How to Build a World Champion Brand Identity with Jake Swartz

Building a personal brand image is an art form as much as it is a science. Working with numerous World Champion athletes, Jake Swartz has consulted on some of the largest personal brands ever established. Today, he shares his insights answering some of the most common questions translating World Champion level success to the starting entrepreneur.

Q: What is the best way to connect to an audience?

Jake Swartz:

People resonate with authenticity. The ability to open up and share genuinely is a skill that needs to be cultivated when you’re developing a personal brand and connecting to an audience. Social media has led us to believe that everything should be ‘Highlight’ worthy, but the exact opposite is actually true when you’re developing a personal brand. All the quirks, passions, and insecurities become opportunities to connect to your audience in a new way and endear them further. The ability to share completely unfiltered will build more trust, engage a larger audience, and create more support over time.

Q: Who should focus on a personal brand image?

Jake Swartz: 

Everyone should be focused on building their personal brand image! First, you might think of large companies like ‘Coca-Cola’, ‘McDonald’s’, or ‘Apple’, but the truth is that every day you are actually building a personal brand image of your own. There are countless examples of professional athletes, reality TV stars, and entrepreneurs who have created massive success by amounting to significant name recognition alone! Especially with the prevalence of social media, you are your own walking advertisement, make it a good one!

Q: How can you expand your following?

Jake Swartz:

The quickest way to expand your following is to gain attention. From the very start, it’s important to attach your name to quality, or an image that sets you apart from other people. If people have no idea who you are, it’s going to be very difficult to convince them you are worth following or doing business with. The longer you can command the spotlight and stay on people’s minds, the quicker you’ll be able to get your personal brand image moving forward towards notoriety.

Q: What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who are just starting to build a personal brand?

Jake Swartz:

Be consistent, and add value in everything you do. Consistency may be the single most important factor in building an effective, and lasting personal brand image. In any relationship, we tend to weigh both the depth and the length of the relationship. By being consistent, you build a layer of comfort and reliability with the audience that complements the depth they feel.

By taking the right course of action, anyone can increase their personal brand awareness. Read more on developing a lasting brand image.