Building Trust and Credibility: The Key to Personal Branding for Creators

What's going on my creator Hented? I am Ozeal, the host that loves you the most. And I want to welcome you to the Creator Factor. This is the number one creator spot for my content creators who are building businesses and brands online. And if this is your first time tuning into the podcast, I want to welcome you. This is a spot where I hope that we can inspire to educate you, to motivate you, and to get you connected with other fellow content creators who are doing this because they are excited about educating. They're excited about community, culture, and supporting each other along this journey. Now in today's episode, we're going to jump right in. And I'm going to talk to you about how to build trust and credibility as a content creator. And I feel strongly about this because I'm very passionate and have seen firsthand the power of building a personal brand. And I do believe that now we're living in this era where a brand should have a face. We're done with the faceless brands. We want real people sharing, communicating with us in a human way. I think gone are the days of the advertising traditional form of marketing. I do believe that the new brand marketing is personal branding. Period. Okay? Period. I do see it. And if you look at some of the biggest brands, they have an actual influential human being that is sharing the message behind the brand. So let me jump right into it on how to build trust and credibility because it's important. It's important these days. And this is just not for B2C, you know, personal brand influencers in this space, but also for B2B companies. I'm finding that more B2B companies are slowly embracing the power of personal branding and at least making sure they create a platform where someone, a representative with their brand is sharing and communicating the messages. And I'm seeing this on a B2B level and it's exciting. Not enough. I think people are still not quite bought into this philosophy, but we're seeing it more and more happening. So I think for us content creators, very important that we trust credibility with our audience. Essentially what I'm doing here with this podcast, hoping that I can gain trust and credibility with this podcast, with the YouTube channel, with you as I show up consistently. And we're going to talk a little bit about that, but let me dive in and talk about how you can build trust and credibility for your brand and so you can build brand authority in your space. So one is deciding that you need to become the leading voice in your industry. Now I mentioned if you look at all the influential brands that are out there right now, Tesla, Elon Musk, Apple, Steve Jobs, Ryan Reynolds and Mint Mobile. And now he's doing some big things where he was documenting his journey on Netflix or on Hulu. And on that sort of show, we was documenting him buying a soccer club, football club, and he was documenting the journey. And I just thought he did a fantastic job. Ryan Reynolds understands brand marketing. And also the man behind Bulletproof Coffee, Dave Asprey, who also has a personal podcast that is always delivering value and having these conversations around living a healthier lifestyle. And he happens to be the founder of Bulletproof Coffee. Beautiful example, how these leaders are using a platform to build personal brand, to inspire, to motivate, to edify, to educate their audience. And as content creators, we need to understand that it's important to be able to step in and lean into the things that would help us build an influential brand in 2023 and beyond. Whether or not you need to consider a podcast or a YouTube channel to showcase your expertise, deciding that you need to become the leading voice in your industry. Now let me go ahead and backtrack. It doesn't mean that you need to be an expert and know everything, but you definitely need to demonstrate your expertise and your experience and share that with the audience because that's how you're going to develop trust and credibility in your space. So number one, decide on becoming the leading voice in your niche. Number two is be bold and plant your flag. What do I mean by that? Have a stance in something, in something, okay? Believe in something. And I don't mean like picking a fight for the sake of polarizing something, right? Or polarizing something that an expert is saying just to pick a fight, right? And say, I don't believe in that. But I do feel it's okay to take a stance and take something that you believe in and turn it into brand positioning. What I mean by that, let me give you an example. There was an expert recently that said that everybody should start a podcast. He was adamant about it and he was like, everybody should start a podcast. He was saying this on some advertising. He was also saying this on a podcast. And I was listening to the message and I'm like, should everybody start a podcast? Like, is that the move? And then I started seeing, oh, he's trying to sell a podcast launch strategy or coaching. But I don't believe that everybody should start a podcast. I don't. Being in this space, I'm very passionate about podcasting, as you may or may not know. I do believe there's a lot of benefits to starting a podcast, especially in building a personal brand. But do I believe that everybody needs to start a podcast? I don't. So I wrote this blog post saying exactly what I just shared with you. I don't believe. Some experts, despite what they may say, I don't believe in that. So that was me as a personal brand in this space to say, this is what I believe in. And I stated what I believed in. And some people may or may not agree with it. And that's OK. But I'm taking a stance. So as a personal brand content creator that's building a leading voice, wanting to trust, build trust and credibility, it's important to plant your flag and be bold and just own it. Think way too much in this space. I'm seeing a lot of creator educators just say what everybody else is saying. And I'm noticing like there's trends and everybody is just copying everybody. And they're just saying in a different way. And I get it. We're all inspired by others. But it's OK to say I don't agree with that. And I think if anything, that helps the personal brand say, you know what, they're giving, they're taking a different angle. They're have helped. They're challenging the way I think, because this person is saying that I should start a podcast, but Ozil is saying that I shouldn't. And these are some things that I should consider in starting a podcast. So be bold, plant your flag. It's OK to be polarizing. Have a stance. Believe in something. Some of the most influential hosts, like even, for example, like Howard Stern, these are renegades. These are people in the media space that had a stance. Howard Stern, there's a people who agree or disagree with him. But it's Howard Stern and that's how powerful he was, is that he was able to say, I don't believe in this. And he was able to challenge the guest and have his own stance with things. And there's a lot of other people. And again, it could be negative. You know, there's a lot of people take that stance and it could be very, very negative. And I don't fall on that pole. But it's OK to disagree. And I think in this day and age, I think it's important to be able to take a stance. So, again, I digress. Be bold. Implant your flag. Number three, choose a platform. Going back to the thing about whether or not it should everybody start a podcast, it's important for you to choose a platform. So if you decide that, hey, I want to be a leading voice in my niche, I want to have my own thoughts and I want to share my beliefs and values with my audience. Now I need to choose a platform. And my advice is whether or not it should be a podcast or a blog or a YouTube channel, the choice is yours. I think that there are some brands that can thrive on one platform versus the other. If you are a strong writer and you're great at copy and writing and very descriptive and you're a great storyteller. I mean, obviously they can they can translate into all other platforms. But maybe a blog, starting a blog would be a great thing for you to do. If you have a if you're a chef and you're experimenting with different recipes and you want to showcase your expertise and build your influence that way, maybe starting a YouTube channel where is a visual aesthetic that allows you to show people what you do in the kitchen. Or maybe if you are a life coach or a personal brand that wants to share their beliefs and wants to have conversations and educate, maybe a podcast is a platform you should consider. So consider choosing a platform that is best suited for your message and go all in. Now, I know we're seeing a lot of video podcasts emerging more than ever. That's what I'm doing with this show, Creator Factor, right, is I have the video portion of it and I also have the audio. But if you want to see your boy Ozil live and doing this, you can go to YouTube, Creator Factor, actually at Ozil, excuse me, at Ozil. And this is just a way for us to kind of connect on a personal level. I enjoy it. I love YouTube. I've dabbled before and I feel like this is a space where I can still show and share the knowledge and experiences with you. Or if you want to just go on the go and listen to the podcast, audio only, you have that option as well. So, again, you have different platforms and it comes down to picking a platform and going all in and just doing this next thing, which I'm going to share with you, which is number four, is consistency. Now, that big C word we hear all the time, you got to be consistent. But listen, that's what it comes down to. If you want to build trust and credibility, you have to be committed to being consistent for the long game. A personal brand isn't built overnight. It'll evolve your message. You will have a core message of who you want or what you want to convey to the masses. But at the end of the day, it may evolve and it may change and it's OK. It's like it just ebbs and flows. But it only develops through putting in the reps, in being consistent, in being committed to the long term game. All right. So be consistent, develop that messaging, give it room to breathe. It'll evolve. It'll be defined. And at the end of the day, when it comes to personal branding, here is the bonus tip here is what do you represent? Right. What are your values? Who is this content for? Who is your audience? And the last one, the last W is why should we listen? And that's a hard one to really think about and to define early on. So give yourself permission to evolve with time and know that with consistency, that variable will help you and you'll understand a little bit more of how you can define what makes you different. But if early on when you're defining your brand or what you represent, who it's for and what, why should we listen? The why is what really is going to make your brand stand out. But that comes through time and putting in the reps and staying consistent. So that's a little bonus tip for all my content creators who are building personal brands, which if you're watching this and you're listening to this, I'm going to assume that you are building a personal brand, especially for like my solo content creators, that you are building a personal brand, you are educating, you're doing something here on this channel and your personal brand is going to be at the forefront. I'm at the forefront of this podcast. Right. So think about those four things and I would be more than happy to help you. If you need help getting unstuck, I'll make sure that I leave a link down below. I do offer one-on-one coaching for anybody who's interested in getting a coach. It'll be free. We can just talk and have a conversations. If it's a fit, then we will have a conversation about what it looks like moving forward to work together, but if it's not a fit, I'm here to just serve, to listen. Thank you for listening to the creative factor. I hope you got value from this episode because this is one of my goals for the show to introduce you to different ideas. So this is, this is it. My friend, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. I have a huge favor to ask. Please check out more creators like you and build this community. And you can help us by simply. I'm excited. I'm excited. We have a couple, we have a few interviews lined up for you. Leave us awaiting and give me some feedback. Let me know down below. If you aren't watching your social handle in the comment section, so I can tag you and show you some love on the next episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. Happy. We'll definitely catch you on the next episode. And until next time, great. That is my constant creation. Also, you can head over to creator factor.net and there's a voice message where you can actually leave me a voicemail. And if you have a question or if you want to give me some feedback or whatever it is, drop it in the voice message using speaker pipe on creator factor.net would be more than happy. I would love, love, love to hear from our listeners and our watchers out there. So thanks again for tuning into the creator factor. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube, like hit the notification button and make sure that you subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. My name is Ozeal signing off. Thank you so much. Much love. Peace. One love. Thank you for listening to the creator factor. I hope you got value from this episode because this is one of my goals for the show to introduce you to different ideas and perspectives to help you grow as a content creator. Now I have a huge favor to ask. We're looking to reach more creators like you and build this community. And you can help us by simply heading over to Apple podcasts or Spotify and leave us a waiting and written review. Also make sure that you leave your social handle on the review so I can tag you and show you some love on the next episode. Thank you so much for tuning in and we'll definitely catch you on the next episode. Till next time. Peace and one love.