In recent years, there’s been a huge buzz around building a brand for individuals and corporate organizations. At AA Resume, we decided to talk to an expert content and brand strategist, Hillary Remy, to shed light on the importance of brand building and how to do it the right way.
Let’s dive into the conversation.
1. Hi Remy. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Answer: Professionally, I’m a content and brand strategist. I work with brands and companies to improve engagement, and of course, turn it into more sales. Also, I coach freelancers on how to monetize their skills on platforms like Upwork and LinkedIn.
But basically, I work with companies to help them position their brand properly on the internet through branding strategies.
2. When did you start building your personal brand and what motivated you to take that step?
Answer: I started freelancing actively about 4 years ago. During the first 2 or 3 years of my freelancing career, I got to work with foreign clients through Upwork and LinkedIn, and it just occurred to me that there’s a knowledge gap between people in our age bracket outside the country, especially in European countries, and how we think here.
So, I didn't intentionally come online to build my brand. It was more of talking about what has worked for me and teaching people. And as time went by, I took my personal branding more seriously. But it started as helping people see what they can do and achieve.
3. With your experience, what do people often get wrong about brand positioning, as an individual, or as a company?
Answer: One of the things people get wrong is that when we say branding, we’re talking about solutions, we’re talking about people. You don’t have a brand if you don’t have something to offer people.
Until recently, a lot of people thought branding was just about logos and brand names. But it’s more than that. It’s also about solutions and how you communicate these solutions to your audience. If you have no solution, you have no brand.
What is the value you’re bringing to people? The way you communicate this value and the message that comes with that value and solution is what your branding is.
4. Do you think branding is for everyone?
Answer: Everyone has a brand. There are ways in which you build your brand and you do not necessarily need to come out as an authority while building your brand. There’s a phase of personal branding where what you’re doing is carrying us along in your journey. You’re not coming out to say “I’m an expertâ€, since you’re not.
It’s okay if you start by carrying us along in your journey. And it’s even more credible when your journey can be traced back to when you started, when you’re at the intermediate level, and when you get enough experience to become an authority.
So, you don’t necessarily need to wait to become an authority before building your personal brand. I know it’s a concept that a lot of people still don’t understand, but I view it differently, and I encourage people to view it differently.
Where the line has to be drawn is that if you’re starting out, don’t come out and pretend to be an expert. Just let people know where you’re at in your journey and career.
5. In your journey, what is one unwavering truth you’ve learnt about branding
Answer: It might take time to build your personal brand, especially getting to the level of people trusting you organically, but you’ll win. It takes time, but if you can stay patient and go through the hard times, you’ll make more money.
Let me give an example of two friends of mine. Both are very good crypto traders, but one decided to build a personal brand, and the other didn’t think it was necessary. Today, the one with a personal brand is richer and more credible; not because the other trader is not good, but that’s the edge that having a personal brand gives you.
So, one truth I’ve learnt over the years is that you’ll make more money if you decide to build your personal brand.
6. What’s the best advice you can give about freelancing or building a personal brand?
Answer: I had an interview last month and they asked me this same question. And this was my reply.
Firstly, as a freelancer or someone trying to build a personal brand, the most important thing is to be sure of your own self. Do you have these things that you claim that you have?
Be sure that you have the skills you said you have.
If you’re trying to build a personal brand as a data analyst for example; are you good with data? Can you source data? Can you interpret data? Can you clean data?
Your personal branding is going to take time, but while you’re building that, can you use freelancing platforms like Upwork and LinkedIn to source for clients, so that the brand you’re building is not your sole source of income? You can get gigs that’ll make you money and you’ll live fine.
I see personal branding as an investment that you might not necessarily profit from at the moment. It takes time, but you should have something that sustains you. If not, you’ll get tired.
7. Where do you see personal brand building in the next few years?
Answer: I think a lot of people will come to the realization that people who will win on the internet are the people who are building personal brands. I think more people will begin to build brands, and corporate organizations will take branding more seriously. It’ll also lead to more corporate organizations and individuals needing branding coaches.
Personal branding will be a big thing in the next 5 years, and I encourage people to start early and learn to do it right.
I’ll round off with a good example; I remember when someone I respect and hold in high esteem, Peace Itimi, started building her personal brand. One of the things she said is that she started out sharing the stories of her life; more like the things going on around her.
She predicted that it was going to be a big thing and I feel like she was one of the early ones to start building a personal brand. She’s been invited by Forbes to speak at their event, and done other huge stuff.
I hope that when you publish this, people will read it and start building their personal brand early. And maybe in the next few years, become consultants for corporate bodies that want to build their brand.
I feel like there’s a lot we can do in Africa. Africa is young in the internet and tech space, and there’s a lot that we can, and will do.
I’m rooting for everybody out there.
