What makes a brand unique is its traits. This is about communicating and delivering your unique value voice to a proof network. So, it is important to understand that personal branding involves understanding and leveraging your unique brand trait. These traits are your brand’s foundation, shaping your professional image and impacting how the public perceives you. Furthermore, I will start by exploring the personal brand traits of an effective leader.
Key point
- Personal brand traits define your professional identity, including your unique features like communication style, visual design, and values.
- Personal branding traits types include goal-oriented traits, personality-oriented traits, communication style traits, and visual traits like design elements that represent brand identity visuals.
- Personal brand traits are the foundation of your professional image; they influence audience perception and connection.
- The personal brand traits of an effective leader are seen through clear communication, empathetic leadership, and consistent expression of values.
- Use your personal brand traits to Identify and showcase traits that differentiate you and align them with your professional goals to build an engaging personal brand.
Personal Brand Traits
Personal brand traits are what define and differentiate your professional identity. They are unique features that make your brand different. These traits include various elements like your communication style, visual design, and the values of your content, including your mission and vision. Some time ago, when I started building my brand as a writer and consultant, I attended some branding workshops where we were asked to list adjectives that would define our brand better. At first, I couldn’t do it, but then I thought about the remarks and feedback I got from clients and colleagues. I put those together and decided to focus on my communication style. I always want to be clear, comprehensible, and concise when writing articles or giving presentations. All these helped me to make consistent decisions even in my color palette typography on my websites and social media profiles.
Another thing that has helped me immensely is my vision and mission, which effectively tell my stories. When I clearly defined and showcased my persona traits, it guided me to build a professional persona that made connections with my target audience. So, if you are trying to start or seeking to improve your existing brand, it is important to emphasize what makes you unique and stay true to it.
Read Also: 15 Famous Brand Positioning Examples to Inspire Your Brand Strategy (+ Branding Tips)
Types of Personal Branding Traits
Personal branding traits can be categorized into the following types which include goal-oriented traits, personality-oriented traits, communication style traits, and visual traits.
#1. Goal Oriented Personal Brand Traits
This is an important part of a brand because it is about its vision and mission. For instance, Microsoft‘s dedicated mission and vision is to improve productivity for people and businesses globally. So when planning your brand strategy, align your goals, and ask yourself some important goal-oriented questions like what you hope to get from your brand: Is it money? or Job opportunities? Answering these questions will inform you of the traits you want to personify with your brand.
#2. Personality-Oriented Personal Brand Traits
Sometimes, when discussing corporate branding, it’s the same as brand personality. I say this because marketers pursue to make corporate brands copy personality traits that someone has, intending to make people like the brand more and build brand connections. Personal brands run on the same principle, which makes sense because they belong to individuals. It normally emphasizes the person’s personality traits. For example, extroverted people will likely have brands that reflect their qualities. While introverts may build brands that give off a more reserved, sparse, and thoughtful impression. So, before building a personal brand, understand your personal traits. Know whether you are an introvert or an extrovert. Do you communicate casually, in a light-hearted manner, or are you more serious and reserved.
#3. Communication Style Personal Brand Traits
In this type of personal brand trait, the goal and personality-dependent traits will influence the communication style you use in your personal branding. It includes the tone you use, your choice of words, the topics you talk about, and the communication mediums you utilize to convey traits of your personal brand. For instance, if you are using Facebook to build your brand following, posting in a lighthearted and funny manner will present humor as one of your personal brand traits. The same thing applies to communication style, like using a serious tone when you post on LinkedIn giving business tips and advice. Obviously, using this medium will give your brand more serious brand traits.
Sometime back, I worked with a client called Chloe, who was a life coach. She is humorous and fun to be with, but the way she presented herself online didn’t reflect that personality. She mostly uses LinkedIn to share her insights, and while her content was informative, it still lacked that humor personality that made her coaching session so interesting. I saw her content and suggested she shift her focus to Facebook, which revealed her true personality. She began to create funny and relatable stories during her coaching sessions. This change in strategy brought many followers, and she went viral. It boosted her engagement and attracted clients who appreciated her humorous and approachable personality. So, Just like Chloe, this type of personal brand trait involves aligning with your personality to create a compelling and authentic presence that connects with your audience and makes you stand out in your field.
#4. Visual Personal Brand Traits
This is a subdivision of communication style traits. Just like corporate brands have iconic logos, fonts, color schemes, and design styles that make them unique, personal brands also have a visual aesthetic.
Visual communication is another way to communicate a brand’s verbal and written traits. For instance, if your spoken and written communication is minimalist, concise, and smart, your brand visuals should be clean, simple, and sharp. If you are of the same communication style, having website design, video content, and other visual features of your brand presented in a busy and untidy design style won’t match. Visual personal branding is delicate and intimidating, especially if you are not a designer. So, if you are planning your personal brand, keep your visuals simple and basic for a start; then, as you grow, you can evolve to solidify them.
Visual examples of personal brand traits
- Clean
- Minimalist
- Loud: they like bright colours, large fonts, and more occupied graphics with many elements.
- Soft: they like soft fonts with rounded edges and round design elements.
- Sharp: they like hard edges on design elements and are stiff with font types. Visual brands present confidence.
- Casual: they like fun, less rigid, and flexible visual brands.
- Conservative: they are more corporate, and they create a professional brand
Below is a checklist that will you help maintain a cohesive and professional visual trait for your personal brand across all platforms.
Personal Brand Visual Identity Checklist
Read Also: PERSONAL BRAND ATTRIBUTES: What They Are, How to Define Yours and Enhance Them
Personal Brand Traits of an Effective Leader
As an effective leader, your leadership should be solid and impactful. You must assure yourself that you are meant to do what you do. It is important that your personal brand traits as a leader are effective, especially in finding your voice, which involves communicating all your expressions. In doing so, you will have a lasting impact on displaying your personal brand traits.
It is essential to know your brand traits. If not, ask yourself these questions.
- What are you known for?
- What do you represent?
- What do you stand for?
Finding your voice as a leader will help you live your values, create your outcomes, be courageous, and have a unique expression. How you share your brand traits with your clients will determine your effectiveness as a leader. The following will guide you to the personal brand traits of an effective leader.
It’s Not All About You
Remember that it is not all about you when expressing yourself. Your brand trait as a leader should reflect on your relationship with your clients, customers, team, and community. Your brand trait as an effective leader depends on your connections with people and your message’s significance. It includes your non-verbal language and the way you carry yourself. I was fortunate to work under a leader named Jacob. Jacob has a good way of making sure everyone around him feels valued. I remember in one of our meetings where we shared our thoughts on ideas for a new project. Jacob noticed I wanted to share my views but was hesitant. He came directly to me and asked for my opinion; he listened carefully to me, including everyone in that meeting. That act boosted my confidence and made me feel like I was important.
So, I suggest that you strive to be an effective leader. These personal brand traits will help you build a genuine relationship with your team, which involves listening to them and showing empathy by checking on your team members and asking how they are doing.
Expression
Another successful personal brand trait of a leader is expression. This is different from communication skills like speaking, writing, and listening. Expression is one of the effective personal brand traits, and it means that the leader should have a personal style. It involves what you stand for and how you react in a given situation. Consider the following to sharpen your ability to express yourself.
#1. Create open and consistent channels of communication.
This is an effective way to express yourself. When you listen properly, you will get feedback from people’s ideas that will help build your brand, project, and how you interact with others. Moreover, I suggest you encourage regular communication by checking with your team. Also, encourage open dialogue; you can ask an open-ended question and show appreciation for all the feedback. Practice active listening and create a feedback loop where your team can provide and receive feedback often.
#2. Instill Confidence and Inspire Commitment
As an effective leader, you must express your values, be courageous, and have influence, and people will naturally follow you. Be persistent and confident even if you are faced with a critical deadline. I once had a leader, Susan, who was very transparent about her values and goals guiding the company. One evening, we faced a critical deadline, but she was calm and encouraged the team despite the pressure. Her words empowered the team to deliver outstanding results. So, as a leader, your personal brand traits should include consistency, confidence, and a clear expression of values that will make your team eager to follow your lead.
#3. Handle situations calmly without becoming emotional.
As humans, we react differently to situations. Anger, pre-judgment, and emotional outbursts can easily sidetrack a strong leader. As a team leader, I practice waiting until I am calm enough to address some issues, especially stressful situations. So, as a leader, you must know your trigger points don’t express critical ideas when you are not emotionally stable. Your ability and confidence to handle conflict calmly will make people look up to you when a situation arises again.
What Are Personal Brand Characteristics?
Clarity, consistency, content, connection, and confidence are vital to creating a successful personal brand. So, focusing on building and perfecting each of the five C’s and your brand is sure to assist you in achieving your goals.
How Would You Describe Your Personal Brand?
Personal branding serves as both your reputation and your calling card. It is the mix of your unique skills and ideals. It should highlight what makes you memorable. Also, remember that each interaction is an opportunity to teach others about what you offer to the table.
What Are the Personal Brand Personalities?
A brand personality is the features and traits defining your brand. It personalizes the brand, giving it a distinct personality that your target audience can identify with. Characteristics like friendliness, inventiveness, and elegance help your brand stand out.
What Are the Six Personal Branding Types?
- Leaders.
- Experts.
- Innovators.
- Nurturers.
- Careerists.
- Connectors.
References
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