In the business world, companies with a memorable and well-established name have a major competitive advantage. It’s that invisible factor that convinces people to choose McDonald’s over Burger King, Coca-Cola over Pepsi, Adidas over Puma, or vice versa.

As a remote worker, personal branding can be a powerful tool for attracting and landing clients. The problem is it’s often misunderstood, especially by those new to the industry. Some use it interchangeably with social proof, while others think it’s something only veterans can use.

In truth, any virtual professional can benefit from being remembered. Statista reveals that freelancers will make up 50% of the total United States workforce by 2027. This means a lot of competition, so you must promote yourself in a unique way if you want to stand out from the pack.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a seasoned pro, here are actionable steps to take the guesswork out of what makes a brand unforgettable and how you can put them into practice today.

Step 1 – Pick a good name

It’s important to choose a name that’s easy to recognise.

a. Create a new one with a matching persona

With this, you can enjoy some distance between the professional you and the real you. It’ll also be easier to register it as a company, to make a logo, or to develop an on-brand website.

Not to mention you’ll have more potential to grow into an agency later on.

b. Trademark your own name and personality

Using your own name is convenient but also means that everything you do will be connected to your professional persona, including political rants and drunken selfies.

This option isn’t the best idea if your name is hard to spell though, especially for international work.

c. Mixing the above options

When possible, combine your name with your profession for an identifiable website and profile.

For instance, if you’re a writer named John Smith, you can maybe go for ‘The Content Smith’ or ‘John the Writer’. An accountant named Cathy might have just ‘Accountant Cathy’.

What else?

Buy your name as a URL, particularly when it’s fairly common. Also, review your name after a while to see if it’s working out or needs to be changed.

Make sure you’re hitting the keywords searched by your audience by inserting them in your name too.

Step 2 – Pick a good avatar

Have an avatar that you can use consistently in all of your channels.

a. Use a picture of yourself

Employers like to know who they’re working with and using your own photo makes you seem more personable.

Think about the way you want to appear, the lighting, the background, and the clothes you’re wearing in it. Pay for a studio head shot if you can afford one.

b. Use a logo

This is the ideal choice if you’re not using your own name for branding. See to it that your logo design and placement are well-made and consistent throughout your profiles, blog, and website.

Also, even if you already have one, you can always get a better one.

What else?

Look up a free program called Gravatar (globally recognised avatar) that automatically populates your photo and bio whenever you leave a comment or publish a post online.

Lots of WordPress sites use it so you can be assured for photo consistency across the web.

Step 3 – Pick a good voice

After choosing a good name, you need to think about how you’ll present it in front of your audiences.

Decide who you’re speaking as

Think about who or what you’d like to come across as. You don’t want to make things confusing for your clients so settle for an overall tone that matches with your target audience.

For example, a customer service representative will want to come off as friendly rather than stern.

Be consistent in your presentation

Don’t make the mistake of modifying your message according to your medium or audience.

For example, you might be fun and casual on your blog, then adopt a serious persona on Instagram. This will only make people wonder if it’s the same person or not.

What else?

Create a style guide to help you nail drown your voice, typography, and colours. This also makes it easier for you to convey your brand to any future employees you might hire down the road.

Canva has a free tool for making this in a booklet form.

Step 4 – Pick your words carefully

If you want to get noticed and land more work, you must learn to perfect your bio.

A long bio

Begin with your long bio as this is what everything else will be based on. It should include a section about:

• Your skills.
• The projects you’ve worked on in the past.
• Your contact details.
• Some interesting facts about you.

A short bio

Once you’re done with your long bio, summarize it into 200 words for your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. Remove the lengthy history while making sure to keep the key facts and past projects.

A tagline

A tagline should condense what you do in a catchy way while being search engine friendly. Ideally, it has to be under 10 words.

Examples: ‘Finance virtual assistant based in Nicaragua’ or ‘Number 1 graphic designer in the Philippines’.

Have an elevator pitch

Consider this a longer tagline that further summarises your short bio into 1 or 2 sentences. Some examples:

• ‘I create long-form and short-form articles that are completely original and define your brand.’
• ‘#leadgeneration #telemarketing #outboundsales. Likes long walks at the beach.’

What else?

Like with your avatar and voice, keeping your bio consistent is key when self-promoting. Hashtags in your social media bios are especially useful for making you stand out.

Hence, do your homework to determine which ones are most relevant for you.

Step 5 – Pick your social networks

With your marketing materials ready, get ready to hustle on social media—but not all of them.

• Instagram – for travel bloggers, artists, designers and photographers
• YouTube – for influencers, graphic designers, and video editors
• Twitter – for remote workers in different niches
• Facebook – for creatives willing to pay premium
• LinkedIn – for anyone and everyone working online
• Reddit – for designers, developers, writers and social media managers
• Pinterest – for those specialising in crafts, photography and art

What else?

You must realise that you don’t actually need to be everywhere. Focusing your efforts on a few key networks means you’re not duplicating or diluting your content.

Step 6 – Pick your blog ideas

Promote yourself outside of freelance marketplaces or remote job sites with a blog, even if you aren’t a writer.

For photographers:

• Take Better Photos with Your Phone with These Tips
• 10 Mistakes Couples Make in Their Prenuptial Photos
• Getting Familiar with Your DSLR Camera

For developers:

• Avoid These Mistakes When Making a Responsive Website
• Coding Tools You Should Be Using
• How to Design Your Website Better

For financial consultants:

• How to Budget for Big Purchases
• 10 Tips for Planning a Successful Retirement
• The Rookies’ Guide to Foreign Exchange

What else?

What makes a great blog post is providing enough information to engage readers but not too much that they can do the job without you.

Include a call-to-action for clients to be able to contact you for your services.

Personal Branding Is a Must!

If you’ve read up to this point, then you’ve probably realized that branding for a virtual professional is no easy feat. However, it’s necessary if you want to gain repeat business, improve your visibility online, and build a loyal following.

We at Remote Workmate can make the process a little easier for you. As an offshore staffing agency, we can connect you with clients across the globe even if you’ve just started your branding journey. Then, you can work further on self-promotion as you go along.