Between social media and the internet, it’s easier than ever to connect with others. But with access to so many people, how do you set yourself apart from others, especially as a speaker. Enter—the personal brand.
A personal brand or personal brand statement is a short description that highlights your particular skills, experience and personality. You use it as a way to differentiate yourself from other speakers while showing potential clients what you have to offer.
Let’s dive into the art of personal branding by analyzing personal branding examples from five well-known speakers.
Personal branding for speakers: What is it?
Before we look at personal brand statement examples, it’s helpful to understand what it is and why you need one.
Essentially, a personal brand statement is a public pitch that lets other people know who you are, what you do, why you do it and why you’re the best option to do it. As a speaker, a personal brand helps establish you as an expert in your industry or on your speaking topic.
In many ways, a personal brand statement is kind of like an extremely short version of your resume. It shows potential clients or collaborators your experience and skills.
But unlike a resume, a personal brand is all about showing off your unique personality in addition to that experience and skill set.
Why do you need a personal brand as a speaker?
Speakers need to have a strong personal brand if they hope to have success as a professional speaker. Your personal brand makes it easier for the right clients to find you. When you’re connected with the right audience, your speech becomes more impactful.
Additionally, a captive and invigorated audience is more likely to recommend you to their network for future speaking engagements.
3 benefits of personal branding for speakers
There are three main benefits to personal branding for speakers:
- Being more memorable
- Unlocking new opportunities that resonate with you
- Building trust and credibility with your audience
Memorability matters
A strong personal brand creates a lasting impression for your audience. Using a distinct brand is the first step to helping listeners remember your message long after your presentation. If you’re memorable, it’s more likely that event organizers and attendees will recall your expertise and unique style.
Unlock opportunities that fit your passions
You want to speak to audiences that share your passions and excitement for a topic. A vegetarian speaker, for example, might not be the best option to deliver the keynote at a beef industry event.
Your personal brand can help you find and connect with the right audiences. You can infuse personality and passion into your branding statement to show off who you are and who you like to work with. In turn, potential clients who see your brand will know right away if you’d be a good fit for their event.
Build trust and credibility with audiences
A consistent and authentic personal brand fosters trust and credibility among your audience. When people recognize your brand and associate it with reliable expertise, they are more likely to engage with your content, recommend you to others and view you as a trusted authority in your field.
How to build a personal brand
In a speaking career, crafting a unique personal brand is vital for making a lasting impact. Creating your brand includes showcasing your expertise and personality to stand out from other speakers. Let’s look at the best way to build your brand.
1. Decide on the tone and purpose of your brand
Defining the tone and purpose of your brand is essential to success as a speaker. The tone you set for your brand helps you find and resonate with potential clients and audiences. Meanwhile, the purpose of your brand can help you create speeches that serve lasting impact.
2. Write a brand statement
Your personal brand statement is generally one or two sentences that describe your brand. You should aim to include your experience, who you speak to and your personality, including values or beliefs.
3. Use your branding consistently
A good brand can become an unrecognizable brand if you don’t stick to your branding. Using different tones, color schemes or messages across marketing materials or speeches could leave you with an unremarkable brand.
Instead, plan to keep your branding consistent across all channels. For example, if you use the color blue and green on your website, stick to those colors on social media posts and in your on-stage marketing.
Best practices when establishing your personal brand
It might feel a little difficult to create a personal brand from scratch. Luckily, there are a few best practices you can follow when designing your brand.
Your personal speaker brand should highlight your:
- Unique story and point of view: What set you on the path to becoming a speaker or got you where you are in your career or life?
- Skills: What skills do you have that make you the right speaker for your topic?
- Values and passions: Why do you speak on the topics you do? What do you stand for?
- Authenticity and personality: Let people see who you are!
Personal brand examples from 5 top motivational speakers
Still need some inspiration for your personal brand? We gathered personal branding examples from these five speakers to show how to make a brand that resonates with audiences.
1. Anthony O’Neal
Anthony O’Neal is a financial motivational speaker who helps audiences get out of debt and build wealth. His brand is all about being a family and team. Additionally, he regularly references his faith to help him connect with like-minded audiences.
When you go to his website, the first thing you see is a tagline: Calling all wealth builders: Welcome home! This immediately puts O’Neal on your team as a mentor and supporter.
2. Michelle Poler
Michelle Poler uses humor to help audiences let go of fear and embrace growth. When you visit her website or social profiles, you’re hit with two things: movement and bright colors. All of Poler’s photos and stills from her videos show her in movement, which underscores her message of letting go of the known and jumping into the unknown. In addition, her bright color scheme encourages audiences to be authentic and bold.
3. Kevin Karschnik
Where many motivational speakers use bold color schemes and expressive language, Kevin Karschnik takes a different approach. Karschnik’s brand shows off a clean, professional look and gets right to the point: Kevin will help inspire audiences to meet their potential with actionable steps they can use right away.
Focusing on how audiences can use his methods right away helps set Karschnik apart from other speakers, especially because he specializes in speaking to corporate or leadership audiences.
4. Rory Vaden
Rory Vaden’s tagline and personal brand statement is: “New York Times bestselling author and Hall of Fame Speaker Rory Vaden helps small business owners to grow their reputation and their revenue.”
As far as personal branding examples go, Vaden nails it. This short and to-the-point description tells you everything you need to know about Vaden as a speaker:
- He’s got experience and the credentials to back it up.
- He works with small-business owners.
- He helps his audience increase their brand reach and their profits.
5. Nataly Kogan
Motivational speaker Nataly Kogan’s brand is bright, loud and positive. The first line of her website encourages readers that they’re awesome humans who don’t need to struggle or “tough it out.” Right away when you see Kogan’s branding, you know her speeches will be positive, uplighting and lighthearted.
Photo by fizkes/Shutterstock.com
