An African-American businesswoman builds her brand online. © Yuri Arcurs - Fotolia.com

About a year ago, I started a company called Great Pro Speakers. It is a site that helps professionals transform their expertise into additional income via professional speaking and informational marketing. A large piece of the site explains the importance of speakers building their brand. However, brand building is not just important for speakers; it is critical no matter what your industry or profession is. This article will teach you effective strategies and techniques that you can use to build your personal brand, which will help you market your professional skills. This can also aid in a job search.

Why Brand Building Is Important

Competition is more fierce than ever and individuals are not just competing with their neighbors for opportunities; they are also vying with people all across the world. Pareto’s principle is in full effect in the business world. The vast majority of the money making opportunities go to a small minority of individuals or companies. A key component that separates the two groups is how each develops their brand and lets others know about their expertise. Brand building translates into the following actionable results:

• Increases your value in the minds of customers or employers – The more that you are viewed as an expert in a particular field, the more people will be willing to pay for your knowledge.
• Increases your credibility – Building your brand influences people to trust you more. Business is based off of trust and no one likes to make a wrong decision when hiring or choosing a service provider. Increased credibility leads to less risk on the side of the consumer to choose you for a task.
• Guarantees top of mind status – In today’s marketplace, there is always an abundance of choice. Branding helps you stay at the top of a customers mind. One thing that we strive for with Ujamaa Deals – another one of my companies — is to one day be synonymous with black commerce. That means being among people’s first thoughts when they think of the phrase “black business.” The same should be true for you in your career.

Discovering Your Niche

Before thinking about tools to use to grow your brand, you need to figure out your niche. Your niche is important because it is impossible to become an expert on all topics. It is much better for brand building for a person to choose a specific niche and dominate it.

A niche is the intersection point of your credible expertise and your target market. With Great Black Speakers, my expertise is in professional speaking and marketing. My target market is educated African-Americans between the ages of 18-49 years of age. When I decided to combine the two, I was able to create a unique area for myself in which I could dominate and create my own blue ocean. Think about the things that you are great at and the people that you would like to serve to discover your perfect niche.