Personal Branding as an artist - Strategy & structure
Part 3: How do you become a credible personal brand?
“Personal branding is the art of becoming knowable, likable and trustable,” said John Jantsch, the marketing consultant and author of the bestseller “Duct Tape Marketing” back in the 90s.
In 1997, the term “personal branding” was coined for the first time in a corporate context.
Personal branding is not a new concept. Marketing experts and entrepreneurs have been officially involved in the art of self-promotion for more than 25 years. This does not mean that there were no people who were able to sell themselves wonderfully before. If we look at the history of art, we can think of many examples of excellent self-promoters. One of the oldest candidates is probably Albrecht Dürer. His “praying hands” are still very popular today and are one of the basic motifs in tattoo studios.
One thing is certain: to build a successful personal brand, you need a strategy. Building it is a process that is not completed overnight. You require continuity and patience when marketing yourself.
This article follows on from the previous two:
1. Personal branding as an artist: Who are you? (Part 1)
2. Personal branding as an artist: Who should know you? (Part 2)
If you haven't read the articles yet, I recommend you do so. The first two articles are basically the foundation for building your brand.
Self-knowledge meets target group
When it comes to your personal branding, nothing works without knowing who you are and who your target group is. We got to the bottom of these two important questions step by step in my first and second articles. Now that you know which values are most essential to you, how you can credibly convey them to the outside world, what the needs of your target group are and how you can support them, we want to devote the third part to the strategy and the concrete development of your personal brand.
Overview
Self-knowledge meets target group
Brand architecture of your brand
Your brand values
Your positioning
Storytelling (& design)
Multimedia communication
Examples & suitable formats
Conclusion
Brand architecture of your brand
In the first two articles, we left out the fact that a personal brand can contain not just one brand, but several brands. The brand architecture represents the organization and structuring of these brands among each other.
Example: Imagine you are a live musician and play in different constellations. You are part of a trio that mainly plays classics, then you have a cover band with which you go to public events, and you also make your own music and promote your solo program. Each of your projects stands on its own in some way, and yet you hold them together through your personality. So what is your personal brand? Basically, all of your projects are their own brands with their own values, messages, and target groups. The classical trio reaches different people than the cover band. Your brand architecture is important so that you can structure the brands among each other and define their relationship to each other. Where are there overlaps, where are there differences? All of this helps you to position yourself more clearly.
Your brand values
In the first article, we already learned: your values are the most significant point when it comes to your personal branding. Because your values ultimately make up the identity of your personal brand.
If you have decided on a few strong values, then it is time to incorporate these values into your external communication. This does not have to be direct, but can also be in an abstract form.
Example: Let's assume your values are “love”, “creativity” and “health”. The direct variant would be that you write a claim that names the values, e.g. “Because creativity is love for me”. You could also incorporate the value “health” into your external communication hastily, for example by regularly emphasizing in your content on social media or your own web presence that you enjoy doing sports, have a healthy lifestyle, etc. Or maybe you don't think of physical integrity when you think of health, but rather of things like mindfulness, mental strength, etc. Your values should be reflected in your external communication on a continuous basis.
Be creative and remember that you don't have to express everything verbally, but can use media such as photos and videos. The design, fonts, colors, etc. also play a major role in communicating your values.
Your positioning
If you want to stand out from the competition and land in the focus of your target group or want to assert yourself with them, then you need a memorable and clearly understandable personal brand. In other words: your target group should have a very clear picture of you and your services. The following aspects should be considered:
Differentiability
Your strengths and qualities should be highlighted so that you can assert yourself against potential competitors.
Uniqueness
The more unique you are, the easier it will be to find your own niche that is relevant to your target group. You therefore require a unique selling point that you should place very prominently in your external communication and emphasize again and again.
Strategy (“How?”)
Here, you determine how you want to represent your brand externally. In other words: your strategy is your decision on how you want to represent and promote yourself and your skills to third parties. We'll come to examples below.
Communication
Your positioning influences the way you promote your brand externally. Your external communication depends on your values, goals, and your target group. More on that later.
Storytelling (& Design)
Every person has a story. Consequently, every personal brand can have its own, individual story. People love stories. That's why storytelling is very well suited to shaping your personal brand. The great thing about storytelling is that you don't need a finished story, but rather your story can develop bit by bit. This way, you can communicate things that don't yet exist. Many creative people use this, for example, by reporting on planned projects or promoting books that haven't even been published yet. They let their target group participate in the process.
For a successful storytelling strategy, you should have the ability to tell a captivating story and be willing to open up. It's not about unpacking private stories, but about connecting exciting experiences, insights, or challenges with your professional context.
Examples: If you are an author, your goal is to make as many people as possible aware of your books and to share your stories with them. Your target group are readers who are enthusiastic about your genre, your writing style, your stories, and your personality. Many authors like to stay in the background and just promote their books. In my opinion, this means they squander the potential to score points with their personality. Successful personal branding would look like this: you reveal more about yourself, talk about your own story and give readers an impression of you as a person behind the writing. Perhaps there are certain experiences and key moments that made you want to write. These things can be used wonderfully in storytelling.
Your design also tells its own story. Different colors, fonts or the text-based writing style convey a very specific image. If you have a young target group, you may be able to expect them to use stronger colors and more modern fonts than would be the case with a more dignified, mature target group. When it comes to design, you can base your design on your own preferences and taste. Logically, what we like is an expression of ourselves and therefore the epitome of authenticity.
In my personal case, I use my design as a first “filter” to convey a visual equivalent of my person (“young”, “modern”, “unconventional”). Anyone who is put off by pink colors, bold headlines and the casual “you” is probably not my target group.
Multimedia communication
Remember that external communication in terms of self-promotion is basically a marketing mix. It is the way in which you talk about your skills and products or present them to the outside world (formats). This does not just mean verbal communication, but also visual communication. This point is particularly exciting for you if you work in the visual field. We all know great advertising campaigns or posters that do not contain a single word. Strong images speak for themselves and should therefore definitely be part of your marketing mix. Basically, you should choose formats that give you joy and that you can implement continuously without much effort. There is no point in relying on formats that may “work well” but are absolutely no fun for you. Because sooner or later you will probably lose interest - and you will probably radiate that subconsciously and your target group will notice that something is wrong.
Examples & suitable formats
What media formats are there?
Visual elements:
Graphic design: The use of logos, colors, fonts and visual elements to represent your personal brand
Photos/ videos/ vlogs: Images and videos can tell stories, convey emotions and visually support your brand message
Web design: The design of websites, apps and other digital platforms if you are good at it
Auditive elements:
Sound branding: The strategic use of sounds, jingles or melodies to identify your brand and create an emotional connection
Voice-controlled assistants/bots: The integration of chatbots or voice assistants to interact with the target audience
Podcasts/ radio plays: Start your own podcast where you talk about relevant topics that interest your target audience. Share personal stories, experiences and insights or invite guests to talk to them about various topics relevant to your target group
Text-based communication:
Content marketing: The creation of relevant and appealing content that positions the brand and offers added value for your target group
Social media/blog/website: Text contributions published on platforms, forums, your own or other people's blogs
Interactive media:
Animations and interactive graphics: Moving images or interactive elements to attract the attention of your target group
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR): Technologies that make it possible to create brand experiences in virtual environments
Webinars and online courses: Webinars or courses not only show your expertise, but also enable direct interaction with your target group
As a solopreneur and artist, it is important to choose one (or more) format(s) that you can 1. implement and 2. maintain in the long term. Because the be-all and end-all of a successful and sustainable personal brand is continuity. So when choosing your formats, remember that you can implement them on an ongoing basis, otherwise you will keep losing visibility.
Also make sure that your media is consistent and that the same values are conveyed across the various channels, otherwise you will lose credibility. A consistent image across all formats is very important.
In addition to the media formats, don't forget your presence. Networking meetings or conferences with like-minded people always offer potential to inspire people face to face.
Conclusion
To build a successful personal brand, you need three things: good self-knowledge, knowledge of your target group and a suitable strategy to credibly convey your brand values and identity. In this article, we have gone through the most important points for building your personal brand and have gained an overview of all possible media formats that are suitable for your external communication. As an artist and creative person, you have a variety of options for profitably marketing your skills and offers. It is important that you choose formats that suit you. Not just so that you appear as authentic as possible, but so that you can stick with it. Self-marketing doesn't happen overnight, but is more of a process that accompanies you on an ongoing basis. You have to be prepared to pursue a long-term strategy in order to get closer to your goal step by step. I wish you a lot of perseverance and success. Enjoy the process!
If you have any questions or would like specific support, please feel free to contact me.
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