Holly Martin, Managing Director and Chief Marketer, was interviewed by Shirley Dalton for her Voice America interview series called Reclaim Your Freedom and one of the main topics we talked about was personal branding.
Below is a link to the interview, so you can listen yourself, but if you would like a bit of an overview of the content covered in the interview we have provided some notes.
5 tips for personal branding
1. Assess your touchpoints
Consider what the touchpoints are that make up your personal brand, whether that is in person or online.
- How you speak – tone, delivery speed, professional/casual etc
- How do you present yourself (Positively, not negatively)
- Take charge of your online presence (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat)
2. Be Memorable
You need to be memorable – in a positive way.
If you have a quirky name, that helps. If you have a quirky look, that can do it. But maybe it needs to be your elevator pitch or the design or shape of your business card. Perhaps it is that you send a follow-up email to anyone new you meet in the line of business.
You should also be a good corporate colleague and refer people. If you prefer, without expecting anything in return, it can go a long way to building the right type of personal brand.
Whatever it is, make sure it aligns with your personal brand and fits the brand of your business.
3. Build a Business Network
To develop your personal brand you must network!
Often people say they’re scared or nervous or don’t have time. If you want to be a small business owner you have to learn to take the time and find a way to become more comfortable.
Part of networking is also cultivating a tribe of like-minded people that you catch up with on a regular basis.
4. Toot your own horn
The Tall Poppy concept for Australians makes this hard sometimes but it is important to toot your own horn.
You can send press releases about your achievements, either personal or organisational and be the spokesperson.
You can write expert articles on other blogs – and your own.
You can put your name forward for awards – if you wait for someone else to do it, it will never happen!
5. Be authentic
So in all the things I have talked about you need to respect your audience, but be authentic.
For example, I do videos for my blog and my workshops and when I watch them back I always cringe at how I pronounce words, or laugh. But at the end of the day if I spoke each word perfectly I wouldn’t sound like me, I’d be uncomfortable and I wouldn’t be living my own personal brand.
Where I find the line is to avoid swearing or cursing on the videos. I don’t swear like a sailor, but I do tend to let a few words slip sometimes, but out of courtesy to my audience, I don’t do it on my videos.
Why you should undertake personal branding
People like to do business with people who are authentic and true to their word.
So if you cultivate an effective personal branding strategy – which ties in with your corporate marketing strategy and underlining brand strategy – you’ll be attracting the right clients.
It’s something I’ve learnt the hard way – not all clients are your ideal client! Particularly in the professional services and service-based industries, you need to ensure that your clients appreciate your approach, your values, and your beliefs. All of which should be communicated in your branding.
If they don’t, it’s always going to be an uphill battle for them to appreciate the service you are delivering.
If you have the wrong clients you have to work twice as hard for probably half the appreciation – not a recipe for success!
Some obstacles to undertaking personal branding – and how to mitigate them
Time
Many small business owners and staff struggle to find time to undertake strategic personal branding. It feels easy to just address things as they come up, but the fact of the matter is you’re never going to leverage your marketing efforts if you do that.
SOLUTION – Set aside time each day or week or month. Whatever suits you and your business, however, make sure you stick to it.
Ignorance
Not realising the benefits of a strategic marketing approach, not understanding the benefits of personal branding. You don’t know what you don’t know, so you should find a way to educate yourself about marketing.
SOLUTION – Look for continuous education opportunities. You need to ensure you understand marketing and how you can be strategic about your activities.
Fear
Particularly in the personal branding space. You tend to be putting yourself out there a bit more if you engage in a concerted personal branding approach.
SOLUTION – Find a mentor who has a strong personal brand. Then you can speak with someone who has already undertaken the journey you are starting out on.
Final Tip
Take the time to step back and look at your marketing, and as part of that consider your corporate and personal branding.
- Where are you now?
- Where do you want to be?
- How will you get there?
