Using Your Unique Story to Grow Your Brand
Michelle Griffin is a certified personal brand strategist, StoryBrand Certified Guide and marketing/PR mentor for experts and entrepreneurs who want to become the face of their business with authentic, memorable and in-demand personal brands.
She is the Founder BRANDThority, a personal branding consultancy that helps entrepreneurs present their best selves online.
Michelle is also the host of the upcoming Personal Brand Matters podcast and a frequent podcast guest, LinkedIn content creator and weekly Clubhouse moderator.
When she's not helping people stand out online, you can find Michelle enjoying the outdoors of sunny Florida, discovering the latest gluten/dairy-free offerings or planning her next home renovation project.
Learn more about Michelle at MichelleBGriffin.com and follow her on LinkedIn for daily personal brand building tips or with her drop by her weekly Personal Brand Building Room on Clubhouse.
Michelle@MichelleBGriffin.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebgriffin/
Clubhouse: @MichelleGrififn
It starts with us on the inside….define their values, mission, purpose…all of that…we have to know who we are on the inside before we go to the external, which is all about your customer.
That’s one of the biggest misconceptions.
I have something called Own Your Message, which is a 7-8 step process that I take people through all the way from their power to their purpose.
Everyone has something unique…we either have a story that you went through, a perspective, a belief..and so when you marry your uniqueness, your beliefs, your perspective, the people you’re serving, the industry…it is unique.
It’s just because we haven’t dug deep to realize what it is yet.
First we have to know who we are, but in context it’s going to be about (who we are talking to)
Show up as yourself to help some One. No everyone. Someone.
It’s psychographics. You have to know who they are, their pain point…it should be about a problem, not so much a niche…their challenges, needs, interests, desires..and start speaking to them in their language, that’s exactly how you’re going to break through and be un-copyable and have a competitive advantage.
…and then we bring it into your messaging. So it’s branding, messaging, then the marketing because you have to get out there and build awareness and then, my last stage is visibility.
That’s a constant thing. We can’t just show up once. We have to show up consistently.
The visibility is also about listening to your customers and keep serving them with amazing content, whatever you are comfortable with.
The story is always going to be about them. But as as personal brand, you’re showing up as your story so there’s a connection. You’re going to be the guide. We’re talking about their problem and…most often, we’ve experienced this problem…your story is how you’ve had this same problem that they are trying to overcome…
Lead with the story in their heads. Show up as that person that understand them….80% of the time, you are talking about them….you can show that personal side, which then makes it like a friend to friend situation.
To a certain degree that you’ve overcome something that they are trying to solve…you’re a helpful guide who’s been there, done that…you show your humanness and your realness, which is relatable. No one wants perfect.
There’s a fine line. If you show up as ‘I get you’, ‘I’ve had first-hand experience’,…’I’ve overcome this’, ‘I have a way. Let me how you how’..then that’s the way to do it. You balance the realness with the reality.
As a personal brand, first you need to identify…why am I showing up? I need to know your why, what you’re all about, you mission…there’s usually some backstory.
Well, who do you want to help?…there’s different ways to position them…we will craft the branding and messaging around the problems. Then we will show up as the guide….and then tie it into their personal story.
Trust is everything.
Lead with the problem and alleviate that problem.
Always look for the thing that makes you stand out.
Branding is what other people think of you. Marketing is what you tell people. Branding is what other people think of you.
Branding is your stamp of who you are, what you stand for, your how….it’s the perception you’re creating around yourself.
A mother with a dog, a senior with a dog….they all love their dogs but they have different problems surrounding that dog…connect your why to their problem.
You always want to be in control of your narrative. People are going to mis-assume…unless you control the narrative.
It’s not about how you want to be. It’s about how you want to be to serve others.
Personal branding isn’t about ‘Me’, it’s just about me as the product….show up as the real you to help others.
Some people show up and don’t really know who they are, then their fail in their marketing or in connecting to the right clients…because they haven’t really aligned with who they want to serve and how they want to show up.
If you want visibility, people need to know the message.
Say it as often as possible.
You need to keep saying that one message so you’re known for it. Don’t keep switching it up. Stay in your lane.
Don’t dilute the message.
Pick two social media platforms that you’re comfortable with and where your audience lives.
You don’t need a lot of big numbers. We can only serve so many…
Clubhouse is such a great example….
Its the comparison trap that gets us.
Would you rather have likes or leads?
Look inside and see…are you doing exactly what you want to do and do you have the narrative crafted around that?
When you don’t have the clarity, you’re not going to have the confidence and you’re not going to have all the clients you could get.
Is it hard for you to say who you are and what you do?
If you can’t do it, you can’t expect others to.
We all get hung up in our own head…and don’t see the brilliance of who we really are….you need someone to help show you the way.
…People come to you…because people get you.
We don’t see the frame of the picture we’re in.
Live in the moment.
Brand Your Brilliance podcast.
Audio : Ariza Music Productions