All seasoned professionals know that a personal brand can make a difference in a good career. Yet, a lot of us don’t end up creating the time needed to make it happen. While you may already be a stellar energy broker, strong personal branding is critical for differentiating your skills and retaining a competitive edge in a crowded marketplace.

We hope this quick article can help you quickly move through some thoughts and create the desire to get started on your own marketing.

Let’s start with the fundamentals.

What exactly is personal branding?

Personal branding is how your brand is perceived, as well as all elements associated with you. The stronger your personal brand, the better your business results.

Your personal brand consists of four key components:

• What you are — your morals, ethics, and values.

• Who you are — your qualifications, backstory, and unique value proposition.

• How you’re perceived — your trustworthiness, reputation, and credibility.

• Authenticity — your ability to stay genuine and honest with your audience.

That’s great, but….why does personal branding matter?

Aside from solidifying your unique identity in the market, personal branding is important for a few reasons.

1.  A personal brand makes it easier for your audience to determine if they’ll want to work with you.
2.  It makes it easier for your audience to differentiate you from the competition.
3.  Personal branding builds long-lasting trust with prospective new clients.

Create Your Presence, Both On and Offline

Energy brokers need a stellar online and offline presence to attract new clients. This means crafting a consistent image across all print and web collateral. These touch-points are considered very valuable as they compliment each other and build a story around your brand, and ultimately, why someone should work with you.

1. Build A Website

A well-functioning website produces the most desired results. Those results will vary depending on your goals, but most businesses count on websites to deliver new quality leads and prospects. You could achieve that with contact forms, blog sign-ups, online bookings, resource downloads, etc. But that alone cannot guarantee success.

2. Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

Now that you have your website up and running, it’s time to give your LinkedIn some love. Your LinkedIn is where prospective clients will go to discover who you are and whether they want to work with you.

Be sure to optimize your headline and summary with your keywords. Choose a professional headshot (ideally the same one you’ve put on your website if you include a photo of yourself there).

3. Create Branded Physical Collateral

The same icons or logos you create for your online presence should manifest themselves in real life, too. Visual elements that remain consistent across your website, blog, downloadable content, business cards, and letterheads can add a unique and personal touch to your personal brand.

This can have a positive impact on your business as you consider sponsoring local events, or business associations. Keep branding simple for maximum visibility and recall.

These are just the starting points – we have collected detailed information and included a checklist that should help you get started on the basics to excel your personal branding. Stand out in the energy industry!