Building a brand for yourself and your business is not a one-step process. You don’t just decide one day you’re going to be a super positive fitness guru and then the next day you have a fitness empire. You build that brand and that empire brick by brick. Whether it’s a personal brand or a brand for your business, branding goes beyond your resume to show a more complete picture of who you are professionally.

Every business needs a plan, building a brand is no different. With the correct attack, customers and employers alike will view you as an authority in your field. No matter what type of business you’re in, your reputation is your most valuable asset.

Know Your Audience

Think about what type of person is the most interested in your service or product. Learn more about them by finding out where they shop, eat, and types of areas they live in. Find out what they value most and what they do in their free time. Get to know them so that you know the best way to promote your business to them.

Be Present

Once you know who your audience is, you will be able to create marketing more effectively for them. Different social media platforms are more effective for reaching different types of audiences. Social media is not only a great way to keep your audience updated, but a great way to connect with them so they can get to know your brand.

Make A Statement

You need an elevator pitch to quickly show the value you could potentially bring to a company. Start out by thinking about what you want to accomplish with this pitch. Are you trying to get someone to invest in your business, or to get a new customer to try it out for the first time? Explain what you do by saying what problems your business solves. All of this should take about 30 seconds. Creating an elevator pitch will not only help you to narrow down what is important to you about your own brand, but will help when introducing others it as well.

Be A Guest

Affiliating yourself with respected, established professionals in your field will always be beneficial to your career. Write a guest post on an industry-specific blog or get a guest spot on a podcast. Show the audience of your field that you are an expert. Building relationships with other successful people in your field will help give your brand credibility.

Get Educated

It’s important to be continuously learning more about your field of business. Find out how your peers are tackling similar tasks. Speak directly to consumers to see what they appreciate about your brand (and what they don’t). Continuously learning will continuously give you options.

Build A Great Website

A website gives you a home base where your audience can go to learn more about you. You can connect all of your social accounts to it, put it on business cards if you have them and any other promotional material you may have. It’s a great way to make your brand look more professional.