Ya know those brands that you just adore? Perhaps Starbucks, Target, Magnolia… there are some brands that have built a solid reputation and have raving fans and you can’t help but sing their praises.

But how does one build a personal brand that people can fall in love with just as much as those bigger brands? Stick around, I have a roadmap for how you - as the face of your brand and business - can grow a dedicated audience that people are sure to follow along with. 

When we are running our business as a solopreneur or small team, we are the faces of our work. When people choose to work with us, they are usually signing up to work directly with us in one form or another. So as the face of our small business it’s important that we show up using these 5 key areas: 

1. Authenticity

If you’re showing up online, you need to be authentic to who you are. Show up as you are with your quirky or humorous or introverted personality - no need to put on a show, share about things that are important to you, and let people in behind the scenes. Some of my favorite people to follow along with online are people who share helpful business tips, who are COMPLETELY themselves, and ALSO those who pull back the curtain to show everyday life. 

This is absolutely a personal preference to how much you want to share, but the more you can relate to your ideal customers and they can say ‘hey me too’ the more you can build those connections and trust. Personally, I’m a pretty private person so while I don’t share too much about my personal life, I DO share struggles I face in my business, life as a mompreneur, and the ebbs and flows of work and life. So share openly with an understanding of your boundaries and where to draw the line.

A thing to note about authenticity: humans connect with humans. So the more you can build up that connection the better. What I mean by this is, when people see you on video, the connection builds up the fastest because they can see your face and hear your voice. When they hear you on audio, that connection is also built. Reading words on a page can be one of least effective ways to build that connection, but it still does. So knowing that, choose which way you prefer to connect with your audience and start sharing your loveable self!

2. Authority

Along with sharing who you are, maybe the challenges you face, as well as your personality, it’s important that you show your authority in your space of expertise. People aren’t just going to buy from you if you have a funny personality, they want to see that you know what you’re talking about and can help them solve their problem.

So how can you build authority? Share helpful content. What is your ideal client struggling with? How can you solve their problem and help them with information? Maybe this is an opt-in, or posts on Instagram or blog posts. The more you can show yourself as the expert the more you can build that authority. 

For example, say you’re in need of a brand photoshoot and you start your research. If a photographer shares a blog post with the best outfit ideas for your brand photoshoot, you’ll immediately think that they know what they’re talking about, you can listen to their advice, and come up with some outfits that are perfect. The more you know about your target audience and what they need, the more you can come up with the content they are looking for.

3. Social proof

Another way you can build a personal brand that people fall in love with is continuing to build on that authority with social proof. This means sharing how many people you’ve worked with, testimonials from happy clients, or how much you’ve made in revenue in a given year. Social proof are numbers, stats, and solid facts that you can easily share so people can see that people trust you and your business.

This is why I hear on podcast advertisements “this company has over 8k five star reviews” this is saying that a lot of people love and trust the product, so you can too.

Social proof is powerful when you have great stats, or solid testimonials. So as you’re growing a personal brand, be sure to share those with humility and people will continue to love and trust your brand.

4. A Simple, Proven Process

People buy things that are easy to understand. So it’s important that you have a simple process that people can easily follow along with and buy.

Do you feel like you have a complicated service? Do your best to break it down into 3-5 steps so people can easily follow along and see the value of each step. Make sure people understand how they can get started and what happens during the process. Don’t use industry jargon. Keep it simple and easy to understand.

Clearly lay out the benefits of working together. One of the most important things you can do when laying out your process is saying what people can expect to gain after working with you. Whether that’s losing weight, gaining confidence, ending the process with a gorgeous website or family photos… be specific and spell out the outcome.

5. Stick with it

There’s no magic bullet for success or building a thriving, engaged audience. It took me almost 3 years of side-hustling to go full time with my own business and it can take others a long time too. The important thing is knowing where you want to go, and be dedicated to making it happen.

Sometimes this can take years, other times, this can be a shorter time of more hustle, but wherever you are, know that consistency, dedication, and focus are key contributors to success.

Building a loveable personal brand takes time but is so worth it because the sooner you can build a thriving audience, the sooner you can grow your business. 

I hope these tips are helpful!

Which tip will you focus on right now?