In today’s highly competitive speaking industry it is very important to be more distinctive, showing yourself as unique in the background of other speakers. More importantly, personal branding is one’s greatest resource as a speaker since it gives one a face in the crowd as well as a voice that is distinct from others.
According to John Simpson, a public speaker and an expert in personal branding, when one develops a strong personal brand, they pave the way for several opportunities such as working with talent agencies in London and sharing a platform with icons like Elle Macpherson and Sir Bob Geldof.
To help you understand how to establish a powerful personal brand that will allow you not just to survive but to flourish in the world of public speaking, this article outlines the key strategies to follow when navigating your career.
Understanding Personal Branding
Personal branding is therefore the process of promoting one’s self and career in a similar manner as brands. It refers to managing and executing a unified theme and concept that defines your company’s identity and values.
For speakers, this will mean presenting yourself, your knowledge, your character, and your values as perceived and appreciated by the target audience.
As John Simpson rightly claims, having your personal brand can make a huge difference to your visibility and importance to the extent that you can become a valued expert and sought-after speaker in your industry.
Identifying Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
The first step that one needs to take in the process of personal branding is to define one’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your Unique Selling Proposition is what sets you apart from other speakers.
Think about what makes your message, style or even your point of view special? This could be the knowledge you have in a certain field, a story that has touched your audience, or how you speak on the stage.
For instance, Sir Bob Geldof is identified not only as an activist and musician but as a captivating storyteller with fervent intonations. Likewise, Elle Macpherson uses her insights from modelling to talk about stuff like health or business. To effectively create a brand that will be easily recognizable, there is a need to determine what your Unique Selling Proposition is.
Crafting Your Personal Brand Statement
The second major concept to define after the USP is the personal brand statement. This statement should contain information about yourself, your job, and the significance of what you do. It needs to be simple, more brief, and above all easy to grasp.
An example of a strong personal brand statement could be: “As a keynote speaker & executive with over 10 years of experience in leadership & innovation, I empower working professionals and organisations unlock potential, opportunities, & practical steps to transform their personal & professional lives.”
However, John Simpson goes further to acknowledge that a good brand statement acts as a blueprint to all the branding strategies since it provides direction on what the branding process needs to achieve across the different stages.
Building Your Online Presence
One must have an unchallenging and robust web identity in the day and age where internet access is ubiquitous. This entails having well designed corporate websites, and active social media accounts and blogging in professional areas of specialisation.
Professional Website
Your website is the central access point for all your Internet activities. It should consist of a biography, list of speaking events you have done, testimonials and a blog where you post about business and other occurrences. Make sure your site is not just aesthetically pleasing but also user-friendly, particularly on mobile devices and tablets.
Social Media Profiles
Many social networking services including LinkedIn, twitter and Instagram are important avenues for branding one’s image. Leverage these platforms to post your content, interact with the community, and reach out to coworkers. Sharing informative and engaging content while being active can also greatly improve your online presence and reputation.
Creating High-Quality Content
In today’s world of brand management nothing is more valued than content. Sharing frequent quality content like blog, vlogs, Podcasts, etc makes you popular and position yourself as a specialist in that particular field. In this case, anyone can freely share his knowledge, experience and insights in a manner that will somehow benefit the readers out there.
Elle Macpherson has well understood the use of content to create her ‘brand’, creating blogs, videos and posts teaching on wellness. Likewise, John Simpson treats the topic of consistency and high quality to forge the audience willing to recognize expertise.
Networking and Collaboration
Social media presence is important in branding, but it concerns real life interaction too. Interaction with other professionals in a given field can also present new opportunities and provide the chance to meet new contacts.
Attend Industry Events
Socialising with other speakers, organisers, and potential clients can thus be easily achieved through conferences, seminars, and other related events. These events offer a platform where you can share knowledge about your field and also create new connections.
Collaborate with Influencers
Working with other influencers and other knowledge speakers for the event can go a long way in raising the profile of the event and of you as a speaker.
Seek chances to partner on hosting, sponsoring, participating in events, panels, or contributing to content creation. Sir Bob Geldof and Elle Macpherson have rampantly used such collaborations for the improvement of their personal brand image and wider outreach.
Working with Talent Agencies
Getting in touch with the talent agencies in London or any other city is a great way of taking your speaking business to the next level. These agencies will assist you in booking speaking engagements, negotiating the terms of your contracts, and offering insight into the industry.
Choosing the Right Agency
One major factor to consider when selecting a talent agency is that it should be the best one for your particular brand or vision. Research some agencies, go through the lists of their clients and also ask for references for other speakers. According to John Simpson, it is helpful to confine a search to agencies that have previous experience in sourcing speakers relevant to your industry.
Maximising the Partnership
After selecting a competent agency, it is essential to cooperate effectively with the agency to get the most out of it. Be very specific regarding your objective, make sure they have relevant information at their disposal and be as transparent as possible. Speaking of the talent agencies, it is also necessary to understand that having a strong connection with a reliable and reputable agency can boost your profile in the speaking business.
Measuring Your Brand’s Success
Personally, it is crucial to assess the efficiency of the efforts being made on a daily basis towards the development of personal branding strategies. Measure other strategies such as website traffic, social media interactions, invitations to speak at events, and comments from the target market. Analyse it to realise what aspects can be improved and what needs to be adjusted in the branding process.
In this area, John Simpson acknowledges the change in society as a crucial factor whereby the people should constantly learn and unlearn how to develop their personalities. Speaking industry is fluid and as such, the way you employ your branding strategies will require that you constantly review and adapt.
Summing It Up!
Thus, it is crucial to note that the key to success in the sphere of public speaking is to create a personal brand. Thus, after defining your unique selling point, creating the memorable tagline, developing the professional brand image, generating the valuable content, connecting with the potential employers and clients, as well as working with the influencers and talent agencies you will become one of the leading figures on the market and a recognized speaker.
John Simpson, Elle Macpherson, Sir Bob Geldof all prove that building up a powerful strong personal branding is a way to achieve an amazing number of opportunities and create a strong foundation for speaking business. If one embraces these strategies, it will mark a significant step in the process of developing a brand that speaks to an organisation’s consumers and carving a niche in the market.
