Building a Personal Brand That Stands Out

In a world where everyone is fighting for attention, how do you make your personal brand stand out? Whether you're a coach, consultant, or course creator, building a strong personal brand isn’t just about looking good online—it’s about creating trust, authority, and a connection with your audience.

In this episode, we’re breaking down what really goes into building a personal brand that sets you apart. We’ll cover the key elements of a memorable brand, how to position yourself as an expert, and the biggest mistakes people make when trying to establish their presence.

If you’re ready to step up and become the go-to person in your industry, this episode is for you! Tune in now and start building a brand that people can’t ignore. 

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Transcript

Hey. Welcome back to the new School of Marketing podcast. As always, I am so grateful to you for tuning in. Before we dive into this episode, I would love to pay my respect and acknowledgement to the Palawa people of Lutruwita who are the traditional owners of the land on which my business operates.

And I pay my respects to the elders, past and present.

In this episode, I want to talk about the art and the science of building a personal brand that not only gets noticed, but really, truly resonates with your audience.

So whether you're an entrepreneur, whether you're a small business owner or a professional looking to really build authority, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you create a brand that reflects who who you are and what you stand for.

My hope for you is that by the end of this episode, you'll have a roadmap to create your own personal brand that makes people turn heads. In a good way, right?

In a good way.

And hopefully open doors and makes you the go to expert in your field.

So let's talk about how to stand out, how to stay authentic, and to really build a brand that builds trust. But it also stands the test of time.

I don't actually talk about this very much, but I really love talk about personal branding. It's like one of my favorite topics because it's all about turning who you are into your unique advantage.

And let me tell you a quick story. Years ago, I met someone who built an entire business simply by showing up online as her authentic self.

She didn't have a fancy logo, didn't have a perfect website.

She just had a clear message. She had consistent content and just a way to connect with people that just made her unforgettable.

And that is the power of personal branding.

And I want to share a little bit of that with you. Now, I am absolutely not a branding expert, but I'm sure that you know someone and you kind of just go, oh yes, so and so, or you might not even know their name, but you know, like that lady in purple, like, you know, that kind of stuff.

So let's talk about what personal branding is first.

Personal branding is basically the way people perceive and remember you.

That's Why I said, you know, the lady in purple. Because some people just almost unknowingly build a personal brand because they love a certain color or they love colors. Like my daughter's primary school teacher, she's always like in super bright, beautiful, standout bold dresses, and she always has the like, funky earrings in.

Like. Some people just like naturally build a personal brand.

So it is basically the way people perceive and remember you. It's what comes to mind when someone hears your name or sees your content.

Sometimes I see someone's content, I'm like, oh, that's so and so's content. Because you just recognize it, you just know it. Now let me be really clear. A personal brand is.

Isn't just a logo or a pretty Instagram feed.

It's basically the essence of who you are. It's your voice, your values, your unique perspective.

And in today's crowded market, having a strong personal brand or a strong brand, if you're a business, it's not optional.

You have to have a strong personal brand or a strong brand to stand out.

And yes, sometimes a logo can be part of that, colors can be part of that, but it's so much more. It often is also how you present yourself, how you speak, the words you say, the message you share your values.

Like, it's like the whole package.

So to build a standout personal brand, there's five pillars.

Pillar number one is clarity.

You know, really, I should give you some time to grab a piece of paper or whatever to write this down. So clarity. So know your mission, know your vision, know your values.

What do you stand for? What impact do you want to make?

Number two is authenticity.

Be yourself.

People are really drawn to real stories, real personalities. Besides, it is such hard work to be someone that you are not.

I'm pretty sure that if you've ever worked a corporate job and you weren't really destined for, like, for corporate jobs, you really needed your freedom and your creativity and all of that.

I'm pretty sure you, you know what I'm talking about. I am not someone for suits and things like that. In fact, it's the first thing I got rid of when I ditched corporate.

I do not own a suit. You find me most of the time in jeans and boots. And that's how I show up for my clients. It's how I show up for my mentees.

So authenticity. Be yourself.

Because it's too hard to be someone else. You're not. Number three is consistency. Keep your message and your visuals cohesive across all platforms. Like your Message. You almost should be feeling like you're just repeating yourself because your message is the same over and over and over and over in a way.

I'm not saying say the same thing over and over, but your message and your visuals, the way you present yourself, it's cohesive across the board.

Number four is visibility.

Show up regularly. And whether it is through blog posts, through videos, through speaking gigs, to be top of mind. People need to hear and see you. This is why I stick to my weekly podcasting.

This is my way to be visible. I know, like, it's not visible, as in you can see me with your eyes, but I'm showing up regularly. You need to stay top of mind.

And number five is engagement. Build relationships. So make sure that you reply to comments, answer questions, connect with your audience in a genuine way.

Now, if you want to start building your personal brand, here's how you can do that today.

Firstly, you need to identify your niche and your audience.

Who are you speaking to? What problems do you solve for them? So this is literally like the first step of what you're doing.

Then you need to audit your online presence.

So make sure that your profiles and all your content align with your brand message. And like, I love that I'm sharing this at the start of the year because, you know, not that there's ever a right time, but it's a good time to do it now.

So, you know, go through all of your online content, give it an audit, make sure that everything is aligned.

The next one is to develop your unique selling proposition. It's a marketing term, your usp, your unique selling proposition. What sets you apart? Why should someone choose you over a competitor?

You know, what makes you the person to work with versus so and so who does the same thing.

And yes, you can have exactly the same skills. I'm one of those people. I am one of thousands of ads managers, but I know what makes me different from the next one.

And it's not always what you know in terms of your skills, in what you do and all of that. A lot of the times you need to, especially in my field, you need to have that trust factor.

And that could be a piece of it. You know, the way you show up and the way you speak and the way you share your values, that could be the thing that sets you apart, not necessarily your skill set, because, you know, so and so might do exactly the same thing, but it's that person is not you.

So what sets you apart? Why should they choose you?

The next one is create quality content so make sure that you share insight, tips, tell stories that both show your expertise but also your values. Because like I said, 10 people could do the same qualification.

They got the same skills because they learned the same thing, but they are 10 different people. So make sure that you really share your values and share your stories as well as your tips and your insights and your expertise.

The next one is to leverage social proof. So you really want to collect testimonials and share those. You might want to do some collaborations and also case studies. All of these pieces build trust.

Like, it's one thing to say, hey, I can do XYZ, but it is 10 times more powerful if some of your clients say, hey, she or he, if you're he listening, does, blah, blah, blah.

And like, you know, just to get that trust factor. So definitely leverage that social proof. And the last one is network like a pro.

I know it's not for everyone even if you do it online, but if you can attend events, join groups, connect with peers, connect with leaders in your industry, just connect, connect, connect.

And I don't really care how you do it, whether you're more comfortable doing it online or whether you're okay going to live events. I'm somewhere in the middle.

I go to events and I literally just give myself a kick in the ***. And I literally give myself a little talking to say, hey, baby, it's okay. They're people, go and talk to them.

And so many opportunities have popped up that way.

So sometimes you just gotta push through and just do it.

Now even the best intentions can, you know, go astray. So I also want to talk about some common pitfalls to avoid.

And I see this a lot with beginner businesses or people like, I don't know, it's just, I guess it's in our nature. We want to help. That's just in our nature.

But these are the things that can go wrong when you try to do that. One is to try appeal to everyone. And I know it's so hard because you want to help that person, you want to help that person, but they're not the same people, which is like, you can still help them, but if you try to speak to everyone, a way speaking to no one.

So the more specific that you get about your audience, the stronger your brand is going to be. It's like that sort of perfect sweet spot between you, your authenticity, your values, your message, and then knowing who your ideal client and your ideal audience is.

Another one is inconsistency in your messaging or visuals. Like, if you just Keep chopping and changing like this and that and that. It just confuses your audience.

So consistency is super, super, super important.

Another one is really perfection.

People want progress, not perfection.

So ditch the perfectionism.

Like I always say, done's better than perfect. It doesn't need to be perfect. Um, I've seen so many people that literally go, oh, I have to wait until I have so and so photo shoot.

And I got my makeup done and this and that. People don't want that. They really don't. They just want the raw, real, honest person.

Um, so don't worry about wearing makeup, whatever, or have, you know, the glam photo shoot, great for your website. I do agree with that. But you don't need it.

And then another one is neglecting engagement. It's not just about talking. It's also about listening and about connecting. So make sure that you do follow your comments, follow where people are actually asking you questions, responding to things, and make sure that you actually talk back to them.

Now let's look at some success stories and some inspiration. If you have no idea where to start on a personal brand, I'm going to say one name first, and I'm sure that you'll know who I'm talking about.

Oprah Winfrey.

Her brand is literally built on authenticity, on empathy, and on a commitment to uplifting others.

Like, we just know who we're talking about, right?

Or Gary V. Gary Vaynerchuk, whose raw and unfiltered style really resonates with entrepreneurs just about everywhere.

You know, you might not like him, but that's okay. But those personal brands work because they're clear, they're consistent, they're human, they are raw. And there's, like, literally not much.

You just know, like, what you see is what you get.

Now, to build a personal brand takes time, but it is worth every bit of effort. You can start small, focus on authenticity. Just literally, there's people that have started businesses and brands by just starting to film themselves talking, not even intentional about starting a business.

But they have, you know, in a way, unintentionally built a brand.

And remember that your brand is a reflection of you, and the world needs you exactly as you are. Just you. And you have that power and you have the tools.

I mean, we all have mobile phones. You have the tools to show up and to start building a personal brand without sitting down with graphic design agencies and, you know, like, building the whole glam around it.

No, it just needs you just as you are. All right, if you found this episode helpful, don't forget to subscribe, share it with a friend who's also maybe working on their personal brand.

And remember, I have free resources. So if you are ready to take your business to the next level and I'm mostly talking about Facebook and Instagram advertising here, but head to new schoolofmarketing.com

where you'll find practical and free resources. And if you want to grow a business plan but you don't want to spend all your time on slow and unpredictable organic social media, then the aim for Ads Academy is for you.

It's the place to learn to be seen by audience, attract the right leads and turn them into paying customers. With my proven for Ad Stack method plus as a part of the program, you'll have one on one access to me and I'm a marketing strategist with over 10 years of experience so that you don't have to navigate ads alone.

I'm here to help you be seen. I help you attract leads and get more paying customers. Now make sure you subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode and I can't wait to keep this journey going with you.

Until next time. Take care and market your business every day.