What’s holding you back from building a personal brand?
Do you worry others will think you’re just bragging? Or that your message won’t resonate with an audience? Or that you’ll be too much for others to handle?
The reality is, if you’re thinking about building a personal brand, chances are you have value to add to the conversation. People want your perspective; the trick is ensuring it aligns with the persona you project across platforms, and getting in front of the right audience at the right time (spoiler: the right time is now).
This article will help you let go of anything preventing you from sharing your brand with the world. Here are nine of the most common personal branding myths you have to let go to build your profile and achieve your goals.
1. Personal branding is just bragging about yourself
Personal branding is not about bragging. It is about providing value to the world and exposing your point of view based on your experience and what you see as possible, given the unique context of your experience. It’s about self-expression and making the world a better place. If any of that sounds good to you, it’s time to brand yourself.
2. Personal branding is for famous people
If personal branding is just for famous people, how did they become famous in the first place? Everyone has to start somewhere, and very few of us start out as celebrities. The rest of us begin by putting ourselves out there and creating a personal brand! And if you do it authentically and with intention, you can grow into your potential no matter what role or industry you’re in.
3. Personal branding is for influencers
Maybe you’ve heard that personal branding is just for those who are or want to be influencers. To some extent, that’s true. But for us, an influencer is someone who influences values, not just buying decisions. And their reach extends far beyond social media into the lives of the people they reach.
4. Personal branding is for those with more experience or expertise
This couldn’t be more wrong. Your context is your context, and you cannot be where you are not. You also cannot wait until you’re perfect to share your message. You will never be perfect. It’s a losing proposition. You have to take your message into the world and connect to your audience, just as you are. As you grow, your audience will follow your journey, learning from and with you along the way. That’s an extremely valuable opportunity.
5. Personal branding is for extroverts
It’s a common misconception that personal branding is only for the extroverted. The way you prefer to interact with the world doesn’t determine whether or not you need a personal brand. Instead, personal branding is about what you stand for, and about your message. It is measured by the depth of your relationships and of your insights, not how many followers you have or how much media exposure you’ve gotten.
6. To create a personal brand, you need to know exactly what you want
This couldn’t be more wrong. The reason personal brand strategists exist is to help people become clear about what they want. This is intense work, and most of the time, you won’t be able to do it by yourself (it’s hard to see the forest for the trees). You need someone to guide you so you can identify all that you haven’t seen before, including exactly what you want.
7. Your personal brand must align with your professional work
Not the case. If anything, it’s the other way around. When you know what you stand for, you will choose work that aligns with your values. And your whole life will feel better as a result.
8. Personal branding is about media exposure
Don’t get us wrong; we’re not saying PR isn’t important. PR, and the external validation it provides, will always be important in the marketing world—especially in the digital age. But if you are not living up to your personal brand on a daily basis, a Forbes article won’t make you happen.
9. Personal branding takes a tremendous amount of time
Personal branding is not as time-consuming as people make it out to be. It doesn’t take much time to be consistent: to communicate what you’re known for, what you stand for, and where you’re going—that is, as long as you know what those are.
Plus, you don’t have to do it on your own. We’re here to build and run your personal brand while you’re busy doing something else. We do this because we’re on a mission to launch thought leaders. We know that if more people had the support they needed to build the right platform, more people would have access to their expert insight. And that means more people would have more of the tools they need to succeed. It’s a powerful, compounding effect. And we want to get the ball rolling.
The world is waiting for your voice. And when you’re ready to speak up, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us here or follow us for more information on how to get started.
Finally, which myths did you believe to be true and how have they held you back? Let us know in the comments below.