It’s an exciting time to be a consultant with so many areas where you can truly thrive. But sadly, not all consultants succeed. This isn’t because they didn’t have great ideas or the skills to make it work — sometimes it simply comes down to a lack of branding. And that’s what I want to address today, personal branding for consultants.
Read on to learn specific strategies and tactics that will help you succeed as a consultant, giving you both the structure and the audience to advance your plans.
But first, let’s look at why personal branding is so important.
Why Personal Branding for Consultants is Important
Personal branding is the practice of marketing yourself just as you would a brand. It is a way to showcase your skills and expertise that builds trust in you as an industry leader.
And there are many benefits to cultivating a personal brand. Let’s talk about just a couple of these benefits.
First, it brings people to you. As they get to know your brand and your high level of expertise, their confidence in you grows and they’re more likely to seek you out to help them with their challenges.
Second, you’ll have more opportunities. As your personal brand grows, very likely your audience will as well. This will open up other opportunities for you, such as writing a book, securing valuable partnerships, or even expanding your business to include additional services.
With personal branding, your window of opportunity keeps opening. But it’s important that you get started.
And that brings me to my next section, what strategies are helpful for personal branding for consultants.
8 Powerful Strategies for Personal Branding for Consultants
1. Start with a Strong Foundation
Before you start your personal brand as aa consultant, take stock of what you have to offer as a brand. Ask yourself…
- What skills am I particularly proud of?
- Do I have any background or experience that uniquely qualifies me as a consultant
- What training, certifications, or achievements distinguish you?
The answers to these questions will help you to carve out your space and stand out as a personal brand people will want to follow.
2. Get to Know Your Audience
The success of your personal brand is really going to depend on your audience. So take the time to get to know them. Learn about their demographic information, where they live, and how much they earn.
You also need to learn about them personally, including their values and challenges.
How can you get this information? Quite simply, pay attention. As you interact with your audience, whether it’s on social media, email, or at in-person events, focus on details that are shared.
Of course, it will be impossible to appeal to every person in your audience. But you can appeal to the majority. So key in on who your core audience is and the information that will help you serve them better.
3. Settle on Your Messaging
You’ve probably heard about an elevator pitch — a short description of what you do and what you’re all about as a consultant.
Attack your messaging in the same way. Most audiences won’t have the time or patience to listen to the story of your life. So boil down your brand to the most essential information, until you’re left with a couple of short sentences that summarize your work.
If you’re having trouble crafting this message, take a moment to review testimonials people have left about you. Hearing how others view you, might just hold the key to help you see yourself more clearly.
4. Nail Down Your Values
People are attracted to authenticity. When they sense that you are authentic and without pretense, then they will trust you and even let others know about you.
A key part of your authenticity is your values. What motivates you? Why do you do what you do? How do you feel about important issues facing your industry? This could even be more personal, such as your ethical values. What global or humanitarian issues grab your passions?
The more your audience sees these values and how you live by them, the closer they will feel to you.
Nailing down your core values right from the start will help you to see them clearly and be able to vocalize them and avoid inconsistencies.
5. Leverage Social Media
Social media is an absolute must — after all, social networks keep you connected with your audience.
But make sure that you’re doing social media right.
Let me explain…
Whatever platform you are on, there are a few keys that you should always keep in mind.
- Post a regular stream of content – Don’t let your audience forget about you. Regularly post industry-related content that will engage your audience and spark discussions. This could be content that you create yourself or something that you found interesting.
- Share your opinion – No matter what network you use, you will always have the option to write something to go along with it. When you post something on your network, make sure people know where you stand.
- Engage with your audience – When people comment on one of your posts, reply to them. Leave comments on other posts that you find interesting. This engagement is what social media is all about.
6. Network
Networking is just as important as it was 20 years ago. Sure, there are some new methods, but the core of networking is still the same.
What are some ways you can network successfully?
One way is through events, whether these are in-person or virtual. Start conversations with people and find out what they do. Look for ways to collaborate with others in your industry. You never know where a partnership might lead.
Of course, there’s always social media as well. Sure, there’s a lot of noise on social media, so it may take time to network with certain people. But it is possible. Join groups and participate with other industry experts. Follow and engage with them. Eventually, you might reach out about a collaboration opportunity where you can both benefit.
7. Increase Your Visibility
Look for ways to expand your audience by collaborating with others.
This could be through an interview on a podcast or even with a guest post on someone else’s blog. You might even partner with another industry expert to cohost a webinar.
All of these avenues give your personal brand exposure to a larger audience. People will get to know your name, face, and brand more, start to recognize you, and maybe become a part of your audience themselves.
The more visible you are, the more you elevate your personal brand and give others the opportunity to connect with it.
8. Get Some Press
Even with social media and other modern tools, a media mention is still one of the most powerful tools for personal branding. It gives you a level of legitimacy that is difficult to attain elsewhere.
But how can you get featured in the media?
You might sign up for a service like HARO that connects people in specific industries with journalists who need a source for an article.
If your backstory is particularly interesting, you might even pitch it to an industry magazine or online outlet to feature you as a rising entrepreneur in your space.
Concluding Thoughts on Building Your Personal Brand as an Entrepreneur
Again, it’s an exciting time to be an entrepreneur! And personal branding for entrepreneurs is just one more tool to help you establish yourself and succeed in your space.
I hope this article helps you to cultivate a personal brand that works for you and catapults you toward your goals.
Photo by Amritanshu Sikdar on Unsplash
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