How to use your personality to make your brand story stand out

Do you remember how you chose your best friends at school? You shared the same interests and the same jokes. You probably had posters of the same band on your wall. Even today, you still hang out with people you have something in common with, whether you like the same types of restaurants or take part in the same sports.

You’re drawn to personalities that you like and this is how the best and longest-lasting relationships are made. It’s the same in business. Or at least it should be. When someone’s choosing to work with you, they don’t only want to know that you have the skills and qualifications to help, they also want to know that they’re going to get along with you.

We need to make it easy for our clients to see why should they pick us over our competitors. These competitors might have the same skills and experience as you but they’re not you. You are what makes your business unique!

The problem is that in business we have often been conditioned into keeping our personalities in check. This is especially true if we’ve spent a number of years in the corporate world, representing someone else’s brand. Even when we set out on our own, the first thing we often do is Google people in our industry to see how we ‘should’ present ourselves.

Well, no more! Building your own brand story gives you permission to be you. No more toeing the corporate line or having to dress in a certain way.

It’s time to unleash the power of your personality

Expressing your personality clearly in your brand story will help you to attract your dream clients – the ones you’ll love working with and with whom you’ll do your best work. It will also help you to turn away the less ideal clients that you’re not so suited to working with.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde.

So how do you use your personality in your brand story?

Putting your personality ‘out there’ can be daunting but it doesn’t have to be if you follow a few simple steps.

1. Make the decision to be bold – to be you, to stand out and be different. You need to be aware how your competitors are presenting themselves so you know how you compare. But don’t be tempted to follow them too closely or you’ll just blend into the background alongside everyone else. 
2. Reflect on your personality – are you fun or serious, analytical or instinctive, cautious or a major risk taker? How does that translate into the way that you work with your clients? And how does it make you different from your competitors?
3. Decide how you want your personality to be reflected in your business branding:
   • What do you want your visual image to be? This covers what you want your branding to look like online and in print. It can also include how you choose to dress. Is there a particular style you feel most comfortable in or a signature colour that defines you?
   • What do you want your business to sound like? Your words are a great way to express your personality, whether you’re speaking or writing. It’s totally possible to write with personality and be professional. Decide on the type of language you want to use that feels right for you, and makes sense to your ideal clients.
4. Be consistent – once you’ve decided how to use your personality, stick to it. Your aim is to help people build up a consistent picture of you, whether they’re checking out your website, reading your social media posts or meeting you in person.

I want to finish with one really important point. Using your personality to stand out does not mean you have to be loud, super confident or an extreme extrovert. You can have every bit as much impact if you have a more introverted personality. It’s all about embracing who you are and using your uniqueness to stand out.

Good luck with using your personality in your brand story. Leave a comment below and let me know how you get on.

Image credit: Edu Lauton via Unsplash