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You can have all the tools you need to get your business and your brand up and running and still not get off the ground. This may be because you are making mistakes that you don’t even know that you are making. So, to help you out, we are going to show you some of the mistakes you should be sure to avoid when you are building your personal brand.
Focusing Too Much on Logos and Graphics
It is easy to get caught up in logos and graphics when you are making a brand. However, there is far more to creating a brand than just a pretty logo. You have to make sure and focus on your business vision and your audience as well as your logo. Not to say that your logo is unimportant, it just isn’t the only thing that is important.
Inconsistency
When you are building your personal brand, you need to keep your branding consistent. Don’t use too many different logos or slogans. Rather, stick with a single form of branding. For example, red soda cans are instantly recognizable as Coca-Cola. There is no confusion in the branding there and that is because they keep branding consistent.
Not Focusing on Competitors
Don’t forget that you are working against others too. So, when you are creating your brand, make sure to make something that stands out and can compete with these competitors. Make yourself unique from the others in your field.
Not Thinking About Your Customers
There is one group of people that can make or break your brand and that is your audience. Remember this when you are creating your personal brand because if you aren’t creating a brand for them, your brand won’t work.
You need to make sure and keep your audience in the forefront of your mind when you create your personal brand. After all, if you are creating without an audience, who are you creating for? You can’t just create cool graphics and write content you find interesting and hope your audience agrees with you. Instead, write for your audience and create content for them. That way, they are looking at something they are naturally drawn to rather than something they may or may not take the time to get used to.
Not Giving Yourself Enough Time
Your brand isn’t going to take off right away. You have to give it time to take off. The rule of thumb is to not jump the gun here. For example, one major mistake is to spend too much on advertising in the beginning. This leads to a huge loss and no real traction right away.
Instead, try to focus on PR. This will help you to show off your brand for the best that it is. Hiring a PR firm should be one of your first priorities when you are trying to build a new brand – specifically if you are an established business building a new brand.
Trying to Please Everyone
The point of a brand is to please as many people as possible. However, that doesn’t mean that you are going to please every single person who sees your brand. To be a brand, you have to be somewhat static and that means you can’t please everyone.
That’s okay, though! You aren’t going to get everyone to love your brand but that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to find a large audience of your own. So, focus on your audience and don’t worry about every person who doesn’t like your brand.
Guest Post: David Smith is a blogger and world traveler, with experience in China’s manufacturing industry as well as social media marketing in his hometown of Los Angeles, California.
