Current Trends in Personal Branding
The term personal branding has been thrown around until it felt like we all know what it means. Truth is before you conjure a definition, the meaning is updated. Personal branding is dynamic and it evolves as your career evolves and as you reinvent how you want to show up in your professional landscape. The needs of your clients should always intercept your branding. The competition in your industry also calls you out from your comfort zone. It is always vital to keep tabs on the trends to safeguard your relevance, authority, credibility and differentiation. Here are top trends of 2024 in personal branding:
1. Collaboration-Industry leaders elevate through collaboration not competition. They set standards for their niche and mobilize their resources, information and technology to flare the financial worth of their industry. Some co-brand on contractual basis after evaluating the higher success rate of their symbiotic relationship. The same applies to personal branding albeit through value exchange or in-kind compensation. Most personal brands in the digital space have thrived because of collaboration.
A digital marketer can have a limited budget for shooting content. However they can collaborate with a professional photographer to film and edit quality content for them and in return they leverage their marketing skills and social media following to promote the videographer. Invite to post features on platforms like Instagram allow people to collaborate on posts. They tap into each others audiences and get discovered by like-minded community. Most personal brands in the digital space are in the gig economy which comes with irregular income.
Collaborations come in handy to keep the personal businesses afloat during low seasons. As you seek collaborations to promote your brand visibility, ensure you do due diligence for alignment of values. Your reputation remains your greatest currency.
2. Use of Linktree– http://linktree is an invaluable platform that helps you set-up your portfolio with ease and you do not have to be tech savvy to navigate it. A linktree comes in handy when you have not yet established your website. Links to interviews, social media handles, podcasts, magazine and newspaper features and testimonials can be compiled in one linktree link. It has a range of aesthetics that you can use to personalize your brand with the free package. The premium package provides analytics that help monitor the traffic to your linktree profile and you can use the information to orchestrate better strategies to elevate your brand.
3. Attending Networking Events– Networking is key to your personal brand. That your network is your net-worth is true. Networking events are normally curated to revolve around topics that build and promote brands as well as link up service providers with their clients.
Some networking events are free of charge to attend. Others have registration fee but if you want a seat with the thought leaders in your industry then you better invest to pick their brain. Make sure you are an active participant and never leave with at least two contacts, exchange your business cards, leave your email at the information desk to get more updates on upcoming events or get membership perks. When you get a chance to introduce yourself, shamelessly plug your brand. This can taxing for introverts but such events help people build their confidence and improve on public speaking skills. Always ensure you have a notebook and pen aside from your virtual notebook. As you strive to make acquittance with the industry leaders who are often the moderators, panelists or guest speakers, be the network to those at your level and those in the amateur stages.
4. Going Live on social media platforms – The blue-chip personal brands are founded on authenticity. Allowing your audience to engage with you real-time fosters brand identity and the relationship with them transcends the transactional level. As you allow them to join your live, ask questions, make comments, it builds credibility to your brand and provides live testimonials. The feedback received serves as the growth curve to build on your branding. Going live also keeps your social media presence active.
5.Having a Website– A website serves as a one-stop shop where leads and potential clients get to know all about your brand i.e. your mission , experience, expertise, qualifications, certifications, portfolio and services offered. It gives your audience a channel to communicate with you through contacts and social media integration. A website also increases your brand visibility through the optimization tools for search engines. Your website landing page builds credibility and authority. In this digital age, a website is a powerful tool for remote workers and freelancers.
6. Masterclasses– On demand learning is replacing the generalized conventional learning. As a personal brand, you should learn constantly to build on the quality of your services and leverage advancing technology including AI to augment your service delivery. The thought influencers in your industry already invented the wheel for you and laid down the systems for your craft. Masterclasses are personalized, up to date and dispensed within the convenience of your schedule. Some instructors even provide certifications at the end of your learning and evaluation. Certification strengthens your brand authority and sets you apart from your competitors. Smooth Guide: Mastering ChatGPT with Undetectable Ease
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