As a solopreneur coach, I teach ambitious individuals how to reach for and achieve their dreams. Among these lessons are networking, business management, accounting, and more. Foremost among these skills is personal branding. It is one of the first things new business owners must create, and serves as a master key to public perception.
A personal brand is not just your identity, but your story and personality. It relays to consumers what type of products you offer. It serves as a gauge of user experience. Consumers should immediately identify with your brand and see it as something they could relate to.
For example, if your personal brand story involves a young man from a poor household rising to the top of his field selling high-end products, you should position yourself to provide a luxury service for those less able to afford luxury. Perhaps your service is the most reliable among your competitors, or it’s available 24/7. Whatever you are offering, it all starts with your story.
Find Your Niche
Before you tell that story, your company must identify with your demographic. Your story must appeal to those outlined in your business plan. The story should be true: never say you grew up in a rural area if in fact you hail from Los Angeles. Before you create your brand and its logo, it is very important to understand what urges the customer to make a purchase. After your initial market analysis rolls in, you can begin to craft your story.
Tell Your Story
Marketing is storytelling. Stories are easier to remember than facts, and people are more likely to remember information populating a story. It makes people care about who you are and the services you provide.
Think of it another way: the business is important to you. However, when your ad is crammed in between several others on a website or on the radio, customers will likely tune you out. Your passion will never catch fire with consumers unless your story makes them care.
Here are some simple tips for effective personal brand storytelling:
- The story should outline your business origins
- Explain why your product or service is important to you
- Make clear the benefits realized by consumers when they work with you
- Give a mission statement that all of your employees wholeheartedly embody
- Make your story easy to identify with, to the point, and quick
Your story is a tool for strengthening relationships with customers. It should be subtle and easy to digest. The story should be approached with the customers in mind, not your business needs. Potential customers intuitively know stories crafted with their needs in mind are more customer-oriented.
Personal Branding is a challenging process. Would you like to master your mission statements and company storytelling, and improve your PR results? Let’s work together to develop sustainable goals and a business model that appeals directly to your target market.