As a freelancer or entrepreneur, you are a brand. That means you have an identity, a mission, and a product — your skill set! Branding is only successful when it reflects consistency, so you must maintain yours across all online platforms. Here are five ways to manage your personal brand:
1. Website: This is an entire site dedicated to one thing — you. Make your brand count. Set up a blog and write about your creative endeavors, whether they are successes or challenges. Show off your best work, and update it frequently. Let people get to know you or your company better with an extensive About page, and make it simple for them to contact you.
2. Social Media: Set up a Facebook Page for yourself as a business, as well as a Twitter page and LinkedIn page for networking. Then keep using them! Populate all your social media with content as often as you can. Consider social media schedulers like HootSuite if you find you’re too busy to tweet. Use Namechk to find out whether your username is registered across multiple social media sites. Register your name on sites you don’t plan to use just in case those platforms suddenly make sense for you to use or become popular very quickly.
3. Logo/Image: If you have a company or brand name, use the logo as the image in your social media profiles. For those who freelance, using a professional photo of yourself is a great way to represent your brand. Remember, consistency is key — use the same photo across your website, online portfolio, and all social media platforms.
4. Mission and values: Every inch of bio space can be an opportunity to spread your mission statement. Who are you, what are you enthusiastic about, and why do you do what you do? If you’re a designer, now is your chance to briefly showcase your personality and passion for design. Again, keep that statement consistent.
5. Creative online outlets: Are you a copywriting maven? Blog about it. Are you an expert in your field? Create how-to videos on YouTube and share your knowledge with the world. Do you have a side business crafting a homemade product? Pinterest might be a place for you to become active. Or let people into your creative process via Periscope. Don’t be limited to a website and a few tweets. Create personal brand leverage by figuring out who you want to speak to the most, and which online platforms will allow you to reach that audience.
One final note: be sure to provide links to your pages, profiles, and portfolio wherever you can! Create an email signature, print up business cards with your website, and include them on your resume. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to find out who are you and what you do. That way, they’re more likely to contact you for work!
By becoming comfortable with creating an online presence, highlighting what you believe in, and developing a “voice”, you’ll help help broaden your networking opportunities among acquaintances, ex-colleagues, and future employers. Establish yourself as an expert, and then manage that expert brand on a regular basis!