When it comes to personal branding, there really isn’t a right or wrong answer. Much of this is subjective. However, that does not mean that you are incapable of making mistakes or that you wish you could have done something better/different. If I had the opportunity to do it over again, of course, I would probably do those things differently. Well, even if you made mistakes, all hope is not lost. You can still fix what needs to be fixed and move on from there.
Make arrangements in a sensible way
When it comes to correcting the mistakes you’ve made in your personal branding, you’ll want to approach it sensibly and methodically. There are several aspects of your personal brand that you’ll want to examine, and hopefully you’ll be able to identify what needs fixing.
- You want to make sure your reputation is intact: If you’re not sure what other people are going to find when they search for it (personally), you should search for it yourself. The top items in the search engine should be positive about you. Also, those articles should have value and should help improve your reputation and increase your credibility. If you find that this is not the case, go back to those items and improve them until they show you in a more positive light.
- Entertainment versus marketing value: It is very important that you understand the balance between good value and the ability to entertain with your personal brand. You don’t want to have more of one than the other. Of course, if you don’t have enough on the entertainment side, other people may not be interested anymore. On the other hand, if you don’t have enough on the value/marketing side, from a business perspective, people may be entertained/enjoyed, but may walk away feeling like they don’t have much to show for it.
- Don’t overdo it: Content that is connected to your personal brand is definitely worth reviewing to make it read better. However, overediting is definitely not a good idea in general. The last thing you want to do is edit so much that you lose yourself and what you stand for in the process. It is important to show your vulnerable/human side but, at the same time, show how valuable you are professionally and how your experience can help other people.
- Combine your personal and professional brands: The truth is that there is a strong connection between your personal and professional brand. They are two parts of you and those parts must have at least a discreet connection for other people to accept them. If you are communicating messages from both brands, they must be in sync. You can’t really separate the two anyway. The best thing you can do is make sure they exist in harmony.
- Make sure your social media profiles are up to date: Profiles are extremely important for your personal brand. They have to stay updated. That means you update your status periodically (at reasonable intervals), change your photo if it’s not appropriate or relatively new, etc. You’ll want to work across all of your social media profiles. People will definitely notice if you don’t keep them updated.
- Make sure your photo is appropriate: First of all, make sure you have a photo that people can identify with your personal brand. Second, it must be an appropriate photo. That means it must be a professional headshot. It shouldn’t be you with your cat, your logo instead of your face, you drinking in a bar or at a party, etc. After all, even though you are working on your personal brand, you want people to remember you in the right way because they will definitely cross paths with your brand and professional persona.
- Make sure your bio is what it should be: Your bio should be substantial enough that other people can get a sense of who you are and what you believe. On the other hand, you don’t want to go on and on to the point where the other person doesn’t have the patience to keep reading. However, you should definitely highlight your achievements because not only are you proud of them, but they also add value to you and other people will understand that you are someone they need to form a relationship with and interact with.
- Always be yourself: Authenticity is an essential part of your personal brand. If you’re not authentic, people will know and won’t want to connect with you. You certainly don’t want that to happen. The reality is that you won’t be able to have a successful relationship with everyone, but you want your relationships with those people who want to be connected with you to be strong and long lasting.
conclusion
All of the items listed above are important to your personal brand. Getting your personal brand the way you want it to be will take time and work, but it will be worth it for you. You must keep in mind that your personal brand will take you very far in business. It is very important that you understand your target audience and do your best to give them what they want and need. If you give them your best, you will get it back in full.
