Have you ever tried to create a great personal brand but didn’t succeed?

You know it’s vital to have a personal brand because you have so much talent but few people know about it.

After all, your peers are getting opportunities that you should be getting because they can clearly communicate what they have to offer.

Think of the last time that you congratulated a friend or co-worker on their promotion. Did you privately wonder when would it be your turn to shine?

Here’s the secret.

It’s not that you can’t brand yourself. You simply have limiting behaviours that you may not be aware of and you have been unconsciously stopping yourself all this while.

Let’s walk through what these behaviours are and how you can easily overcome them to create a truly powerful personal brand.

1. Let your brand show your imperfect humanity

How do you find the perfect way to communicate your brand? The reality is, there is no such thing as an immaculate image. Flaws show no matter how much you try to hide them.

And honestly? Spending too much time curating an ideal image encourages burnout. Be real, appreciate the imperfect you and live a happier life.

Pro Tip: People value the human touch during these pandemic times. Sharing the flawed parts of you makes you more relatable compared to a facade that you put up.

2. Build an authentic brand and beat imposter syndrome

You are a complex, multi-faceted human being and it’s hard to communicate who you really are. So, how do you brand yourself without feeling like a phony?

Here’s what to do: Come up with personal stories that represent your essence. Stories are multi-dimensional and can capture facets of you that plain facts cannot.

Tell these stories to people who know you. If it resonates with them, you know that you are on track to create an authentic personal brand.

3. Stamp out shyness and make your brand heard

Do you cringe when you talk about yourself? If you do, spend time in honest self-reflection and ask yourself — What are you afraid of when you share?

Self-awareness is the start of self-management. You can manage your feelings when you know how you feel. Keep a self-reflection journal to understand yourself better.

Also, write down your boundaries on what to share about yourself. Will you talk about family? How about your dog? Being clear helps you to decide what to say and makes it easier to overcome your shyness.

4. Make a difference and silence worries about showing off

Unlike what most people think, branding isn’t about showing off. If you are humble and don’t exaggerate about what you offer, nobody can accuse you of being arrogant.

Moreover, do you know a lot about an area that people could benefit from? Sharing your knowledge positions you as an expert and benefits people too.

Take it as killing two birds with one stone — helping people and branding yourself at the same time. Isn’t that great for you and others as well?

5. Make branding convenient and conquer laziness

Do you feel that branding takes a lot of deliberate effort? The truth is, you are already branding yourself all the time.

Your personal brand shows in your actions. Were you polite to the random person in the elevator? Or did you complete a project successfully?

You create a powerful personal brand by being a great human being and making excellent work an intrinsic part of what you do.

6. Take action on your personal brand and crush complacency

If you are thinking that you don’t need to brand yourself because you are in a pretty secure job, here’s a tough love question –

If you lost your job today, what would you do?

Your job situation can change anytime. Nobody expected the pandemic to happen and overnight, entire industries can change.

Wouldn’t it be prudent if you made some effort branding yourself? If disaster strikes, at least you can demonstrate what you offer and ask people for opportunities.

7. Wow people and demolish fears of what people say about you

When you brand yourself, you cannot please everyone and trolls are inevitable. However, you can take advantage of negative comments to create a favourable impression.

Here’s how P!nk used comments about her weight to demonstrate self-love — for which she received overwhelming positive feedback applauding her.

I can see that some of you are concerned about me from your comments about my weight. While I admit that that dress didn’t photograph as well as it did in my kitchen, I will also admit that I felt very pretty. In fact, I feel beautiful. I am perfectly fine, perfectly happy, and my healthy, voluptuous and crazy strong body is having some much deserved time off. Thanks for your concern. Love, cheesecake.

Source: https://twitter.com/Pink/status/587486215244423168

So don’t be afraid of what others say of you. Use negative comments to make you stronger and wow people from the way you handle it.

It’s now your turn to Shine

Let’s face it. Branding is hard.

It takes time and energy to brand yourself well and most people put it on the back burner.

But if you are reading this article, it means that you are one of the rare few that actually cares about branding. And that already gives you an edge over people who don’t even bother to find out.

Imagine what you could achieve with a powerful personal brand. What would you that bring you? You can get the dream job that you always wanted. You can have a stream of exciting opportunities lined up for you. You can finally bring your family to the places that they want to with the money that comes with great branding.

Imagine if your circle of influence widens because of your brand, what would be the difference that you can make? You can raise funds for your favourite charity or cause just by sending out a message to your network. You can spread worthwhile, life-changing ideas and inspire many people.

How far can you go if you just got your branding right?

So take the advice that you learnt from this article and put it into action.

Create a powerful personal brand, stand out from the crowd and make an impact today.