The Journey into building a Great Personal Brand
I know one of Nigeria’s Best Baker- Wole Ogunsanya aka Cake Daddy. He unarguably bakes the best cupcakes in Lagos, Nigeria. Wole Ogunsanya owns Cakes Walking Tall (CWT) and I see how much effort he makes while baking Tall Cakes. He carefully arranges them and ensures the First Tier Cake is sited comfortably to accommodate the Second Tier Cake as well as the Third Tier, then the Fourth. Any attack on the First Tier is an attack on the Whole Cake. So maybe- ‘Attack’ is not the word to use.
Lol!
I have seen him bake those Cakes that come with Tiers- especially Wedding Cakes and I see how his clients praise him for doing a good job. As I type this- I’m beginning to crave some slices of Carrot Cake, but this write-up is not about Baking or Cakes.
It is about the Tiers of Personal Branding and how like Wole Ogunsanya of CWT carefully arranges these tiers of cake and ensures none of the tiers of cake falls off or is imbalanced is how we all need to ensure our Personal Branding Process and Journey is Balanced and properly Baked to be eaten by People.
Ok- enough of all these Cake Analogies. Let’s get right into The Tiers of Personal Branding.
After you have realized Why you need a Personal Brand (Insert Link here) and you have decided to begin your journey into building your Personal Brand.
The First Tier is to Start
Yes- Start. Has funny as this sounds, not everyone successfully got to this first stage. Some people remained on the train of ‘I will start tomorrow’. So, the first step is Start. Start with the Knowledge you have. Start with the expertise you have. Start with the Fears you have. Just Start. Start with knowing what your Personal Brand should be based on. Start by knowing those you would love to reach out to. Start by knowing how you Intend to make a difference in their lives. Start by Identifying your Zone of Competence, Excellence, and Genius.
The Second Tier is to Begin to Grow your Authority in your Niche
At this Tier, you begin to create Knowledge-Based Contents that are beneficial to people in your Niche/ Industry. At this Tier, don’t try to be Google or ‘Mr./Ms. Know it all’. Rather be that Person whose Content can be trusted and referred to. Be the thought leader. Be the one who shows and tells people what they know and offers guidance to people. Be the one that can answer people’s questions. Be the one who advises and counsels they can trust. Grow and Build your Authority in your Industry and Niche.
The Third Tier is Consistently Deliver Transformation Offline and Online
At this Level, ensure everyone that encounters you experience a Transformation. Let them leave you a better person. Beyond the Talks, also ensure that people get Results. Let your Personal Brand Experience be layered with Practical and Actionable Steps. A lot of people are guilty of not being consistent with linking their Online Personal Brand to their Offline Personal Brand. Offline they are Silent but are more expressive Online. It is the same energy you invest in building an Online Personal Brand, you use in building your Offline Personal Brand.
The Fourth Tier is to Keep Evolving and Gaining more Knowledge
While evolving, we continually build Capacity. It is in the place of building Capacity for our Personal Brand that we Learn More, Unlearn and Become More Reputable. Never get stuck with ‘That’s how they do it’ Rather, embrace a ‘How can it be done better’ mindset. When I (My name is Preciousgift Ajudie. Lol!) just started to build my Brand- I made mistakes and made lots of assumptions. I thought people would just automatically listen to me because I had something good to say. I thought all I needed to build my Brand was to have a Social Media page. Along the Line, I learned more, I knew better, have a better branding process and I now serve my clients better. Now- that’s the Power of Evolving.
You need to start, grow into being an Authority in your Niche, be Consistent with Delivering Results, get More Knowledge then build better Capacity that can accommodate a better YOU and Personal Brand.