Should You Have A Personal Brand?

Recently I've been working on a personal branding class that I decided to take one day on whim. In case you don't know what that is, a personal brand is when someone markets themselves and their careers as a brand. That means that outside of Hub Digital, I would make steps towards branding myself, Amy Fields (or Amy Levesque if that's how you know me) as a marketing expert.

I decided to do this for a few reasons. The first is exactly what I said above. Since getting married, I've struggled with keeping my professional identity, while transitioning to my new married name. It wasn't until I went to change it, that I realized what a strong presence that name had when it came to my current and potential clients. I knew that if I was going to go by my new name, I have to create just as strong a connection to it.

The other reason I knew that creating a personal brand was important, was because I started to realize that my clients were hiring me, not Hub Digital. They were signing contracts and sending checks based on me, my personality and my knowledge of marketing. They could care less what the name of my company was, or what color my logo was. They wanted to hire someone they trusted, could connect with and knew would do the best job for them.

If your business is like mine, where trust and connection with you plays a big part in the purchasing (or hiring) process, then a personal brand may be something worth considering. By creating visuals, sayings and emotions around you, that can be that little extra push potential clients or customers may need when deciding.

A few things to keep in mind when considering your personal brand:

- What are a few key words or phrases that you want potential customers to think of when they see or talk about you? What do you want to be known for? Writing them down can help you remember and implement them in your messaging.
- What are some visual elements that you want people to associate with you? This can range from anything like colors and fonts, to iconic clothing or hair colors. People are much more likely to remember striking visuals so you have to give them something to remember.
- Are you using your authentic voice online? How a business talks and a person talks online is completely different. People expect businesses to be buttoned up, but they expect people to be real. Don't be afraid to be a little casual, vulnerable and authentic when sharing content online.