics. Follow people from your current organisation and last school or college. Join groups related to your genre and niche. Post content there and share your thoughts and views. The most important thing is be active on LinkedIn. If you think that you can write some seriously mind blowing stuff but do not want the hassle of wordpress or blogspot account then write on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a platform meant for professionals. Although you will find some wannabe’s there but that’s fine and very limited. So try your hand on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Why do you want to be a brand?
This is the most important aspect of establishing yourself as a brand. Read the case studies of successful entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec and Steve Jobs. See where they started off from and most importantly why they started off. They all have a story which is inspiring. So even before you follow steps 1-5 understand this last point.
Conclusion
Creating a brand for yourself is a time consuming task and takes hell lot of patience. What have you been doing off late we would love to know. Feel free to comment.
