Whether it’s growing your business or progressing up the career ladder, building a personal brand will be crucial to your success.
People buy from people
You will have often heard the phrase people buy from people. However, we only get so many hours of the day and sometimes it can be pretty impossible to get yourself out there and network while trying to do the day job and juggle other commitments such as family, looking after ourselves and even getting enough sleep!
If I told you, you could get in front of more people and be more successful, without necessarily having to leave the comfort of your desk, would you believe me?
I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever step foot out of the door again, face to face contact is an extremely important part of building your brand and sealing those deals. However, we’re all busy people, so it’s important to take advantage of the time you do have available so that you gain maximum benefit from it.
How do I achieve it?
There are many ways to grow or enhance your personal brand, and the simplest way is to use social media.
Social media enables you a platform to communicate with people who have similar interests or whom might be interested in buying from or even employing you.
To get started;
- Consider the most relevant platforms for you to use
- Follow and engage with like-minded individuals
- Share their content and provide feedback / additional insight
- Share your knowledge and expertise on relevant subject matters
- Get personal… what are your interests, passions etc.?
- Be honest!
Through actively using my social media platforms I’ve been contacted to take part in press opportunities, speak at events and much more enabling me to raise my profile further by getting in front of existing and new audiences.
It doesn’t end with social media
Think about your networks, your local business community and what other opportunities there are to raise your profile.
Could you share some “Top 10 Tips” in your local press, could you speak at an event, how about getting involved with business organisations, i.e. chamber, IOD etc.
There are a whole host of opportunities out there so it makes sense to strategically think about what you can do to build your personal brand.
Where it can go wrong
We’ve already discussed how “people buy from people”, so it is important that how you represent yourself is a true reflection of who you are.
Don’t get caught up trying to paint a picture of who you wish you were or where you want to be in 10 years time. If you position yourself as one person on your social profiles and something different in the flesh, then you will get found out and it will no doubt result in a negative consequence!
Why listen to me?
When I founded Wild PR, I had one contact in the local business community having worked for a Dublin based organisation for six years prior.
Since establishing Wild PR in 2014, I now employ a team of 5, work with some of Yorkshire’s best SME’s and have regularly been featured in the business press, invited to speak at events and much more. Our turnover has grown between 55 – 75% each year, a sign that we must be practising what we preach!
What next?
On Monday 9th October, I will be presenting at Leeds Business Week’s “Social Media on Toast” event on “How to use social media to enhance your brand”, so I obviously haven’t shared too much on the “How to” in this post.
I have a couple of free tickets, so, if you are interested in attending… just drop me an email!
After the event, I’ll be following this blog up with some in-depth tips and examples so keep your eyes peeled.