Personal branding is no longer just for celebrities and influencers, it’s becoming increasingly popularity amongst entrepreneurs, practitioners, and KOLs alike, particularly within the aesthetics, beauty, and wellness industries. Alongside their corporate brand, today’s entrepreneur is strategically building their personal brand to further fuel their commercial success. A well-defined and compelling personal brand can help you to stand out versus the competition and build lasting connections with your target audiences.
In this article, Julia Kendrick explains the fundamentals of personal branding and shares guidance on how to start developing your personal brand.
What is a Personal Brand?
According to Steve Forbes, “Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business”.
Your personal brand is what differentiates you from others: by crafting and controlling that brand, you’ll be able to influence what others think of you (even before they’ve met you) and associate you with a particular field of expertise.
Similar to any other brand, your personal brand will let target audiences know:
- who you are,
- what you stand for,
- what you do,
- and why they should choose you over your competitors.
Every brand has a story and an image, and as consumers we associate specific feelings, values, and expectations towards brands. To influence a brand’s reputation amongst target audiences, brand owners invest time and budget into its positioning and meticulously plan how to project its messages.
A good personal brand will encapsulate your talents and enable you to differentiate and position yourself against others. Its role is to help build you a strong, trustworthy reputation and should therefore be unique, authentic, and compelling. Don’t forget, personalities and voices are what set brands and people apart so be sure to use yours in your personal brand!
Why should you build a personal brand?
Whether you want to add more trust and credibility to your business or brand and/or you aspire to be a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) in your industry niche, your first area of consideration should be your personal brand. Consumers today are seeking connections and authenticity – and both corporate and personal brands must endeavour to meet this need.
If a brand is unable to connect authentically with target audiences, it’s hard to say how it will achieve long-term commercial success. Ultimately, people collaborate with people, people buy from people, and people like to connect with people – a personal brand will help you connect with target audiences at a deeper level than any corporate brand can.
The benefits of a personal brand
When you intentionally start to build your personal brand in the aesthetics, beauty, and wellness industries you can expect to:
- Establish your credibility and trustworthiness
- Add credibility to your corporate brand’s reputation
- Build stronger relationships with target audiences
- Gain greater control over your own narrative when people screen you online
- Increase your discoverability online and in the media
- Grow your social media presence
- Secure new media opportunities and/or collaborations
- Boost company sales and profit
Can corporate and personal brands work together?
Absolutely! Your personal brand should align with your overall corporate brand identity, PR strategy, and goals. However, your personal brand also needs to encapsulate who YOU are and what expertise YOU bring to the table – think about what you’d like to be known for and what will resonate the most with your target audiences. When corporate and personal brand messages are synchronised authentically their content is amplified to reach and engage a much wider audience!
Humanising your business with your personal brand is an effective way to make powerful connections with target audiences and in turn can lead to new opportunities such as a personal profile piece in the media.
A beauty industry personal brand example: Marcia Kilgore, Beauty Pie Founder
When we think of a strong personal brand profile in the beauty industry Marcia Kilgore, the Founder of Beauty Pie is one of the first to spring to our minds. Marcia is a highly regarded entrepreneur and beauty product expert, and her disruptive brand Beauty Pie is a global success. She is a regular podcast guest, has had numerous profile prices in international media, and has her own highly-engaged social media following – across each platform she shares her passion for innovative beauty and business. Her personal reputation has added extra creditability and trustworthiness to her corporate brand and is helping fuel its growth and success in the beauty industry.
5 ways to start developing your personal brand
Building your personal brand requires conscious effort and time, it’s not a pick up and drop activity so ensure you are willing to commit for the long-term. Below are five steps to help you start building your personal brand:
- Set a focus: People need a reason to follow you and value your influence. To determine your focus, consider the below questions:
– What are you setting out to do for your target audiences?
– What are your strengths?
– How are you different from your competitors?
– If you have one, how will your personal brand tie in and/or support your corporate brand?
– What do you want to be known for?
– What is your Unique Value Proposition? - Be authentic: They key to building a successful personal brand is to be relatable, personal, and authentic. You don’t need to be the loudest, the boldest, or the quirkiest – just share your unique personality. Always remain genuine to your true self and beliefs. Every piece of content you publish should be real and aim to build trust with your target audience.
- Tell great stories: How can you add value to your target audiences? What types of content or stories will they relate to and find valuable? Write a list of content ideas that your audience will likely enjoy, here’s a few to help get you started:
– Educational content (tips, how-tos, tutorials, before and after)
– Personal experiences (where are you today?) and anecdotes
– Reviews and recommendations for products and treatments
– Opinion pieces (industry news and innovations)
– Motivational content - Be consistent: Building your personal brand also means that you have to maintain it. Commit to regularly creating and sharing content before you start. Your goals are to keep your audiences regularly updated and replenished with great content, impress each social media platform’s algorithm, and remind key media contacts of who you are and what you do.
- Live your brand: Your personal brand will and should follow you everywhere you go, be authentic and enjoying sharing your brand with the world! However, don’t make your personal branding too personal and set boundaries for yourself in terms of what you’re willing to put out there. Remember, once content is published online it’s tricky to remove it.
Do you aspire to be a KOL in the aesthetic, beauty, and wellness industry?
We can help! At Kendrick PR we are experts in helping individuals in the aesthetics, beauty and wellness industries to build, establish and maintain leading reputations so that they can be recognised as KOLs in their field. From spokesperson development to defining your USPs to talent management, we will devise a bespoke strategy to enhance your profile and raise awareness of your expertise. Learn more about profile development service and book a discovery call with one of our PR experts.
An award-winning beauty PR agency
At Kendrick PR, we thrive on creating winning formulas of strategic and tactical support for premium beauty brands, aesthetic clinics, practitioners and entrepreneurs. We lead with our values: passion, professionalism, and authenticity!
Founded in 2015 by award-winning communications expert Julia Kendrick, Kendrick PR are an experienced and passionate team who thrive on creating tangible success for every client. From Brand Strategy and Development to Talent Management, we have delivered outstanding results for some of the industry’s most innovative brands and exciting entrepreneurs, such as ALLÉL, Debbie Thomas, The Private Clinic, Oxygenetix, and Medik8 – and we’d love to support your brand.