Most remote workers want to distinguish themselves from their competitors. The more you can stand out, the greater your chances of landing premium clients.
One way to do this is to create personal branding that highlights your skills and unique value above the rest.
But it’s easier said than done. You will definitely run into problems along the way.
If you’re just starting out or just want to improve your personal branding, here are 5 common challenges you may encounter and how to deal with them.
Not Knowing How to Start
So how do you even begin to build your personal brand? What content should you create? What skills should you highlight?
Everyone has different starting points for building their personal brand. However, you may have no idea where to start, especially if you’ve never done it before.
Here are some things you can do to get started:
- Identify your target audience and your niche?
- What values do you want to emulate?
- The next step is to create content and see what sort would resonate with your target audience. Bear in mind that this may involve some trial and error.
- Be authentic. Not everyone will like your content, but some certainly will. These are your people and you should focus on them as you continue creating content.
What Channels to Use
Most remote workers want visibility across all media channels. But that’s rarely effective (or sustainable), especially when you’re starting.
Focus on the social media channels your target market frequents.
If you’re a graphic designer, it might be on Behance or Tiktok. Or perhaps your target clients are frequently on LinkedIn.
At first, it’ll take a lot of trial and error. But identifying where you’re most visible – and focusing your efforts there -will give you the best results.
Imposter Syndrome
Are you afraid to share content because you don’t think you’re good enough — despite your skills and achievements?
Well, you might be experiencing imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where an individual doubts his/her abilities despite undeniable evidence of their competence.
It happens to most of us. The good news is that you can overcome this challenge. Here are ways to overcome imposter syndrome.
Defining Consistency
Building a personal brand doesn’t happen overnight. After posting some content or optimizing your page, you might not see any traction at first. Be patient.
The secret is to be consistent in providing value to your target audience.
So should you post every day? Not necessarily.
You should set a target that would make sense for your schedule. How much content can you post in a month?
That might be 4 articles a month. Or maybe, 2 videos a week.
Set a number that you can realistically commit to. And when you make it a habit to be consistent, you’ll surely build your personal brand in no time.
Handling Criticism and Feedback
Once some of your content gets traction, some people will have contrary opinions and feedback.
But don’t get disheartened and stop creating valuable content just because of one negative comment.
First of all, remember that you can’t please everyone. Some will hate you regardless of what you do.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that you create subpar content. They just don’t resonate with you. And that’s okay. Focus on your target market.
But take note that some comments can also be taken as constructive criticism. They can be useful for improving your content later on.
There will definitely be challenges when you create your personal brand. But with the tips above, you can overcome these to build a thriving remote working career.
And if you’re still looking for a remote job, you can sign up through Remote Staff for the best online job listings for Filipinos.
Remote Staff offers long-term remote working opportunities in different industries. This way, you can already start your remote working career, while building your personal brand.
Cheers!