Action plans are guidelines that will help you build your brand and deliver your message to your target audience. And they’re easy to do!
Personal branding has never been more critical. It can help you land a job, get more customers, and even make you more valuable as an employee.
Leads generated through employee social media activities are seven times more likely to get results than those posted by company-owned social media.
What is personal branding? Simply put, what will people see if they Google your name? This is your personal brand.
Everybody has one. It is up to you to decide if yours is intentional. A personal branding action plan could just be the best next step for you. Personal branding action plans are a guideline that will help you build your brand and deliver your message to your target audience.
What’s the importance of an action plan? It can be overwhelming to create a personal brand without one. You can break down your bigger goal into smaller, more manageable steps by creating a strategy. You can also document every aspect of your brand to make it easier to update as time passes. Here’s how to get started.
1. Define your ultimate action goal.
First, identify your action goal. What are you looking to achieve? You’re setting yourself up for failure if you don’t know what you want.
Do you want to start a business or attract new customers? Are you looking to be recognized as an expert in your field and become a well-respected speaker? Perhaps you are looking to build awareness for your favorite charity or non-profit by using your personal brand. Whatever the case, step one is to define your goal.
2. Narrow down your area of expertise.
When creating a personal brand, a common mistake is to be too broad. Do not try to be all things to all people.
Your niche expertise will help you build a brand faster. Why? This will help you find people that matter to you. It will also make it easier to create content that is focused on your brand. People will remember you better if your brand is more narrow and specific.
3. Identify your target audience.
If you don’t know who you are trying to reach, it’s difficult to build a brand. Start by asking yourself who you are trying to influence. Who is most likely to benefit from your message?
If you’re looking for work, think about the kind of client or job you’d like to have. You might want to build your brand as that of a philanthropist. Consider which causes and non-profits are in alignment with your goals. Visualize the people you want to work with or sell to.
4. Make your own action toolkit.
Now it’s time to find the right action tools and techniques that will help you become more visible to your target market. These are the tools that you will use in order to build your brand.
It all depends on your goals. One thing that’s essential is to create your own website. You can purchase your own domain, www.johnsmith.com, by going to GoDaddy or Namecheap.
After creating a website, you might consider creating a document or tool that your audience would like to download in return for their email address. Email marketing can be used to send them valuable content.
When it comes to people searching for you online, a blog is important. Think “Google SEO.” You can also add writing a book or schedule speaking engagements. Even if these are unpaid at the beginning, add them to your toolkit.
5. Be consistent and authentic.
The key to any personal brand’s success is authenticity.
Oprah is a good example of authenticity. Oprah has helped millions of people to be their best selves by being herself.
Undoubtedly, one of the most prominent, successful, and well-known people alive, Richard Branson, is another. He has always remained true to his core values of adventure and taking risks. He has been himself and done things that other business leaders warned against. Branson states that too many companies want their brand to reflect an idealized, perfected version of themselves. Their brands lose their texture, character, and public trust.
Consistency is key to establishing a trustworthy brand. It takes time and action to build a personal brand that is successful. You’ll need to make adjustments to your course to stay on the right track. It’s worth it if you want to be different in today’s highly competitive world.
Branding a horse is a simple yet painful operation. You’ll want to retain a basic simplicity in your branding plans but avoid any pain or inconvenience. This will happen as you continue to look at what others are doing and adapt it to your own marketing needs.
