How to Market Your Personal Brand Like a Magnet (10 Tips)
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. And start attracting your people for your personal brand.
No good brand is created for everyone. A need to be liked by everyone holds you back from opportunities to strengthen your personal brand value. Instead, develop a magnetic mindset.
I met one of my best friends when I was 11 years old. It was in our first week of high school.
If you’ve read my earlier blog on how to find brand partners, you know I went into high school having previously had just one close friend. This changed in high school. With the hindsight of an adult lens, high school is the ultimate networking event.
Turns out that all I had to do was simply express my personal brand.
Two things drew my high school best friend and me together. While she didn’t say anything at the time (but recalled decades later), she had noticed the band posters on my books. They were some of her favourites too. Plus, she happened to like my handwriting. Which gave her an opening to lean over and tell me just that. It was the start of over 23 years of friendship.
If you can embrace marketing your personal brand like a magnet, you’ll find your people.
Tip #1: A magnetic marketing mindset for your personal brand
Accept that your personal brand is not for everyone.
In his book, 7 Rules of Power, Jeffery Pfeffer describes the ‘Paradox of Likeability’. The Standford Professor says it’s one of the ways you get in your own way. Being overly concerned about others liking you.
Ironically, likeability can negatively impact perceptions of competence. This was shown in Havard Business School faculty member Teresa Amabile’s study Brilliant but Cruel. The negative reviewers were seen as less likeable than the positive reviewers. But, the negative book reviews were perceived as more intelligent, competent and expert than positive reviews.
What do magnets do? They repel and they attract. Remember this when it comes to your magnetic marketing.
Your personal brand values, beliefs, messages and style won’t connect with everyone. But, expressing them will repel those who are only diluting your audience. And more importantly, it will attract your people - strengthening your audience.
Tip #2: Meet your people where they are
When considering your audience, don’t over-emphasise demographics. Instead, consider psychographics. This includes:
Personality traits
Opinions
Values
Lifestyle
Beliefs
Interests
From here, determine where your audience most shows up. This might be in person or online.
Tip #3: Define your personal brand niche
When you try to be everything to everyone, you end up appealing to no one.
Defining a niche will help you differentiate yourself in a noisy marketplace. Ask yourself, what can you be a subject matter expert in?
When you define your niche, you make your value clearer to your people.
Tip #4: Define your personal brand content pillars
Define at least 3-4 content pillars that fall under your niche.
Creating content takes resilience. So make it sustainable in the long term. Pick pillars you see yourself talking about well into the future. And, don’t worry, your personal brand can always pivot whenever you need to.
When defining your pillars, ensure at least one humanises your brand, for example behind the scenes content. People want to get to know the person behind the work.
Tip #5: Play to your personal brand strengths
Begin with a strategy that is not just challenging, but also feels enjoyable for you. One that plays to your strengths.
A simple question to begin with - are you a stronger speaker or writer?
Starting with your strengths will build your confidence and capability.
Tip #6: Create your personal brand platform
No matter how much interest you get from third parties (earned content), ensure you’re creating originally produced content. A must-have for your personal brand strategy.
Short-form content
Compared to its alternative, short-form content is low involvement. It’s, generally speaking, easier to produce and consume. This might include a regular email or social media. When it comes to social media, pick 1-2 platforms. Choose those with the best-expected return on investment for your time.
Long-form content
Long-form or rich content allows your audience to spend more time with you. In general, it’s high involvement. It takes longer to produce and consume. It, thus, deepens your relationship with your audience, who spend more time with you. It also further showcases the extent of your expertise.
Consider one of the following long-form platforms:
Podcast
YouTube channel
Video-podcast
Blog
Articles
You may choose to add more platforms in future years.
Create a home
You may like to think you own your social media profile. You don’t. Accounts can be removed at any time and entire platforms can become yesterday’s news. Remember MySpace?
I recommend having your own personal brand website. It gives your personal brand a home that all else can be directed toward. It also demonstrates your commitment to your industry.
Tip #7:Create value through your personal brand
Personal branding is often mistaken for self-promotion. If you feel this, you’re doing it wrong. All your personal brand content should deliver value to your people.
People are said to consume content for three key reasons. So, appeal to at least one of these areas:
Educational value (e.g. insights, tips and latest industry updates)
Inspirational value (e.g. motivational tips and case studies)
Entertainment value (e.g. trending news)
Tip #8: Be consistent
The cardinal rule of personal branding (and content) is consistency. Decide on a cadence for your content and commit to it. Consistency builds trust and trust builds loyalty.
There are various recommendations for the number of times you should share content on certain platforms. But, consistency is what’s most critical.
Tip #9: Leveraged impact for your personal brand
Don’t just create a plan, create systems. Leverage what you have created to optimise its value.
Your content systems should aim to:
Connect short-form to long-form content and vice versa.
Use your face-to-face activities to direct people to your online content and vice versa.
Tip #10: Differentiate your personal brand
There will likely be people who share your expertise and value proposition.
The secret to your marketing will come from what makes you uniquely you.
You can further differentiate yourself through:
Personal storytelling
Your tone of voice
Your look and feel
A unique point of view
Remember, people buy emotionally first and rationalise with logic. They won’t just remember what you said, but how you made them feel.
The next time you’re trying to be everything to everyone, remember your magnetic mindset. You will repel some people. But, you’ll attract your people.
So, are you marketing like a magnet?
