What do you need to nail personal branding?
Personal Branding Photography is amazing - especially if you get it right – but we all know that personal branding doesn’t spring from nowhere. So, where does our personal branding journey start?
I’ve got a great article here which argues that using your ideal client is the best place to start and I still stand by this: it is our ideal clients who will, ultimately, make or break our businesses; without their custom, we have nothing to show for our hard work.
But today, I want to go through what personal branding is – it is huge!
In our current world, without it we can’t survive.
Personal Branding is everything which makes up the image of your company. By image I mean pictures; but, also the colours, the mood, the feel, the atmosphere – the aura that you and your business radiate.
Your personal brand is what you project to others – well, your ideal client. It is what everyone who visits your website, online store, your Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter feeds… will see. And in an online world as saturated as ours is, your brand needs to speak to the clients you want; if it doesn’t, you’ll get lost and eventually forgotten.
The most important thing you need to know is: you need to be visible
1. You need a name and a logo
Sounds quite obvious but these really are crucial. Before setting up your Facebook and Google Business Pages, website and domain name, email address etc. make sure you have your name firmly decided. Make sure it suits what you’re doing now and what you might want to broaden out to in the future. And – it’s that ideal client again – don’t overlook who they are and who they might be.
Then create a logo – or have someone do it for you. It should speak of you, your business, your values, your products or services.
2. You need brand colours
Choose these carefully and ensure they’re in keeping with the market – yes, with your ideal client – you want to appeal to. That doesn’t mean that if you’re a wedding supplier you have to keep things white or ivory and pale and dreamy. Your colour scheme can contrast what everyone else is doing, as long as it complements you and your brand and is going to appeal to your customers.
Try not to pick too many colours; have an accent colour (or two) that you can use to emphasise important things like call to actions, special offers, and important updates. Consider how text will look in or against these colours: will it stand out?
3. You need brand fonts
Again, choose these carefully: they should be complementary, easy to read and tie in with your name, your logo and your colours. It’s fine to have a few different ones – having headings in a different font is a really effective way to draw attention to something – but like with your colours, don’t overdo it.
4. You need graphics
Scroll through your favourite social media page. Can you see the number of posts graphic and text based? Quotations presented simply on coloured backgrounds, on image backgrounds, geometric and animated shapes – there’s an array of things desperate to catch our attention. Spend time making these – or have someone do them for you. Ensure they feature your logo, your brand colours and fonts. These should be instantly recognisable as yours.
5. You need photographs
If your business is one which deals with the public, it is no longer acceptable to rely solely on stock images. People want to buy from people: people they feel they know and feel they trust. Quite often the only opportunity they have to “get to know you” is from your online activity and presence. If they can see your face, see you “at work,” see you with your staff, your family, engaging in your favourite hobbies, they’re more likely to be able to connect with you and therefore more likely to buy from you.
And that’s why personal branding photography has never been more important.
Take the opportunity to work with a photographer, discuss your ideal client, your business values and goals and plan a photoshoot which will give you fantastic images and enable your ideal customers to connect with you.
But, let’s go back to the beginning. These things are all amazing to have but if you’re not speaking to your ideal client, who is your branding for?
I can help you work out who your ideal client is; I can share my first impressions of you, your business and products or services; I can help you to get started on the first step of your personal branding journey.
Simply book a free consultation and we can chat through the steps you need to take to be more visible.