Building your personal brand is easier than ever. You don’t have to be a CEO of a company to have your website. In today’s time, all professionals represent their own unique brand.
Being present on social media platforms is not enough. It would be best if you created your unique identity. It is essential to stand out from the crowd. Social media platforms don’t give you the freedom to customize your brand.
Yes, you can upload a great bio on your Twitter handle, upload a fantastic cover photo on Facebook and fill your LinkedIn with your professional achievements.
But this is not enough to make you shine. Every professional has social media accounts, but what sets them apart is a personal website.
Importance Of Website For Personal Brand
A well-designed, responsive website gives a great impression. Whether you are a photographer, a writer, or a speaker, you need a website that promotes your brand.
When people are looking to hire professionals, the first thing they turn to is their website. Your website is like a portfolio of all your work.
Whether you are an accountant, an editor, a filmmaker, or an online marketing professional, your website is like your canvas. You can paint it any way you want.
The goal of a personal brand is to bring out your personal as well as your professional side. When potential customers look at your website, they will feel personally connected to you.
When you think about Tony Robbins or Jeff Bezos, you immediately feel connected to them. That is because these people are their brands. Their companies are famous because of them.
Creating a website is the best way to turn yourself into a brand. You can add a page about yourself, link in your social media handles, and put out testimonials from previous clients.
You can also showcase your work in detail through your website, add your contact details, and give exciting offers to your potential clients. A website is also great for sales.
You can create a sales funnel and use your website as a landing page. Search engines love a comprehensive website with a good sales strategy.
If you optimize for search engines, you will be able to gain a lot of visibility. A website is like your very own digital shop. But instead of promoting physical goods, you are promoting your services as a professional.
Promoting your brand online has a lot of perks. And the best part is you don’t need to be an experienced web developer to make a website.
Multiple website builders allow you to make a website in minutes. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Best Website Builders For Personal Brand
Website builders have become increasingly popular. Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace are three of the most commonly used website builders in the market. Gone are the days when you had to be a coder to make a website.
Now anyone who can make a PowerPoint presentation can create a website. Wix has a simple drag-and-drop editor. It offers around 500+ professionally designed templates to choose from.
You can then customize these templates as per your needs. Wix is a one-stop shop for all your website-related needs. It offers you hosting, a template, SEO optimization, and so on.
Wix also offers you multiple apps that you can plug into your website. These apps enhance the functionality of your website. You can add a contact form, a widget for live chat, attach your social media links, and so on.
With Wix, you can create a professional website in no time. Squarespace is another high-end website builder. If you are looking for sophisticated design templates, the Squarespace is for you.
It has a small number of templates to choose from. Every template is tailor-made for your needs. Squarespace does not offer as much creative freedom as Wix.
But it is still considered one of the best website builders in the market. The final product is exceptional. Wix and Squarespace offer affordable price plans. You can pay monthly or yearly.
If you are looking to create an eCommerce site, then go for WordPress. It is a content management system that offers way more features than Wix or Weebly.
Another plus point of WordPress is SEO. When you create a website, you need your customers to be able to find you. With a well-optimized website, your website will rank high on search engines.
If search engine optimization is of importance to you, then use WordPress to make your website. Most people who are building a website for their personal brand do not have a high budget.
And chances are they are not too tech-savvy. In which case, high-end website builders are perfect for you. Most people prefer Wix. You can always do more research and figure out which website builder suits your needs.
Where To Start
The first step to building your website is getting a domain name. Your domain name is your personal web identity. Ideally, it should include your full name.
For example, if your name is Adam Baldwin, then your domain name should be www.adambaldwin.com. If this isn’t available, then you can use something similar. It is always better to go for a .com website.
You can also choose .com, .net, .fr, .ca,. shop, .blog, or anything else you see fit. When creating your personal brand, it is better to include your name in your domain address.
The next step is to choose a website builder. Most website builders include hosting and templates. If you choose to make your website using WordPress, then you have to purchase hosting separately.
Hosting is an online server where you will upload your website. Through this server, you can make your website live. Without hosting, your website will not be available on search engines.
Once you’ve decided on a website builder, you can go on to choosing your template. Website builders offer multiple templates that you can choose from. There is a template for every professional.
If you don’t find the exact template for your brand, you can pick one similar to what you want. You can then customize it as per your needs. Now that you’ve selected your template, you need to start modifying it.
Create compelling content for your website. Ideally, you should add stunning pictures and well-written content. Add all these details to your website and start optimizing it.
Once you optimize your website for search engines, you can publish your website. It will immediately go live and will be available for everyone to see.
One of the best things about a website is that anyone in the world can access it. Geographical locations no longer restrict you. If you live in America, you can get clients from Australia, Europe, or Canada.
It is easy to impress a potential client with a well-designed website. It increases your authority and enhances your professional image.
Making Sense Of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is an essential part of promoting your brand. Every website has to be optimized for search engines. The most popular search engine is Google.
Google has set out a few rules and regulations that every website has to follow. By following these rules, you can improve your website ranking and enhance your visibility.
There are thousands of websites on every search engine. For your website to come on the first page, you need to optimize it well. A solid SEO strategy will help your website come on Google’s top pages.
When you type your name in the search bar, your website will not immediately pop up on the first page. To rank well, you need to add specific keywords, add backlinks and follow a few other SEO techniques.
Fortunately for you, website builders allow you to plug in third-party SEO apps that optimize your content. They will crawl through your website and tell you precisely what you need to change.
You can use the right keywords, add backlinks, create blog posts, add metadata, and so on. Most website builders provide external SEO apps. These apps or plug-ins give you an SEO checklist to follow.
It may sound complicated, but the high-end website builders make it simple. You don’t need to be a high-tech SEO expert. The plug-ins are user-friendly and easy to navigate.
You don’t have to spend hours learning all the technical jargon. Just follow the simple steps suggested by the plug-in, and your website will be ready!
The Power Of Social Media
Each social media platform plays a different role in brand building. You need to be on at least three social media platforms. LinkedIn is excellent for connecting to potential clients.
It gives your brand a professional touch. Twitter is another important social media platform. Twitter is great for interacting with current customers. It also helps you build your authority as a professional.
You can give your professional opinions on topics related to your profession. Then there is Facebook, which is excellent for building a community, posting important content, and creating an overall social media brand image.
Other social media platforms you can use are Instagram and YouTube. You don’t need to be present on all social sites, but it does help. Managing too many social media sites can become difficult.
You should pick the ones where your potential clients may be present. Social media is great for driving traffic to your website!
Conclusion
If you are thinking about creating a personal brand, building a website is the best way to do it. It is affordable, easy to make, and even easier to manage. With just a few clicks, you can reach people all over the globe.
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