Define Your Own Market (Don’t Be a Potato)

Last week, an economics course I’m following introduced me to the basics of market structures. This got me thinking about how these concepts relate to personal branding as there’s a lot of overlap!

In economics, different types of markets determine how products are perceived and valued.

Same goes for how you position your personal brand. It affects how your content is valued.

Market Structures in Economics

In economics, there are three basic market structures:

1. Monopoly – One person or company dominates the market with a unique product. Their value is perceived as high value since its very unique.
2. Oligopoly – There’s some competition, they’re offering products that are similar but slightly different. Their value is perceived medium to high.
3. Perfect Competition (Polypoly) – Many producers offer similar products, resulting in high competition and low value. Think potatoes.

Each brand delivers a product to a specific market. The market structure you’re in is pretty much determining your pricing strategy and marketing for you. It also reflects the perceived value of your product. Doesn’t matter if it’s a multinational or a personal brand.

So, how does this relate to personal branding?

Personal Branding and Market Dynamics

The main “product” of your personal brand is the content you create. As you’ll recognize, most personal brands fall into the category of perfect competition.

For example, consider the number of people writing about writing. It’s a saturated market with virtually no barriers to entry. Anyone can start writing about writing, but there’s no real reason for someone to choose your content over others.

For most people, personal branding is a journey. It’s pretty standard to begin by focusing on a single topic. This approach is often recommended but doesn’t make you unique. It doesn’t set you apart, and there’s no compelling reason for someone to follow you because your content is so similar to everyone else’s.

Now here’s a pretty standard situation: People do this for a while, experience little traction, and then give up. But the next step actually isn’t that difficult.

You just have to push through.

Leaving ‘Perfect Competition’ behind

If you’re tired of writing about just one topic, try adding some personality to your content. Share what led you to your current position. What makes you unique.

This approach alone makes your brand more attractive. It’ll stand out more.

As you combine your own story with your main topic, your competition is far less. This is what they call “differentiation”.

If you do this, you begin to move away from perfect competition and enter monopolistic competition.

That’s still a highly competitive market, but by showing your personality into your content, it’s no longer identical to everyone else’s. You create your own small monopoly within the larger market.

I’ve never seen a potato with a personality. Except for Mr. Potato Head of course.

How to Stand Out

So how do you stand out even more? How do you reduce or even get rid of competition? The key is constant evolution. Here’s how:

• Stay Curious: Keep exploring new topics and interests. Your brand should be constantly evolving to stay interesting.
• Adapt and Innovate: Be willing to change and adapt your content to reflect your evolving interests and insights.
• Home In On Your Unique Perspective: Your experiences and viewpoints are unique to you. Highlight them in your content to create a distinct identity.

The perceived value of your content is heavily determined by the market you’re in. As with potatoes, your content may be versatile and valuable, but if it’s not positioned correctly, it may end up being seen as a commodity.

Positioning Your Personal Brand

Positioning your personal brand is a really interesting topic because as it turns out, there’s a lot of overlap with economics.

Where your brand is positioned determines how you should set your “prices” and market yourself. When talking content, there’s no price of course. But it does represents the value of your content.

So, is your content a potato? Or is it something more unique and valuable? By understanding market dynamics and applying them to your personal branding strategy, you can elevate your content and create a more compelling brand identity.