Building your personal brand can create many opportunities for your remote working career.
With this, you can attract possible clients when you showcase your skills with your content.
But personal branding isn’t just about showcasing your credentials.
It’s also about being trustworthy and displaying your personality. Later, they can assess if you’re a good fit for their company or team.
One way to achieve this is to be as authentic as possible in your personal branding. It’s all about being honest and real when you present yourself.
But one prevalent worry is how to strike a balance between authenticity and professionalism.
After all, you can’t be too honest and end up being TMI. On the other hand, being too professional could make you come across as cold and unrelatable.
So, how should you go about it? Here are 5 key steps for building an authentic and professional personal brand.
It Begins with Self Awareness
The foundation of authenticity is self-awareness. This is about knowing who you are and what you can offer.
It includes being aware of your core values, current emotions, marketable skills, and how others perceive you.
With this, you can be more aligned with your content for personal branding. However, this is easier said than done, so here are a few tips to become more self-aware.
Knowing Your Audience: Consider the Context, the Culture, and the Ethics
The next step is knowing your audience.
What’s their demographic? What kind of language do they speak? Do they have certain quirks you identify with?
Your content won’t necessarily resonate with everyone. So, by knowing your audience, you can tailor fit your personal branding efforts to their needs, interests, and expectations.
You can craft stories and content that resonate with your audience to build trust and loyalty.
And with this, you can also discern between what to say – and what not to say.
Establish your Credibility First
So which comes first, authenticity or professionalism? Neither. They can go hand-in-hand.
But generally, you may want to establish credibility first.
Remember, some of the people that encounter your content don’t know you. You only have roughly a few seconds to hook them.
For example, if you’re creating video content, you can start with “Hi, I’m (name), your travel content writer and I help Filipinos live a digital nomad lifestyle.”
Also, you can optimize your profile page to show your achievements, expertise, or what you can offer just in case they want to know more.
Show Your Genuine Self
As you hook them in the first few seconds, your target audience may consume one or two pieces of content.
But remember, you have a lot of competition out there. Almost anyone with experience can discuss your topic. I mean, how many content writers are there in the Philippines?
So how do you differentiate yourself?
This is where authenticity comes in.
People may want to read or consume some of your content. But genuineness is what will get them to stay and become loyal followers.
Don’t be afraid to convey your opinions, emotions, and show some of your personal quirks. (Of course with some limitations, depending on the context, culture, or ethics as explained above.)
TLDR: Showing more of your personality allows your content to stand out from that of your competitors’.
Don’t Be Afraid to Show a Little Vulnerability
A lot of professionals are focused on building their portfolio and credibility. Nothing wrong with that.
But most of your followers want to see a real person behind your content. If you want to be more relatable, you may want to show a little vulnerability in your content.
It can be sharing your own experience (whether good or bad) regarding a certain topic. Or maybe convey how you felt, for example, when you were still starting.
When you show vulnerability, you can connect with your target audience better. And ultimately, it can help build a stronger personal brand for your remote working career.
And if you want to start building a remote working career, you can sign up through Remote Staff for the best online job listings for Filipinos.
Remote Staff offers long term remote working jobs in different fields, even if you’re still starting.
This way, you can begin a thriving remote working career while building your personal brand. Cheers!
