How about waking up one day to realize you're a though-leader in your industry? If you had the power to influence people’s decisions over brands, products, or services, how would you use it?
Becoming an industry celebrity in today’s world of the internet is no longer far-fetched. It’s now an open secret that anyone can become famous and build a business using their reputation. Such people are simply called influencers and all they had to do is build a strong personal brand.
The importance of having a personal brand in today’s marketplace cannot be over-emphasized. This is because people are more inclined to patronize or listen to you if they feel connected to your personality and this is what personal branding is all about – self-promotion!
The more you develop your personal brand, the more you become known as an “influencer”. Becoming an influencer requires building a personal brand that shows all your unique qualities. Influencers are people who significantly shape the opinion of their followers with a big influence on how they behave.
Becoming an influencer requires hard work and as such comes with lots of benefits. Some of these include;
More revenue from big brands who are interested in reaching out to your large audience through you.
Gifts and offerings from companies who are interested in partnering with you.
Media requests to speak or attend events.
This and many more are advantages of becoming an influencer through building your personal brand. Apart from these benefits, the possibility of being able to sell your products and services easily to your large audience is enough reason to become an influencer.
Examples of personal brands who thrive in their business as influencers include Neil Patel, Tony Robbins, and Richard Branson who has a mind-blowing impact on millions of people following him on social media across the world. It’s easier to grow your business by leveraging your personality and the power of brand influence. Here’s what you need to do to become an influencer today by leveraging your personal brand.
Identify your niche or what you’re good at
Finding the right niche for yourself is one of the first steps to building a solid personal brand that will transition you into a successful influencer. To do this;
Identify several areas you’re good at. Pick out at least 3 niches of interest. They could be anything from cooking to investment. Just make sure you are passionate about them even if you don’t have great experiences in them.
Identify the gaps or problems in these niches. Google them, find out more about them by visiting forums and groups to discover frequently asked questions in those niches. This is important so you can understand the sentiments common among the audience in each of those niches.
Examine your skills. Now that you know the problems in those niches, take out time to examine your skills to know if you have the solution or answers to their questions.
Select your final Niche. Having conducted a full analysis of those niches and cross-matched their problems with your skills, find out which one appeals to you most. Which of the niches can you handle better and remain passionate about? Make your final decision.
Follow the leaders in your selected niche. Research to know those who are already thriving. Google up related blogs, vlogs, and social media channels. Find at least 10 of them and follow them. Learn what these leaders are writing about. Find out which topics appeal most to their audience, study their comments and questions. By doing so you’ll learn more about the field and also identify gaps you can fill up.
Establish your value proposition. Remember, what will get people attracted to you is the value you bring and the problems you’re able to solve. So, what are you bringing to the table? Write down a concise sentence about it and get ready to do it!
Choose your Social Platform
Some people make the mistake of rushing off to create a website after selecting their niche. Don’t make that mistake! Your priority at this time should be to win your target audience, reach out to them by providing them value via existing public domains.
Find the most suitable social media platform for your niche, create a channel and start writing high-value and super interesting articles that show your expertise. Get someone to write them if you’re not a good writer. Shoot videos, take photos, and keep posting them on your chosen platform. Note, you can present your posts on different platforms but maintain greater presence and concentration on one platform. Concentrate on its channel and build your reputation.
Choose your branding style
Remember, you’re not the only personal brand gunning to be an influencer on this niche. So, it’s best to differentiate yourself from others by adopting a branding style. This will help your target audience to recognize you instantly when they see your content.
Create a unique logo and make sure it appears on all your content
Select unique fonts for your brand
Select interesting and attractive colors and make sure you stick with them
Let your pictures and images be innovative with a unique style
Establish your personal brand goals
What are your personal brand goals? Would you like to be an influencer who is trusted for solutions and as a source of information? According to Edelman, 65% of internet users see online searches as the most trusted source of information about companies or people. So, if you want to build a personal brand that will influence people, your goals should include;
Becoming a thought-leader in your niche
Establishing yourself as an expert in your field
Share value content that will make you an influencer and also drive traffic to your website.
Establish a consistent style tone and brand voice
Consistency is one of the most important aspects of personal branding. It takes about 5 to 7 impressions before an individual can remember your brand when they see it. This means that you should be living your brand every day. Once you establish a brand style and voice, make sure it’s unique and maintain it across all channels and forms of communication. If you must employ different writers, instruct them or form a guideline that will help them maintain the same style. Make sure all your brand assets appear the same on your content on all the social media platforms.
Conclusion
Becoming an influencer using personal branding requires time, hard work. If you’re consistent, with time, the results will be amazing and rewarding. Follow up the personal branding tips discussed in this article and in addition, make sure you’re approachable. Learn to open up, share your story and allow people in your audience to contact you directly. And when they do, be patient enough to respond to them on a human level, and gradually, you’ll gain the massive following and trust you need to become an influencer.