Personal Branding for Women in Business

The concept of “personal branding” might be unusual for most people. You might think it’s a thing only for influencers and high-profile figures, but when you are in business is more important than you think.

When we talk about branding, we usually think about businesses and organisations. But we can apply the same principles to individuals and this is Personal Branding.

Developing and promoting a personal brand is a valuable step for women in business and female leaders. Branding is vital for setting yourself apart from others. It doesn’t always focus on being better, but it does always focus on being unique.

So when it comes to women in business, determining and building your own personal brand can be very powerful, as it will help you carve a space in your market specifically for you and for your target audience.

Here’s a little more on what is personal branding, how to discover your own, how to grow it, and how to share it with the world.

What is Personal Branding?

Personal Branding is the process of defining yourself as an individual with your own values and what you stand for, as well as your skills and what you do. It’s also about how you interact with others and how you show yourself to the world.

On the other hand, Personal Branding is also the perception that others have about you, and how they see you and believe you are, it’s your reputation and credibility.

In short, your Personal Brand is created between how you present yourself to others, and the perception they have about you. 

We all have a Personal Brand, and by taking charge of their own, women in business have a big opportunity to build an image of trust, credibility, professionalism, etc.

Why is it important for Women in Business?

In a time when we do more business and do networking online, and also our attention spans shorten, it’s crucial that we, as Women in Business, pay close attention to what we put out there.

We know that people are looking at doing business with real people, more than big corporations, people are paying more attention to the people and the values behind a business. This means you.

Typography

Your brand typography covers the fonts your brand uses. Typically, a brand will have just two key fonts, and a third in rare cases.

Keeping it simple with only a couple of fonts helps to ensure the full website and physical documents look sleek and professional. It also allows those two fonts to shine, as each typeface has its own personality that should reflect your brand.

Your Visual Brand Guideline should outline not just the brand fonts, but any variations (such as bold and itallicised), and how they are used.

Logo Design

Your logo should be a pared back visual representation of your brand. It is what your customers will come to know you by, so it needs to be memorable and it must provide some insight into your business’ personality.

Once you have a logo, it can even be a good starting point to build your Visual Brand Guidelines around. For example, you can extrapolate the colours and visual style in the logo to create guidelines for these areas.

In your Visual Brand Guidelines, you should clearly explain the logo and how it is used, including any variations.

For example, you might have a main logo, plus an alternative one to use in different formats. This could mean having a rectangular shaped logo for your business cards, website, and brochures, but making a square logo available for use in areas such as your social media profile (which often requires a square or circular image).

The guidelines will cover:

• minimum logo sizes
• Logo orientation
• Adding clear space around the logo
• Where and how to use which logo

Imagery style

Your imagery style should outline the general kinds of photos and images you use across your brand. This will primarily apply to your website, ads, and printed media. Your imagery style can be a little looser by definition in any social media posts you create, but it will still largely remain consistent.

For example, some brands prefer to use graphic design elements only – and no images of real people or places. Some brands use only elegant black and white photos, while others prefer bright, vibrant colours and plenty of smiling people in their images.

It can be hard to define your imagery style, so a good place to start is to create a mood board with random business-related images that stand out to you, and try to find a cohesive theme that runs through them.

Colour palette

Last but certainly not least, your brand colours outline exactly which hues represent your brand. We typically recommend three as a minimum but no more than five, with a main colour and a key accent colour.

When you think of some of the biggest brands in the world, and even local brands, you can usually immediately think of their colours, even if you wouldn’t recognise their imagery, font, or even their logo. That’s why a colour palette is so important.

Your Visual Brand Guidelines must provide the exact colour codes. This means including your HEX code for online and digital materials, and your CMYK values for print materials.