First step to personal brand building in 2022

Most personal branding experts will tell you that the first step to personal brand building is to make content. This is not true.

One of the first steps to personal brand building is not what you think it is!

Nowadays, developing one’s personal brand is undoubtedly a popular issue. If you look at Google Trends for the term “personal branding,” you will notice a significant increase in the number of times it has been searched over the previous five years.

For all that we talk about brand building, the notion continues to be cryptic, with few of us able to actually articulate what a personal brand is or how to develop one.

There is no shortage of advice, but it is frequently more misleading than it is beneficial.

Is creating content really the first step to your personal brand building?

The majority of personal branding consultants will tell you that the first step in growing your personal brand is to create content, which is typically shared on social media. Perhaps you’ve heard the advice, “Want to establish your own personal brand? “Start posting on LinkedIn right away.”

Creating content, on the other hand, should be the final step in the process of developing one’s personal brand.

What is actually the frontal step of brand building?

When it comes to personal brand building, if content production isn’t the first step, what is it? Start by reviewing the definition of the phrase “personal brand,” which was proposed by academics in Europe and somewhat revised by the team at Brand of a Leader.

What is a personal brand?

A personal brand is a way to show off your unique traits in a way that makes you seem like an expert, thought leader, or influencer to your target audience.

Self-marketing options in brand building

No matter if you are publishing material on LinkedIn or any other social media site, or if you are completely offline by authoring books and delivering presentations, all of these actions are examples of self-marketing — things you do in order to occupy a space in the thoughts of your target audience.

However, before attempting to take up residence in that location, you must first determine your:

Distinguishing traits include core values, beliefs, personality, accomplishments, and life experience.

Step 2 to personal brand building

Step 2 is to come up with a catchy statement or a unique idea that you will own and become known for over time. The last step is to market yourself.

Don’t jump into creating content without figuring out your brand building

In the event that you dive into content creation without first determining what your own brand building strategy is, you will almost certainly face a brick wall, either in the form of writer’s block or in the shape of low engagement.

Neither because you have nothing worthwhile to say nor because your audience is uninterested, but rather because you have taken the “spray & pray” method, which is short-sighted and devoid of strategy, as a result of which you have failed.

Working with a personal brand building agency

Working with a personal branding firm can help to expedite the process and provide value to the second stage of the process, which is the development of your brand positioning.

To be sure, this is an important phase in developing your brand, but you can bypass it totally and DIY your brand by delving deeply into the first step.

In such case, you will still be miles ahead of everyone else in terms of growing their brand. You will have done the necessary groundwork before creating the content.

Brand building shortlist

A shortlist of queries that you might use to aid your insight process is provided below.

Keep in mind to dig deep, to take the time to reflect on each, and to look for similarities so that your brand building can emerge as a result of your investigation.

Lifeline – a timeline representing the highs and lows of your life, as well as important lessons and insights.
It’s important to understand your WHY as an entrepreneur and precisely why you want to establish a brand.
Not the fundamental values of your company, but the core values of your own life!
Consider your brand descriptors: how would you want to be viewed and described?
Personality characteristics that are important.
Think about who you admire as thought leaders and ask them to advise you in how you want to position yourself.
Not only should you identify possible clients and employees, but you should also identify a group of people that you would like to inspire.
Your main content pillars are the themes with which you want to be linked.