From growing your business to getting a raise, achieving your career goals is closely tied to demonstrating the value you provide. Notice I said demonstrating. Remember a time when you brought a tremendous amount of unnoticed value to the table? Sometimes our bosses or clients don’t realize what our strengths are because, well, we’re not demonstrating them. Enter: personal branding. This is an opportunity to demonstrate the value you give by becoming known for the solutions you provide to your company’s or clients’ problems, in your own unique way.
Simply put, people need to know what to come to you for.
When I was transitioning from a career in local television to entrepreneurship, I took a lot of pride in being a “Jill of all trades.” I wore hats ranging from editor to videographer to writer to anchor. So when it came to wearing my latest hat of entrepreneur, I initially thought I could help companies with all. the. things.
The problem? I got lost in a sea of bios.
People aren’t looking to you for a solution to a wide range of problems. They’re looking to you for a solution for a specific problem. When you demonstrate this, you’ll attract the people looking for your unique solution to their specific problem.
Here are my four tips to create a personal brand to help you achieve your goals:
1.Know what problem you solve.
If you’re in HR, you might help your company fill resource gaps. If you’re a copywriter, you might help a confusing or unknown message become clear. If you’re a nutritionist, you might help someone with dietary restrictions discover the right food plan.
Whatever your role is, ask yourself: what problem do I solve?
2) Know who you solve this problem for.
As Marie Forleo says: “If you’re tawkin’ to everybody, you’re tawkin’ to nobody.”
The influencers, music, TV shows and brands we love did not become lovable to us because they tried being lovable to everyone. They’re lovable to us because they catered to a specific target audience, which we likely fall within.
2. Who is your target audience?
Get really specific. Using a nutritionist as an example, it’s much more powerful to have a niche as “a nutritionist for pregnant women” versus “a nutritionist for women.” Women, in general, have a wide range of nutritional needs, whereas pregnant women have more specific nutritional needs. And again, the more you can have a solution to a specific problem, the more you’ll attract the person or company with that specific problem.
3) Know what unique solution you provide.
Now that you know what problem you solve, and who you solve it for, let’s talk about how you’re solving that problem. Let’s go back to the nutritionist. Any nutritionist can likely make a recommendation of what to eat. So what makes your solution unique?
Think in terms of results. What result do you get your company or client? And how do you get them that result?
For example, a nutritionist for pregnant women might get their clients the result of: reduced morning sickness by providing recipes with nausea-reducing ingredients.
4) Share your message.
Having the clarity of what problem you solve, for who and how is especially powerful when you share it with others. You can think of this formula as your elevator pitch. It can be your answer to “what do you do?” And it can be your opening line in your bio.
If you want to amplify your message even more, start posting about your expertise on social media. You could share industry articles, tips or insights into trends, for example.
Thanks to the internet, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our value to help us achieve our goals.
Going back to my story, once I went from a “Jill of all trades” to someone who helps female entrepreneurs amplify their message digitally, I started to achieve my goal of helping clients achieve theirs.
I’d love for you to join my community on Instagram! Simply follow @empowerista and use #empowerista to give and receive support of fellow ambitious women.
Here are more career and personal finance topics for you…
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Questions? We’re here to help. Leave us a comment and we’ll get back to you!
Disclosures: We’re excited to be working with the team at Ellevest to start this conversation about women and money. We may receive compensation if you become an Ellevest client.
