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Building Your Personal Brand as a Model: A 6-Step Guide
Building a personal brand is crucial for any model looking to grow their career and find more gigs. So here's how to build a brand that connects with the right people and gets you noticed by your dream clients.
Contact, on 10 April 2023
The Contact Team
Your personal brand is your biggest asset as a model. By leveraging your brand, you can create more job opportunities and gain control over your career. Here's how.
Understanding Personal Branding for Models
Personal branding is about creating an image and reputation that sets you apart from others in your industry. Personal branding is vital for models as it can help you differentiate yourself from other models and showcase your unique selling point, which can get you more jobs.
The key here is authenticity. Your personal brand should reflect what's special about you. In the modelling industry, clients seek models with unique look, style, and personality that aligns with their brand. Being authentic and showcasing your true self can attract the right clients and help you develop a loyal following.
Building Your Personal Brand as a Model Step by Step
Step 1: Identifying your unique selling point
What sets you apart from other models? It can be tricky to pinpoint what makes you different. So before even starting to build your personal brand, take the time to reflect on your unique abilities and skills. You can do this by:
- Finding your USP: your unique selling point. Here's a full guide on how to find what makes you special.
- Finding your zone of genius (hint: we all have one): do this exercise to find what you can excel at. It'll help you determine what skills to build and which ones to spend more time improving. Finding your zone of genius will also help you see what you can give to others, so you can craft highly engaging content for your audience.
Step 2: Finding your niche and target audience
Identify your niche and target audience to tailor your message and content and appeal to the right people.
To find your niche and target audience as a model, you need to evaluate the following:
- Think about your strengths and weaknesses: What are your best features? What type of modelling gigs do you enjoy the most? What are your passions, interests and hobbies?
- Research the industry: Learn about the different types of modelling gigs, from fashion to commercial to editorial. Look at the models who are successful in each area and what their niches are. This could also mean researching an industry related to your hobbies and side hustles, and seeing what you can bring to people in that niche.
- Identify your ideal audience: Are you interested in high fashion or streetwear? Are you targeting a younger or older demographic? What are your audience's interests and passions? Who do they already follow? Where do they need help? Determine if you can give them anything of value: can you teach them a specific skill? Can you curate content for them? Can you make them laugh? Check back in with your USP to find answers.
Step 3: Creating a strong visual identity through your portfolio, website, and social media channels
Your visual identity is an essential aspect of your personal brand. Creating a solid portfolio and social media channels that showcase your personality can help you to stand out from the crowd and attract the right clients. Here are some tips for building a strong visual identity:
- Develop a consistent theme: Choose a colour scheme and overall aesthetic that you will use consistently across all your platforms. For example, you could use the same photo filter on your IG pictures to create a cohesive and recognisable brand.
- Showcase your personality: Your visual identity should reflect your personality and style. Post photos that show off your interests and hobbies, and share shots from your modelling gigs. Create real, candid videos to share your values, interests and character and build a connection with your viewers.
- Post high-quality visuals: Invest in professional photography for your portfolio, and use high-quality photos for your social media channels. Make sure your images are clear and visually appealing.
- Keep it simple: Avoid cluttering your platforms with too many photos or too much text. Instead, choose a few high-quality images and write concise captions reflecting your brand message. You can use AI writing tools to help you write captions.
- Use a recognisable brand name: Use the same username and handle across all your platforms so that people can easily find you online. It's better to use a handle that matches your real name, so that people can find you organically on Google.
Step 4: Developing a powerful brand message and voice
Your brand message and voice should be consistent across all platforms and align with your values and personality. A powerful brand voice will attract a loyal fan base that will be eager to check in and engage with your content.
Here are some tips for developing your brand message and voice:
- Identify your values: What do you stand for? What makes you tick? What's important to you? Asking yourself these questions will help you create an authentic message and determine the impact you can make as a model through your brand.
- Craft a mission statement: Create a concise and explicit statement summarising what you stand for and hope to achieve as a model. Mission statements help you stay focused and consistent in your messaging.
- Use storytelling: Use stories to communicate your message and connect with your audience emotionally. Share personal experiences and insights that showcase your perspective.
- Be authentic: Be true to yourself and your values. Don't create a message that doesn't align with who you are. As former Contact model Vivienne Jones says, “they want to see your personality.” Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Being yourself will mean that you’ll attract the right clients and people to your network.
Step 5: Collaborating with like-minded individuals and brands
Collaborating with like-minded individuals and brands can help you grow your brand and reach a wider audience. This can include working with photographers, makeup artists, and other models to create content. Keep checking out other creatives' profiles and giving them your support. If you’re inspired by someone’s work, follow them. Instagram’s algorithm rewards people who know what they like and actively seek out their interests.
Step 6: Growing Your Social Media Following
Social media is the pillar of your personal branding strategy. Whatever platform you choose to showcase your brand (aka, you), you must put in the time and effort to build your audience. You will have to:
Create engaging content that resonates with your audience
As London-based model, activist, and author TJ Sawyerr says, your Instagram feed “should be an insight into your creative mind.”
This means showing a mix of professional work alongside posts about your day-to-day personal life. Together, they’ll paint a complete picture of who you are, which is exactly what clients and scouts want to know: who’s the person behind the face?
Be consistent with your posting schedule and use hashtags and other social media tools to reach a wider audience
Use relevant hashtags that align with your brand and content. This will help push your posts to people in your niche. Take advantage of free tools like Later or Planoly to schedule your content across different platforms.
Engage with your followers and respond to comments and messages
Your followers are your fans, so take the time to interact with them. Engaging with your followers can build a sense of community and loyalty around your brand.
Analyse the competition and reflect on your data to optimise and adapt your strategy
Social media platforms offer valuable data and analytics. Use this information to measure the success of your posts and refine your content.
Stay in touch with industry trends
Attend industry events, read industry news and meet with other creatives frequently.
Build brand partnerships
Collaborating with other brands is a great way to expand your reach and grow your following. Look for brands that align with your values, and contact them to discuss potential collaborations. Head here for some tips on how to build brand partnerships.
Growing your social media presence is the most challenging part of personal brand building. But with a strategic mindset (and lots of motivation), you'll reach your goals and connect with the right people.
To sum it up, building a personal brand as a model is not just about gaining followers on social media; it's about creating a unique and authentic identity that showcases your skills, personality, and values. With a solid brand, you'll be able to sustain your modelling career in the long run, make an impact and foster financial security.
Cover Image: Models Sona Ukawa, Melissa Vanham & Hanne Dearden - Hellawell campaign
Contact, on 10 April 2023
The Contact Team
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