Happy Personal Brand Marketing Year!
2019 is well on it’s way! Welcome to the year of opportunities! At the start of a new year, we know most small business owners are looking for ways to build customers and contacts, and planning how to grow their business in the coming year. Being a business owner myself and managing a lead generation and digital marketing agency for over 15 years, I have the privilege to provide advice to my fellow business owners and entrepreneurs on which small business marketing tactics will help you achieve the business growth you’re looking for!
What is Personal Brand Marketing?
As the name suggests, personal brand marketing is all about the person (or people) who own and run a business, and how they network and build relationships with other business owners, clients and industry leaders. Personal Brand Marketing is about building direct, peer-to-peer personal connections with other business professionals. Through these real connections, business owners can introduce their companies to other business owners, and build trust with their prospects and customers. These days, business owners can build and nurture those direct personal relationships through a variety of social media platforms, maximizing their personal accounts to build and nurture ongoing relationships, and modern “word of mouth.” Here’s how you can use some of the most common online platforms to develop your personal brand marketing:
LinkedIn Prospecting:
Build your personal network of peer relationships through LinkedIn, and get in the habit of sharing expertise through this platform. LinkedIn is a great place to maintain connections that you make in person at events, or you can seek and reach out to potential contacts who may be a good fit with your business. When adding new contacts, go directly to the person’s page, and write a personal message when you connect reminding them where you met, or telling them why a connection might be valuable for you both. LinkedIn also has groups for shared business interests, and for many industry organizations, so this is really your go-to-hub for b2b connections, business advice, hiring and more. And don’t forget to add your LinkedIn address to your business card!
Facebook Networking For Business:
Personal Networking on Facebook provides a variety of different opportunities for Personal Brand Marketing. You can invite fellow business owners to become your personal friends, and then request their help growing your business page following, and do the same for them. You can also look at joining existing groups that may be relevant to your business, or creating your own groups. Group participation is especially powerful, as any group messages you post notify group members directly, whereas the reach of your Business page posts depends on your advertising and/or post boosting investments. Making use of your existing personal networks, and working to expand them is a great way to get your personal relationships helping with your business growth.
Twitter For Business:
Twitter isn’t just for big corporations and famous Hollywood stars, it’s also for you, the small business owner! We recommend creating and managing a personal Twitter account to provide your followers with the real personality and passion behind your business. This is a great place to share your ideas and expertise, and have conversations with other business owners online. Twitter is also a top platform for journalists to hang out on, so if you’re looking to get a bit of publicity, it pays to explore which journalists write about topics related to your business, start following them and build a relationship. You can do this by commenting on relevant stories they post, and showcasing your knowledge. Building the right relationships with journalists will help you be top of mind the next time they’re looking for a topic expert on an article that relates to your business.
Instagram For Business:
As one of the most high-engagement online platforms currently in use, Instagram is an excellent place to build your personal brand, and share the real you that stands behind your business. And since Instagram is image-focused, many business partners find it easier to tell their story through great photos. A picture is worth 1000 words, and it’s a lot faster to create and share! To maximize Instagram for Personal Brand Marketing, make sure to direct message your followers thanking them for liking your images, and engage with their content regularly. These are just some of the tools you can use for Personal Brand Marketing. Overall what you need to remember about Personal Brand Marketing is that it’s direct, relationship-focused, and, well, personal! As long as you let your personal business passion shine, your friends, business connections, and potential customers are sure to notice, and feel excited to do business with you!
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