3 Mistakes You Need to Avoid When Building Your Personal Brand
1) Buying Social Media Followers
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- The problem with buying social media followers is that your initial growth will be short-lived. Many social media platforms such as; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are starting to incorporate better computer algorithms to delete fake accounts, and discipline users who do not abide by their policies.
- Many still believe the risk is worth the reward. In the Personal Branding Industry, it can be tempting to expedite your initial growth to gain a reputation. Our advice is to build up a small audience and pay for targeted advertisements on the social media platform that you use. Hard work will pay off.
2) Avoid ClickBait Content
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- Misleading the viewer by creating clickbait titles is a popular trend that is very common on platforms such as Google and Youtube. This occurs because it drives traffic to the creator’s webpage. Creators make decisions based on the potential exposure they may receive versus the impact on the overall business
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- Many articles about online personal branding reference their articles from poor secondary sources.
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- We get it, your title and article should be enticing, but don’t fall into the trap of advertising content that you do not discuss in your article. Fact-check your work.
- You should try to get proper sourcing and reduce “noise” and “fluff” in your articles. Success will come if you choose to create reliable content for your audience. It’s a much better way to increase your legitimacy.
3) Not Being Specific Enough
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- Marketing and branding are all about finding your niche within your industry. Too many people beginning by marketing themselves to everyone in their industry. Start by categorizing yourself towards a specific group within the industry. Eventually, you will be branded as an industry professional.
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- It’s important to market yourself towards a specific group because you will start to emerge as a leader on that topic and eventually form a reputation for people who seek your content. Diversifying yourself will only stunt your growth and confuse your audience. You should Ask yourself, “What do I want my audience to know me for”, and “Can I clearly articulate what I can provide for my specified customer”.
- If you cannot answer those questions, you may be marketing yourself to broadly