Personal branding is becoming the standard for success in the modern world.
Now that you can pull out your phone and record a one-minute video or take a nice selfie, you can reach thousands of people.
But creating a successful personal brand is about more than just taking the perfect photo or video. You must think about how you want to be perceived by those who view your content and understand how to craft a message that resonates with them.
Previously the six original personal branding types were altruists, careerists, hipsters, boomerangs, connectors & selectives.
Personal branding has evolved into these six main types, each with its own unique characteristics and strengths: The Leader, The Innovator, The Expert, The Entertainer, The Adventurer, and The Nurturer.
Each type is associated with traits and qualities that can help individuals stand out from the crowd and build a cohesive and successful personal brand.
In this article, I’ll explore the six personal branding types in-depth and discuss how you can use them to craft the perfect personal brand.
1. The Leader
Leaders have a strong vision and understand how to motivate others to achieve their goals. As a result, they are respected for their knowledge, experience, and leadership abilities.
To build your personal brand as a leader, focus on showcasing your expertise, accomplishments, and insights.
When you have accomplishments and social proof to back up your claims, it makes people more likely to trust and respect you and look to you for guidance on how to get from A to Z.
Many on their website and social media establish their leadership brand by posting screenshots of testimonials, Stripe accounts, and affiliate sales to prove their expertise.
Find what makes your audience tick and gather resources to support your claims.
2. The Innovator
Innovators are creative and think outside of the box.
They take risks and often challenge the status quo. To build your personal brand as an innovator, focus on unique ideas and thought leadership in a specific area.
A large community on Twitter called #buildinpublic is where innovators share their progress, ideas, and challenges.
By showing how you think through problems instead of just the end result, you can give your audience an in-depth look into your thought process.
For example, if you are working on a product or service, show off early prototypes and document bugs you encounter and successes along the way.
You’ll establish an audience that appreciates the process of creating something unique and innovative.
This is a great way to build hype and true fans around your personal brand, resulting in epic launches.
3. The Expert
Experts are highly knowledgeable in a specific niche or skill. They understand their craft inside out and often serve as advisors, mentors, or consultants to others.
To build your personal brand as an expert, focus on sharing educational content that highlights your expertise. For example, you can write blogs, speak at conferences, or create educational courses.
In addition to showing off your expertise in a specific field, you can also provide resources and advice to help others learn the skills you have mastered.
For example, if you are an expert developer, create tutorials on using specific technologies and share helpful tips for others trying to learn the same skills.
4. The Entertainer
Entertainers have strong charisma and a sense of humor.
You have a way about you that makes people pay attention and want to listen.
To build your personal brand as an entertainer, focus on personality-driven content that connects with the audience on an emotional level.
It’s common to see motivational clips and inspiring stories that provide a good laugh or even a few tears get massive engagement and views.
It’s also essential to keep it fresh and ensure each piece of content is true to your personal brand and what you want to be known for.
Entertainers can sometimes get caught up on catching the new trends for views when it’s not aligned with their personal brand.
5. The Adventurer
Adventurers have a spirit of exploration and taking risks.
They see every challenge as an opportunity for growth and discovery, often resulting in stories, experiences, and lessons.
To build your personal brand as an adventurer, focus on storytelling and highlighting the unique experiences you’ve had in life.
For example, many nomads and continent hopers have thousands of followers because they can capture the culture and emotions of different places.
They allow others to participate in the experience through photos and videos.
Sharing stories of the lessons learned in your journey will also help build a loyal audience that looks to you for advice, guidance, and support.
You don’t necessarily need to travel around the world in order to be an adventurer. Instead, you can simply focus on exploring your own backyard, city, or region.
No matter what type of adventurer you are, when done right, storytelling can be incredibly compelling for personal branding.
6. The Nurturer
Nurturers have a compassionate heart and want to help others by providing guidance and support.
They are driven to make a positive difference and often focus on building relationships.
To build your personal brand as a nurturer, focus on providing value to others through coaching, mentoring, or service to their community.
On Linkedin, you can see many stories of being down and out to becoming a successful business owner or finding your career or purpose in life.
These stories of hard work, dedication, and service have been constantly consumed to create an inspiring personal brand with which your followers will connect.
You can also leverage your own skillset or experience to help others by offering free advice, guidance, or a unique perspective on topics in which you are knowledgeable.
It’s all about feeding into your community in a helpful and inspiring way.
Which Personal Branding Type Are You
These are the six main personal branding types. Each type has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, but they can all help you build a successful personal brand if used wisely.
You may know how you want to start, but I’ll tell you here first that the way you start is not likely how you’ll finish.
Once you get traction and build a following, you’ll better understand what resonates with your audience and continue developing your brand over time.
The result will be a powerful personal brand that helps you reach your goals and make an impact.
Pick one, and choose a brand statement to help you stay on track and get started!
