These Experts Share Some Effective Personal Branding Tips Personal branding requires acute knowledge of both yourself and your audience and consistently producing content that resonates with them

With the advent of the internet, your personal brand is more important now than it ever was. The various social media channels allow you to establish a reputation and an identity to build your personal brand. You need to establish a personal level of trust and interaction while creating your brand. It pays to have a great online impression, so embrace social media's reality and power and put your best self out there.

For the benefit of the brand, it is also important to connect with the consumer community frequently. You need to engage in discussions, whether regarding the business or the society at large. Entrepreneurs need to cultivate a socially conscious, responsible, and affable image to ensure future relevance of their business and their own personal brand.

Personal branding may sound "salesly" to many entrepreneurs but for Vaibhav Vats, Co-Founder, Digiperform- a digital marketing training platform, it's one of the most important aspects of marketing strategies to develop and promote a corporate brand.

"Like any form of marketing, personal branding requires acute knowledge of both yourself and your intended audience and consistently producing content that resonates with them," he asserted.

Most Important Strategy For Market promotion

To begin with, Vats recommends building digital footprint. "Entrepreneurs should be regular in sharing their knowledge and point of views on online platforms. You need to look past your professional expertise and offer views on topics that speak of your values and interests. Comment on stories that interest you. All of these efforts leave a digital footprint that offers evidence of who you are and what you represent," he shared.

His next advice in to donate time and expertise to local community. "Pro bono is the ideal way to be introduced to amazing contacts and referred to large brands. By simply donating your time or providing your expertise, you will open up several avenues that can lead to an enhanced personal brand. That includes expert appearances on local newspapers, radio, TV, and interviews in local print and local speaking engagements. When you donate your time, you are viewed as a contributing member of the community, and you will see opportunities present themselves to you," he assured.

The final tip from him is to grow social media presence. "It is always advisable to have a large and engaged following on social media platforms. It grows your brand awareness, builds your credibility and can track the attention and desire of other businesses and brands looking for beneficial partnerships," added Vats.

Neha Bagaria, CEO & Co-Founder, JobsForHer- a connecting portal that enables women on a professional break to restart their career, has four points to share-

Find your cup of tea

While building your personal brand you need to know what you do well and then identify your target audience. You can then begin to inform or share content with the people in your circle. When people start interacting, you will understand what drives your target audience.

Share content that aligns with your personality, regularly. Think about your audience and share content based on them. As you go on, the content you post will build your personal brand.

Tidy up your Social Media

Tidy up your social media accounts by deleting any unprofessional content. Always keep an active and updated profile on professional networking sites and keep personal banter out of strangers' access, by customization of posts.

Experiment

Video is emerging as an extremely popular posting format. Take short snippets for social media stories which can provide a window into who you are and what makes you stand out. Use online polls, comment on trending news, start a podcast - experiment to see which mediums connect with your audience.

Reality Bytes

Always remember, credibility is king. Your personal brand should be genuine and real. Otherwise, you run the risk of looking promotional and fake. Your personal brand is the most important thing you own. If you are not comfortable with it, you'll never achieve the integrity which is a key factor, while building your brand, both personally and professionally.

The Owner's Personality Is Intrinsic To The Brand

As the products and services offered by brands become increasingly similar, it is the brand identity and the emotional connect of a business and its owner with the target audience that helps it to be a step ahead of its competitors. Ali Asgar Kagzi- Co-Founder & Director - Genext Students, is convinced that strong personal branding has arguably become the most important factor in determining the success of a business. "While earlier, the identity of a brand was kept separate from the owner/entrepreneur, in today's age of information and social media, the persona of the entrepreneur is intrinsic to the brand's value and appeal," he claimed.

From Jeff Bezos to Jack Ma, successful entrepreneurs are emerging as global icons and consumers are associating with a brand only because they identify with the business head's values. However, with great power comes great responsibility wards Kagzi and adds, "Entrepreneurs today need to be supremely conscious of their actions, lest they are caught off-guard. The empowered consumer today can bring an abrupt end to the success stories of CEOs celebrated for having a "Midas Touch', as was the case with Travis Kalanick of Uber."

Creating a personal brand isn't easy and requires a lot of thought and research. More than what you look like or where you live, it's about what you stand for and what your audience should expect from you. Think long-term and remember to take note of what is working and what is not - tweak as necessary.