A personal brand utilizes your experiences and skills as a marketing strategy to promote your business and differentiate you from the competition. According to Fashion Mingle CEO Melissa Shea, it’s essential to make yourself known as the leader of your business in order to create an aura of personality around your brand. During the “How To Grow Your Personal Brand” Mastermind our panelists will advise you how to define yourself in the industry and be successful by showing in the most effective manner what you have to offer.
Mary Santorella, a respected global authority with over 25 years of experience within the Italian American fashion and beauty industries, and Allison Lewis, a notorious blogger and social media content creator, will talk about the personality aspect of this marketing project plan. And the ways in which photography is so deeply involved in branding will be laid out by New York City-based fashion photographer Oliver Archer and wardrobe stylist and image consultant Kim Moh.
6 Effective Tips To Grow Your Personal Brand
Make an excellent first impression
Mary Santorella explains that it is necessary to think ‘’who are you?” to work on your personal branding. What makes you different? How would you like others to perceive you? How do you create value for your specific target market? Through social media, people receive an avalanche of information every second. The competition is enormous, and individuals scroll through apps like Instagram and Facebook in a hurry. Someone who finds you online will make an assumption about you in mere seconds, so a good first impression is vital. The idea is to be strategic and calculate what perception you want people to take from you via a social profile.
Allison mentions that it is also necessary to be authentic. Although you are tactical and clever about what image you show for your business, you have to ensure that the message relates to what your brand is about, believes in, and supports. That’s what will attract future consumers: your message and your products. They will identify with your beliefs as long as they are consistent.
Create a vision board and use photography on your behalf
When working on your personal brand, photography is a critical aspect to consider. Oliver recommends working with your photographer on creating a vision board which represents you. These photos have to quickly communicate what your brand is about and what makes you unique. At the Mastermind, Shirin Movahed, who has over 13 years of experience practicing corporate and commercial litigation, and intellectual property law, and is the founder of Rakomova Law, shared her own experience from a previous photoshoot that she did not have much preparation for. Her advice is to always be prepared beforehand and do a lot of planning.
Good high-quality pictures taken by a professional, as Allison said, will take the pressure off of you because they have experience and know the angles and light, and how you should look. Stylists are also great in helping to make sure that all pieces come together to make sense for your business, especially if you are looking to get profiled, get PR, or be part of a significant publication.
Build your persona
Through questions such as “Who is your market?”, “Who are you selling to?” and “What message are you trying to send?” you can find a way to be more persuasive through your clothing. Kim used one of her clients as an example. She was a real estate agent, but the way she dressed did not show that. People usually aren’t eager to conduct business with someone who doesn’t look like they’re in the industry, so outfits need to send a message, which was, in the case of Kim’s client, that she is professional enough to sell someone’s home or help purchase one.
When you work with someone in public relations, such as Dee Rivera, CEO of DCG Public Relations, they will assess your entire personality, who you are, your lifestyle, and what you do right. She says that the process is almost like creating a persona. You are an extension of your brand, so your image must be consistent with your brand’s values and tell a story. Make sure your personality stands out and that you are an excellent public speaker. Founder of TRUE Model Management and New York fashion scene icon Dale Noelle used to be a model before owning her own agency. Being a good communicator is vital for your personal branding because, according to her, pitching an idea or trying to get your point across in general will always be necessary.
Protect your brand
Considering that much money and time is invested in your personal brand, we cannot forget to protect it. Trademark your name and copyright all your photos, videos, and content. We live in a digital world, and it’s become easy to grab a file online and pass it off as your own. Accordingly, don’t only put time into creating your brand, but into protecting it as well.
Ensure that your brand’s message is reflected in all aspects
You are not the only reflection of your brand when you own a fashion business. Catherine Schuller is a former model, actress, comedian, and performer who is now a renowned fashion event producer. Her recommendation is to hire the models who will represent your company and clothing the best and create campaigns that reflect your message appropriately, whatever it is. This means that the models need to match the pieces they will be wearing, which is “kind of an art form in itself.” You should decide your demographic and hire the people who best reflect that demographic.
Work on your social media management
Even for a personal brand, it’s important to have a social media content calendar. To be your own social media manager, Allison suggests starting with previous images and videos. That is already content. Take every opportunity at an event, panel, and when you’re outside to document and have that archived for later, and come up with some captions and maybe even an original hashtag for yourself. Then, start planning. Create a calendar one or two weeks in advance, and begin posting.
You can make the same publications in different channels and slowly move on to expanding the content archive as you get comfortable. Or, if you’d like to, focus on a single channel at first. Then, once you master it, go to the next one. You don’t need to do it all at once. Social media isn’t that complicated, and with time you’ll understand how to make it work in your favor.
To recapitulate the importance of a professional personal brand, Mary leaves the reminder that you are the brand. There is no more important brand than you, so don’t forget the importance of having the proper photo, content, and outfits and positioning yourself correctly on social media. The time and expense to do it will reflect on your business success; you just need to research and do it properly.
For more information on what you need to grow your business, sign up for a free Fashion Mingle account!
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