Infusing Your Unique Energy: The Essence of Personal Branding

One of my favorite marketing strategies for online business owners is building a personal brand. A personal brand means that you are the face of the business. It means you allow your personality, individuality, and unique approach to whatever you do to shine brightly in your brand. 

In the online space, hundreds, if not thousands, of similar creators are often in your niche. One of the easiest ways to stand out from the pack is with a personal brand, after all, there's only ONE you. Creating a personal brand instantly puts you in a category all your own and allows your perfect-fit audience to resonate with you at an emotional and energetic level. 

So, what are the common elements of a personal brand? 

Typically, this means you're the face of your business. I know that might terrify you, but being in business means being willing to put yourself and your ideas out there. People like to connect with other people, not brands, and that means we want to see your face. It's not about being the youngest, or the prettiest, or any other ridiculous outside standard that's been placed on women for millennia. It's about being authentically you and allowing others to connect with you from there.  

Does being "authentic" mean you must show up with a bedhead and no makeup to let the "real you" be seen? No, unless that's part of the image you want to convey. I usually recommend a professional middle ground for most clients I work with. 

I think getting at least a professional headshot taken is a great idea. That ONE image can be used on your website homepage, your "about page," your social media profile, and email signatures. You can get a lot of use out of that one image!

If you want to take it a step further, you can do a simple "lifestyle" photography session and get several photos of you doing your work in your office or home. Usually, these photoshoots include a few wardrobe changes, and you can incorporate more of your personality into the photos. For example, if you're a chef, you can have some pictures of yourself in your kitchen. You may want some images of you in your office if you're a therapist. If you're a work-from-home mom who helps other moms, you may enjoy photos of you taken at home with your kid's fingerpaintings in the background. You get the idea. 

Whether you get a single professional headshot taken or a small 10-20 image photoshoot done, you can use (and reuse) those images for at least 3-5 years, so it's a great investment and an easy way to contribute visually powerfully to your personal brand. 

Another aspect of your brand is the color palette you choose. Some branding experts suggest that your brand should purely serve to attract ideal clients to your business. While I think you should keep your ideal audience in mind, and we all want our customers to feel good in our brand's presence, choosing colors that reflect who you are is equally important. Color is such a powerful communicator. If your personality is bright and fun, and you bring that energy into your work, your colors should reflect that. Even in a more traditional or professional setting (like accounting or therapy), you can still portray a professional look with lighter and brighter colors that bring your energy into the mix.

I also think it's essential for you to love your colors because you'll spend a lot of time looking at them. With every social media post, every time you see your website, and every time you log into your software's dashboard to check on sales, you'll be immersed in your brand's colors. When you love your colors, this experience will always be uplifting and enjoyable because you're surrounded by the colors that energize you at a soul level. Loving the colors of your brand is so important. 

Another aspect of creating a personal brand is sharing your story. Be willing to share some of your background and history behind the work that you're currently doing. Some marketers refer to this as your origin story. Sharing your backstory gives context and meaning to your work and creates an emotional connection with your audience. Many people will be able to relate to your story and may be inspired by it! In the creator economy, our audience is often full of people just like us from the recent (or distant) past. We may share the same passions (or struggles), which could bring us together today as clients and coaches or readers and authors. So, don't be afraid to share the inspiration or journey behind your business and your work. 

And keep the stories coming! Creating a personal brand often means continually sharing yourself with your audience and customer base at a level that feels good. For me, I've always loved sharing my many adventures in entrepreneurship and my insights along the way with my audiences but I rarely, if ever, talk about my family. It's just not a relevant part of my work, and I also like to keep my private life private, I suppose, and that's always worked for me. Having a personal brand means allowing your audience to stay on the leading edge with you in whatever way feels appropriate and comfortable. That can include behind-the-scenes photos on social media, pictures of you and your family on social media or in your email newsletters, or just written stories, anecdotes, or updates from your life (personal and/or professional) via email, your content, social media or wherever else you show up online. 

Creating a personal brand means infusing yourself and your unique energy into everything you do. If you make videos as part of your content, your voice, manner of speaking, and unique perspective will all contribute to how your audience experiences your personal brand. The style of clothes you choose to wear and the setting of your videos will also contribute to your brand's story. Again, I don't want this to trigger your fear or panic. It's not about spending a fortune on a new wardrobe or redecorating your house so that it looks "perfect" in your videos. It is, however, about considering what will be authentic and sustainable for you. 

It's authentic for me to be more professional than overly casual in my work. You'll never see me selfie-videoing a streaming video to social media while I'm out for a walk. That's just not me. On the other hand, spending 2 hours on my hair and make-up and maintaining an extensive wardrobe and closet full of endless accessories that I pull out ONLY for my videos isn't authentic or energetically sustainable for me either. A balance of sustainability and authenticity for me regarding videos is that I will strategize to film videos on days I've washed my hair. I'll invest 20 minutes on more professional-level makeup (similar to what I'd do if I were meeting a customer or client in real life- authentic for me) versus the 5 minutes I might spend putting on mascara and lipgloss and a baseball cap to grab the kids from school in a non-professional setting (equally authentic for me, but outside of a professional setting). You're not going to see me filming "how to" videos from my bedroom; that wouldn't feel authentic to me in a professional setting. A balance of being professional and authentic and maintaining sustainability means I'm willing to clear all of my kid's junk and art supplies off the background of my desk when it's a video day. 

Creating a personal brand should ultimately feel liberating (even if it's a little intimidating at first) because you can choose to be yourself in whatever way feels authentic and pleasing. By allowing your personality and individuality to shine through, you'll not only separate yourself from the crowd and more easily attract your perfect-fit audience but also energetically sustain your brand and the work you do over the long term.