Authentic Authors: How To Personalize Branding for Business Success

With ChatGPT and AIWhat is AI? Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by computers in an aim to mimic or exceed human cognitive abilities across a range of domains.... More tech threatening to dehumanize content creation, there is an expectation that Google will recognize and place more value on authentic authorship in digital marketing campaigns. It, therefore, makes sense that highlighting the personality behind your marketing content will do wonders to boost your site’s reach, build trust in your brand and attract a loyal customer base.

Branding has always been an important element of business, and in today’s digital age, it plays a key role in helping individuals and corporations thrive. Personalized branding and a human touch are fast ways to convey what you stand for and what your mission is. Naturally, companies that have built a strong brand presence, with a blend of digital and traditional marketing methods, enjoy success thanks to greater customer recognition and loyalty.

But branding isn’t just for giant multinationals, it impacts the success of businesses from a global scale down to the personal level. So, whether you work for yourself or have ambitions to grow your business reach online, let’s look at how important personal branding is, and why being an authentic ‘author’ of all your marketing content can be valuable to a business.

What is personalized branding?

The world is a competitive place, and not only do you have to compete with people and businesses in your region for jobs (and clients) but with the rest of the world. This is due in part to the growth of remote working, and as companies have become global workplaces, the competition, likewise, has expanded.

It is important, then, to stand out from the large crowd, and you can do this by showcasing your personality, skills, and experience through effective personal branding. This is a more personal experience, and rather than company branding, which focuses on the collective organization and its achievements, personal branding must laser in on you as an individual.

While personalized branding is about how you present yourself and your business, it can be used as a strategy to:

• Boost your business
• Expand your prospects
• Win clients as a business owner
• Improve your networking capabilities
• Drive forward sales, partnerships, and brand recognition.

Focus on the individual

The most important aspect of creating a personal brand is to allow potential customers to see the person behind your company or skill set. Personal branding focuses solely on you, your achievements, skills, and unique qualities. It’s an important part of your marketing strategy, and if you are a business owner, your personal branding can give customers confidence in your abilities and reflect those ethical values that see them align with you.

There is a lot of value in reflecting yourself personally as the author of your brand for many reasons. This might include SEO validation in relation to AI-generated content and demonstrating that your social media, blog posts, and website updates are generated by a person content supporting your intention to create trusted sources, for greater authority and, ultimately, higher rankings.

Just like your business growth plans, which are never finished, your personal branding efforts should also be an ongoing endeavor. Continued personal contributions will elevate both your personal profiles and your marketing campaign as a whole. Those optics of adaptability are important for signaling to potential customers that you are competent and can be trusted.

Create an authentic image

Whether it be a networking event, business meeting, or online communication, others make a judgment of you based on how you present yourself. People want to trust you and believe that you will look after their interests while also appearing the part of a CEO, executive, or trustworthy person.

Your personal branding is an opportunity to control the version of yourself you put out into the world and should reflect your ambitions. This can include anything from the way your website and online brand are presented to every image and visual that has been carefully selected to portray your brand’s values and to optimize SEO,

In today’s world, that means prominent visuals, from profile pictures on social media to headshots in portfolios and vocational imagery for your website. Tell people who you are, highlight your personal mission, and communicate what makes your brand unique with a considered choice of photos. People are naturally drawn to interesting stories and real visuals, so don’t be scared to tell your brand’s backstory authentically.

Be agile and show integrity

While you must have principles, ideals, and integrity, your personal branding efforts must also be agile. Nothing stays the same forever, and that goes for people, too, so you should be showing some progression in your personal branding efforts that reflect your journey. This may even mean a departure from past efforts by rebranding yourself to match your latest ambitions.

Reasons for adapting or changing your personal branding include:

• Your current marketing campaign is restricting you from progressing and scaling up
• Demonstrating an evolution in your journey
• Whom you view as the ideal client has changed, meaning you need to brand yourself accordingly to your new market.

Highlight your unique qualities

The goal of personal branding is to showcase why people should choose and trust you. A great place to start with improving visibility is LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals, and keeping it as current as possible. People who want to work with you will typically check out your LinkedIn profile to see whom you have worked with in the past, what your experiences are, and learn more about you as a person.

You want people to know who you are and what you bring to the table, even if you aren’t in the room, and to be in their thoughts and considerations for future projects. Managing your personal branding efforts is a deliberate strategy that maintains your unique image, reputation, and identity. Therefore, knowing yourself is critical to putting across a genuine and authentic version of yourself, promoting your strengths, and taking note of your weaknesses.

Build authority with thought leadership content

To help build authority and trust in their brand, many companies use their website, channels, or YouTube to provide insights into the industries or markets they operate in. Whether that’s sharing some of your technical expertise or showcasing how you have overcome problems that you and the rest of the market face; thought leadership helps put your solutions and agility into the customer perspective.

From a personal branding viewpoint, putting yourself at the front and center of your thought leadership videos gives weight and accountability to what you are saying. By showing your expertise, you are again elevating your authorship of any branding content. This visualization allows people to put a face to your name and believe in your credibility as an authority in your corner of the market.

Target a personal network

The clue is in the name with personal branding, and you should be targeting a personal network through these efforts rather than trying to appeal to the masses. Creating a personable account of yourself is important for networking opportunities as the person you present yourself as needs to match the real thing in business situations.

People may run a mile if they fear a lack of authenticity if there is a disconnection between you in person and your branding efforts. No one wants to feel like the victim of a catfishing scheme, and people’s barriers will naturally go up if there are any warning signs. Letting the real you shine through in your personal branding efforts ensures no surprises and allows you to build trust from the off.