The importance of personal branding to successful business leaders
Building a personal brand has never been more important for business leaders who want to establish or expand their company. If you’re wondering what a stand out personal brand looks like and how it can help then you have come to the right place.
What is a personal brand?
A personal brand is your platform for doing business. It’s how you present yourself and what you want people to know about you. Essentially, it’s your shop front.
A personal brand can be made up of people’s perception when they meet you in person, what others – like the media – say about you, and what people read or see about you online.
In the 21st Century, the digital world plays an important role in personal branding. Gone are the days when business owners and directors could be anonymous. The internet has changed that – ignore your digital brand at the risk of your business reputation.
The good news is that you can influence all of this and wrap yourself in a brand that you think best represents you.
The importance of personal branding
You may be wondering why you need to work on your personal brand, especially if you have an established business.
Well, it can help you increase your customer base by building new relationships. If people see you are an expert in your industry they are more likely to engage with you and share what you have to say with their peers, increasing your sphere of potential clients.
Adding personality to your business is also a key success factor. Customers don’t just choose a product or service based on product quality or price. They also want to know your business is ethical and easy to deal with before committing their money.
If people relate to your personal brand they are more likely to take note of what you have to say and act on your recommendations. This is when your personal brand will impact your bottom line.
Creating personal branding
It’s vital to take control of what people think of you in order to grow your business.
Getting ready to hone your personal brand involves a period of self-reflection. You need to ask yourself:
- What are your unique skills?
- What are your beliefs and values?
- Who are your ideal customers?
- Why should they care about what you have to say?
- How can you help your customer in a way no one else can?
The answers to these questions will enable you to create your brand story.
How to be your brand
When you have pinned down your personal branding you need to live it and promote it.
Social media is an important way to share your personal brand in the 21st Century. If you don’t already have accounts on the social media platforms used by your customers then now is the time to set them up.
Create content to support and amplify your personal brand. This includes posting articles on LinkedIn, writing blog posts for your own website, guest posting for other sites and offering opinion pieces for digital and print media. You should then share this across your social networks to initiate discussions and invite feedback from your audience.
Importantly, if you want to be known as an authority within your industry then that’s what your content needs to focus on. Don’t confuse your audience or dilute your brand by going off-piste.
Be consistent across your business cards, marketing materials, website, social media. Make sure the tone and visual appearance are consistent and reflect your personal brand. This extends into what you wear and how you behave at public events. Your actions need to match your personal brand. This will build authenticity and trust in you and your business.
If you want to find out more about how personal branding can improve your business’ reputation then Amplify PR can help. We are a Southampton-based PR and content marketing agency offering brand consultancy. Get in touch for more information about this and our range of other PR and marketing services.