The Importance of “Niching” Down and Why it Doesn’t Have to Limit You

One of the most challenging aspects of personal branding is picking a niche.

This is one of the first things I addressed when speaking to our new students in my course, Personal Brand Accelerator, on Monday night.

If you have been showing up on social media as one identity and only sharing certain types of content, or not sharing anything at all, but would now like to showcase different aspects of yourself, you are in luck. It is possible to demonstrate that you are a multi-faceted person with much more to offer than meets the eye, and it is actually beneficial to do so.

What is “niching?”

When we talk about "niching," we are referring to honing in on a specific area of focus that you want to prioritize in your content. If you want to build your personal brand to grow or expand your existing business, you have two options: you can choose your niche or become more your niche.

Choose Your Niche or Become Your Niche

For many people, choosing a niche involves sharing their area of expertise to establish credibility in a particular field and grow their business. This is a good option for those who prefer to keep their personal life private and separate from their business. It also allows you to focus your efforts and resources on one specific goal and target market. This can be more efficient and effective than going more broad and giving yourself almost unlimited options for different topics and styles of content (as with the second option we will discuss in the next paragraph).

However, on the other hand, some people might feel limited by choosing just one thing to focus on. They may want to share different aspects of their life, including their personal interests and relationships, which can make it difficult to choose a specific niche. In this case, becoming your niche might be the better option. This means that all aspects of your life become part of your marketing strategy, and you are the common denominator in all your content.

If you choose to make yourself the focus of your personal branding, it can be difficult to determine what aspects of your life are relevant to your personal brand and what aspects may be better kept private. This option requires a high level of self-awareness and a willingness to be vulnerable and authentic with your audience.

The Challenge with Niching

Sometimes people are forced to choose a niche because competing aspects of their life can cause confusion for their audience. This confusion can lead to questions about what their page is about and why they should follow it. To avoid this, it's important to decide on a direction early on and maintain consistency in content. However, this doesn't mean you can't share different aspects of your life. It simply means you should lead with one core topic and present other topics as "sub-categories.”

Conclusion

Ultimately, the decision to choose your niche or become your niche depends on your personal branding goals and preferences. Business owners may benefit more from choosing a specific niche, while those who want to share more of their personal life may benefit from becoming their niche. Whatever your choice, deciding now is important so you can move forward more successfully when creating content and building your personal brand.

Personal Question

To choose your niche or become your niche, that is the question. Which option resonates more with you? Hit ‘reply’ and tell me why. I’d love to hear what you think!