In this guide, we’ll be discussing personal branding coaches and why you may not need one.
We’ll be covering the following topics (click on a bullet point to jump to that section):
What is Personal Branding?
Personal branding is something that has been around, at least in name, since the 1980s.
As stated in our personal branding guide, personal branding involves crafting an image that represents what you’re offering to the world, whether it’s a product or service, experience, mindset, expertise, or talent.
It’s essentially marketing yourself so you stand out amongst everyone else trying to get ahead or just starting their own business.
What is a Personal Branding Coach?
Personal branding coaches are people or agencies that offer advice on how to improve your brand to make yourself more attractive to your target audience.
What Does a Branding Coach Do?
A branding coach helps businesses and individuals hone and build their personal brands.
They do this by offering advice that helps people attract customers, clients and co-workers in a way that is unique and different from others in their industry.
On the surface, it sounds like hiring personal branding experts could be beneficial for your career or business; however, they aren’t necessarily as necessary as many people think.
Why Would Someone Need a Personal Branding Coach?
Personal branding coaches and experts will tell you they’re necessary to help raise your personal brand; however, this may not actually be true.
Yes, there are many things people can do to improve their personal brands; but is a coach or consultant really what's best?
As with any other trainer or coach in life, it all depends on the person and the situation. Some people need professional help to refine their strategies for marketing themselves, while others can do it on their own.
Why a Personal Branding Coach May Not be Necessary
There is no doubt that personal branding can help your career and it should be taken seriously.
However, hiring a personal branding coach may not be for everyone. Here are a few reasons why you don’t need a personal branding coach:
1. Abundance of Information Online
With the amount of information that is out there about marketing yourself, it’s hard to believe that someone wouldn’t know anything about personal branding.
With all the tutorials available online, it may be much easier and cheaper to teach yourself than hire someone.
2. Individual Control
You don't want someone else in control of your personal brand.
A personal branding coach can guide you into certain decisions about your image and marketing methods but ultimately, you’re the one who has to live with your decisions.
If you let someone else control your brand, you could end up in a position that is not ideal for you or that is just plain embarrassing.
With personal branding, it’s important that the person in charge of the image knows where they want to take it and what they are willing to do to get there.
3. You Need the Specific Tactics
For many, trying to figure out your niche, messaging, and identity can all be pretty tough. That’s why there are quite a few personal branding experts willing to take your money to tell you what it is.
But for most people who are starting out, they’re merely looking to establish themselves as an expert in their field by writing content on the web (blogs), networking both online and offline, and getting involved in their local community.
Building a personal brand doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. But buying into the idea that you need to hire someone else to do it for you is what’s truly unnecessary.
The truth of the matter is there are plenty of successful entrepreneurs who didn’t consult a personal branding coach.
You don’t need a personal branding coach to tell you who you are or what you have to offer the world. All you need is three things:
- The dedication to hone your craft and hone your messaging.
- The willingness to connect with people.
- An understanding of the specific tactics.
The third part is what’s the most important. It’s easy to talk about how to build a brand, but you need to know the actual tactics. Such as leveraging SEO, PR, paid ads, etc.
That’s it!
Nate Torres is an entrepreneur, growth marketer, and photographer and writes mostly on those topics. Nate runs his own professional photography business called Nate Torres Photography. Nate enjoys learning about new digital marketing strategy and new ways to think creatively. He is also a photography speaker and author on Photofocus.