7 PERSONAL BRANDING TIPS TO FOLLOW IN 2021 AND BEYOND (HINT: GOOD PHOTOS ARE KEY!)

ARE YOU LOOKING TO BUILD YOUR PERSONAL BRAND IN THE NEW YEAR? THESE PERSONAL BRANDING TIPS CAN HELP YOU REACH NEW HEIGHTS IN 2021 AND BEYOND.

2021 is going to be the year that you develop your personal brand. But what does that mean exactly?

Personal branding is integral to any entrepreneur or small business owner’s success. It’s how you decide to tell your story and share your services with the world. 

But for every personal branding success story, there are plenty of personal branding flops. Keep reading for the top seven personal branding tips that will help you excel in 2021.

1. DETERMINE YOUR NICHE

When creating your brand, it helps if you narrow down on a niche or specialty. This niche is what you will be known for. Through your personal branding journey, you will become known as an expert in this area.

Choose a niche that reflects your personal background, your skills, and the type of services that you offer. Your specialty area should be narrow enough that you can become an expert in it but broad enough that you can get continuous mileage out of the subject.

If you’ve already determined your niche, your task for 2021 is to amplify and reinforce it. Think of new ways to explore your niche and cement yourself as an expert.

But if you’re starting out as an entrepreneur and have not yet zeroed in on your niche, here are some things that may help you. Ask yourself the following three questions:

1. What are you good at?

2. What are you passionate about?

3. What does the world need?

Since you want to become an expert in your specialty area, you want it to be something you are already skilled at. You also should choose something that you feel strongly about so that you won’t be compelled to drop it or move on.

But you also need to find something that people have a need for. You can fill that need with your service.

2. GET GOOD PHOTOS

We live in the digital era, so good photos are a must. If you have an office background, you have probably gotten a professional headshot from a corporate photographer.

Those photos are useful, but personal branding photography is slightly different. Remember, with your brand, you are finding ways to tell your story to the world. Therefore, your photos should amplify that story.

Personal branding photos will likely be taken in your natural environment, doing things that are relevant to your niche. These photos will convey who you are and what you’re about. 

Having a conversation with your photographer beforehand can be really helpful. If they know what your brand is, they will be able to help you tell that story.

3. TAKE TO THE WEB

As we said before, we live in the digital era. So now that you have good photos, you need to amplify your social media presence. Let 2021 be the year that your social media accounts promote your brand and bring you business.

Visual marketing through social media is crucial. Post often so that people learn about your brand and can’t forget about it.

But don’t just post anything. It’s really important to keep your posts “on theme.”

Maintain a color scheme for visual fluency, and choose a consistent tone for captions. This will give a vital personality to your personal brand.

4. GET TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

In the last step, we recommended getting active on the web. But don’t do so blindly. All of your personal brand marketing should center around clear, concise goals.

And since almost all of those goals will be directed at your audience, it’s important to know who they are. Spend some time defining the age range, income level, and geographic location of your intended audience.

Because who they are affects how you market to them. You should be asking yourself, who is my primary customer, and what problem am I solving for them? The answers to those questions help define your personal brand.

5. PUBLISH RELEVANT MATERIAL

To promote your personal brand in 2021, consider generating regular content for your followers. This content should be relevant to your niche and have clear takeaways for your reader. These takeaways can be educational, or they can be calls to action.

By publishing relevant material, you establish yourself as an expert in your niche. This can mean informative Instagram posts, blog posts, or infographics. People will trust you more and look to you as an authority on the subject.

6. NETWORK

If you do only one thing in 2021, let it be networking! As a business strategy, networking is as old as time. And it can be significantly helpful for growing your personal brand.

Start by networking with established professionals in your desired niche. One day, they might be your competition. But right now, they have valuable knowledge that you can benefit from.

Be transparent. Tell them you want to get started in the business and ask them for an informational interview. Even twenty minutes of their time can be profoundly enlightening and can help you avoid making the same mistakes they did.

Make sure you also network with your customers or followers. Customer service is always important, but especially early on. Show them that you’re engaged with them and their needs.

By creating a network of loyal customers, your client base or follower base will continuously expand.

7. CONTINUE TO LEARN

We have talked a lot about becoming an expert in your niche. But even experts don’t stop learning. Make sure you keep digging into your area of expertise and staying on top of trends and news.

This will not only establish you as an expert in your field but as a leader. And if people are looking to you as a leader, you have succeeded in promoting your personal brand.

PERSONAL BRANDING TIPS FOR 2021

For entrepreneurs and new business folks, building your personal brand can be intimidating. But the more you do it, the better it will be for your business in the long haul.

By following these seven personal branding tips, you’re sure to see a surge in your brand. But for more tips on how to make yourself stand out, read more helpful advice here.