Entrepreneurs usually focus on marketing their respective businesses, but it’s equally crucial for them to spend a significant amount of time developing their brand while working on their business brand. Even if your company bears your name, there’s a difference between a business brand and a personal brand, and you need to understand this difference. The identity erected for your business is the pillar that supports your business brand. It’s for this business that you craft a mission statement, a name, and a vibe. A personal brand, on the other hand, is more about what you believe in and stand for personally, along with everything you achieve in your life, as opposed to your business. Basically, it’s something that makes you distinguishable from your competitors. You have to work on enhancing your business brand and your personal brand because there are numerous investors who care more about the person they’ll be investing in instead of the actual business model. There’s a saying popular among sales specialists – People buy from people. No matter how hard you work for your self-made business, it will be all the more worthwhile if you have a personal brand and identify for customers and investors to relate to. It will ultimately take you to the pinnacle of success. Now, controlling a personal brand can be quite a challenge because it’s what people think of you. You need to adhere to specific strategies and work accordingly. In the end, you can project an image you want everyone to see and think about you and your business. Here are a few tips from experts on building a personal brand for entrepreneurs.
A strong foundation
When it comes to building a strong and genuine personal brand, you must take inventory of everything you stand for. The first step in establishing your personal brand is to create a foundation that gives you authenticity and confidence to construct upon. Branding never incorporates displaying yourself as something you aren’t. Instead, it’s all about sincerity and strategically projecting your authentic self to your customers and clients. Similarly, your personal brand should inform your audience about your achievements, skills, values, and beliefs. While building a robust foundation for your personal brand, you should start by taking your existing brand assets into account, including the following.
- The skills you have, along with the training, certifications, awards, and achievements.
- The core values that are dear to you and the things you believe in.
- The different industries, topics, or fields you find interesting or passionate about.
Once you figure out your existing brand assets, you can start bringing together the main elements of your personal brand. You should also ask yourself a few questions.
- What’s the vision statement of your brand? What do you want to earn recognition for?
- What message do you wish to spread among your target audience?
- What drives you to build a personal brand?
The answers to these questions will allow you to conjure your brand message and vision.
Connecting with the target audience
When you collaborate with other leaders in your industry and mention each other in social media posts, you can increase your outreach. You must also share your content on the appropriate social media platforms. For instance, if you create an infographic or visual graphics-based content, Instagram and Twitter will be the perfect platforms for sharing it with your followers. Another method of connecting with the target audience is by giving your posts a personal touch. Consider providing special insight via videos, tweets, and captions. In doing so, people will recognize your stance and it will help you establish yourself as an authority in your industry. The tactic of creating and sharing content for free on your personal social media page can also come in handy in earning the trust of your followers and build your personal brand. As soon as you pen down a few topics, select the type of content you wish to create and decide on the platforms to share it on. Some of the most commonly used content types including online courses, PDF guides, podcasts, articles, and infographics. However, you must always remember that the task of creating and sharing content can be time-intensive. You should start with one or two main content types and promote whatever you create through several marketing channels. Instead of going right off the bat in terms of targeting a massive audience, you should turn your attention towards becoming a leader in your community. For that purpose, you can start by defining your target audience and build a community for them to interact with each other, discuss various topics, support each other, and contact you directly. A Facebook Group or a private forum is perfect for connecting with your target audience.
Online presence and visibility
The strategy of content sharing via your own platforms, such as a website or social media profile, lets you attract new customers. Then again, this process can be time-consuming, and it also requires a lot of effort. When you get featured on other platforms, you gain exposure to other people’s audiences. After all, folks want to know about other individuals in their industry and learn from their experiences. Also, you can manage your own outreach by reach out to media outlets personally, which is an excellent way of building your personal brand. These media outlets may include authoritative websites, magazines, and podcasts. Here are a few actionable guidelines to follow if you want to increase your online presence and visibility.
- You can get interviewed on podcasts and webinars that are popular in your specific industry.
- You can speak at conferences, summits, and casual meetings attended by your peers and target audience.
- You can create and publish content on online magazines and blogs read by your target audience. Most people send such content pieces in email newsletters.
Final considerations
By building your personal brand as an entrepreneur, you can differentiate yourself from your business rivals. You should start by building a robust foundation and connecting with your target audience. Once you take care of this requirement, you can focus on establishing an online presence and increasing visibility. If you need help, then an organization that helps business owners and entrepreneurs get the PR they need to become authoritative in their niche can support you.