Top 5 Personal Branding Tips You Must Be Doing

Ready to launch yourself as an entrepreneur? Trying to set yourself apart from the crowd but not sure how to do it? Personal branding is key, but only if you get it right! Here’s my top 5 personal branding tips to get you rockin’ like a rockstar!

1. Personal Branding Tips: What’s in a Name?

All too often people agonize over what to name their brand when it’s pretty simple; you’re creating a personal brand so it’s got to revolve around Y-O-U!

OK, so if your name is John Smith it may be a bit more challenging to brand and you’ll need to get creative…

Take me for example. Everyone knows at least one or two Jeff’s and my last name (McGeary) wasn’t the easiest to spell.

So I thought for a moment…what else is unique to me? Well, at 6’6″ it hit me smack in the face, “Tall Jeff” ????

In fact, my buddy Todd Falcone was there at the moment and said, “dude, if you don’t get that domain I’m gonna buy it and sell it it to ya lol.” Quite entrepreneurial, eh?

Apply the same idea to your own name (or business name) to brand YOU in a unique and memorable fashion. When it comes to personal branding tips this one really is the biggie, so getting it right is a must!

Take some time and brainstorm, bounce ideas off a few friends and solicit their ideas as well. Their feedback just might surprise ya! Shoot me an idea too, jeff@talljeff.com.

2. Build a Personal Brand for Your Target Audience

Another critical area to make sure you focus on especially in the beginning is your target audience. Even if you have been branding and marketing yourself or your business for a while, take some time to look at this again.

Speaking and marketing to the “right” target audience, also called target avatar, is essential if you are to become a personal branding expert. And ya need to be if you want your business to really take off. Here’s blog I previously wrote on Why Identify A Target Avatar.

3. Personal Branding Tips: You Need Those Money Shots

No, not those kind of money shots, I mean personal branding statements that don’t use just words but photos to convey who you are. Most folks are visual!

These days standard and boring corporate headshots are not going to cut it, everyone has one of those on their LinkedIn profile so they get lost in a sea of expressionless faces. You need photos that are fun and help express who you are without saying a word.

So turn your iPhone around and snap some cool shots. Also “lifestyle” photos of you around town, on vaca, with family, at events, etc. Let folks know who you really are!

This is one of those personal branding tips where you may want to consider a few professional shots too. I found a great local photographer on Craigslist when I got started and he took some awesome photos!

If you want people to remember who you are they have to be able to put a memorable face to the name.

4. Own Your Own Story

Everyone’s got a story and your personal story should form the basis of your personal branding statement. It doesn’t really matter what that story is, as long as you find a way to relate it to your target audience and you tell it consistently.

You know my story (or if ya don’t check it out here) and it’s a big part of my personal brand. So as you begin building your personal brand get out your notepad, write it all out and then begin telling yours.

But Jeff, I don’t think my story is cool or impressive or whatever!?? Stop right there. Your story WILL resonate with someone, get it out there!

5. The MOST Important Personal Branding Tip: Be Yourself

When one first starts out in business folks often think that they have to be super professional and watch every word.

They bury all the personal traits and quirks that make “them” and attempt to have a super polished image 24/7. BIG MISTAKE.

Much of branding is attracting. By being yourself you will ATTRACT the one’s who resonate with you and REPEL the one’s who don’t. This is what you want!

Love to wear t-shirts over a suit any day of the week? Got spiky hair? Super tall lol and maybe even a little clumsy? ???? Go for it whenever you give a talk, write a blog post, take a pic or out networking because that’s the real YOU.

By sharing yourself – your REAL self – you will build rapport and trust with your audience; they will want to listen to you way more than some faceless and fake dude that everyone can tell a mile away…

In the below video I share some more personal branding tips, check it out and lemme know what you think! YOU are unique and valuable, now bring out that rockstar for all the world to see!