When it comes time to build your personal brand- what does that exactly mean for us athletes? In the beginning, you might ask:
- Where should I start?
- What are the pieces I need to put together a successful brand
Having a well-established brand can help open up opportunities for athletes, like NIL deals and long-term business partnerships that live on past college. Every athlete has a unique opportunity when sharing their story, a unique audience, and an extensive social reach in the world of sports. If you’re not sure how to create your personal brand, asking these questions can help you.
9 Questions to Establish an Athletes’ Brand Identity
What is your story? Your brand must incorporate the story. Who are you? How did you become the athlete that you are? What has your journey been like? Establishing your story will help your followers, NIL partners and other prospective clients relate to you and better identify with your brand.
What makes you different? When I was in college there were there were hundreds of women’s basketball players like me. Although there are many athletes who will pay your sport, your position, etc., identify what makes you unique when creating your brand.
Maybe you’re one of the few athletes who is familiar with a certain region or culture. Maybe you have a very niche passion or knowledge base that is different than other peers. Finding that special angle can help you bring a ton of value to your brand and business partnerships.
What is your personality? Your personality is one of the determining factors for your brand voice and identity. Are you an optimistic person? Are you seen as the cocky/confident athlete who loves attention? Or maybe your nature is completely different from your on-the-court personality, more conservative and reserved.
Whatever your personality is, defining this attribute can bring more consistency to your brand, helping you build trust amongst your followers and relatability.
Why are you creating your brand? This is very important. Knowing your ‘why’ will help you focused on your goal. Maybe you’re creating a brand to have fun, build an audience, or experiment on social platforms. Maybe you’re solely focused on securing NIL deals or making money to supplement your scholarship or to provide for your family. Whatever your ‘why’ is, identify it so that you can sync up your brand with your personal goals.
What are your strengths? Most athletes can look at themselves objectively and identify their strengths are on and off the field. You may have a passion for being in the public eye: creating content, producing videos, or marketing yourself on social media. Other athletes who are more reserved might prefer to create products like merchandise or swag for consumers. Creating content, products or services within your comfort zone will make it easier for you to grow your brand and business.
Who is your target customer? It’s important for athletes to tailor their messaging, products or services to target consumers. Being super specific will help you create a unique market niche for your brand.
Your target customers might be ‘college-aged athletes who collect sneakers’ or ‘college graduates, aged 21-25, interested in fitness techniques and wellness’. Whatever you decide, being super specific will help you focus your brand to meet the needs of your target audience.
What will your brand look like? What will the visual identity of your brand be? Aligned with your personality, what types of colors, font types and design styles will you use? Think about the look, feel and emotions people will have when looking at your brand and select the right aesthetics to help evoke those feelings.
How will you get market attention? Where will you communicate your messaging? Will you market yourself via blog posts, graphics, videos, or other forms of media? What types of social channels will you use to promote yourself? Identifying what platforms you’ll use to market yourself, a move that can help you maintain consistency towards your audience.
What is your long-term vision for your brand? Maybe you’re launching your brand or business to secure NIL deals. But what happens after high school or college? Will you build on the brand and business you’ve built? Will you have a different focus and create a new brand? Finding ways to build on your existing work can bring you success years after your playing days are over.