Why You Need To Follow The Goldilocks Rule When It Comes To Building Your Personal Brand When it comes to creating content, be yourself. You don't need to post an Oscar-winning performance.
By Alex Malouf Edited by Aby Sam Thomas
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When it comes to self-promotion and market awareness, a personal brand is a powerful tool. It's even more important for entrepreneurs, when you are working to a limited budget and have a to-do list that is longer than your arm. It is important that your potential customers, employees, and suppliers know you before they meet you.
A personal brand will help you attract new business, establish your credibility, and hire people for your undertaking as well. And yet, what you don't want is to become the person who is seen at every conference and/or is posting on social media every waking moment. After all, there is such a thing as too much exposure, especially when you are working to build a business.
So, let's start with a couple of simple questions. Why do you want exposure? What do you want to be known for? And who is your target audience? Before you do anything, you need to be able to answer these questions. The answers will help you understand what you need to focus on, which channels to use and events to attend, and, importantly, the frequency of how often you push out a message.
Your answers to these questions will also help you understand how much money you will need to invest into your branding. Nothing is free, and that includes personal branding. If you are not a good writer, then employ one. If you want to learn how to shoot good videos, then either train up (good), or hire an expert (better). And, if you want to reach a specific audience online you may be better served by spending on targeted adverts that will push your content to an audience that you can specify, based on such parameters as industry, location, job title, and experience.
Next, build up a calendar for yourself. This will help you organize yourself into what you want to share through consistency. Consistency is one way to build up trust with your audience, as they will know what and when to expect your message. It will also help to get you into a rhythm for your own communications.
When it comes to creating content, be yourself. You don't need to post an Oscar-winning performance. Get in front of the camera, have a script ready if it helps you, and use tech. There are so many applications out there that can help, such as teleprompter software for your phone or tablet for your script. Start with your big message, and end with it too. Tell your story, and keep what you are saying brief. Most of us have attention spans that are pretty short (though longer than a goldfish, I'd add), and you have to earn our attention. Also brand your content (video or imagery), so that people know it's yours. Again, software can be a big help here.
One other tip I'd give is to engage with your audience, be it online or offline. I often see people build their audience on social media, but then not engage with comments, or people speaking at events, and then rushing off, while there are people waiting to speak with them. Engagement is an important way to build trust. You are recognizing these people for their time and effort, and they are more likely to become your advocates if you spend a moment to respond.
There is one additional guide for personal branding, which I call the Goldilocks rule. Too little branding is not good. Too much branding is also not good. You have to get the balance just right. People may ask how are you able to set up and run a business if you're always at events, or are always online. I am sure you will have asked yourself the same question. Ensure that you find a balance that you are happy with, and set aside the time every week, or agree with yourself you will attend X number of events every quarter. Avoid the temptation to do more. And remember, building a personal brand is a marathon. It will take time, so be patient!
Related: Too Much Of A Good Thing: How Over-Communication Can Erode Brand Perception
