How to create a successful personal brand online
This blog follows our recent webinar “How to create a successful personal brand online and offline” co-hosted with Camilla Collins, a Self-Image Specialist and Entrepreneur. Camilla has covered the offline side of personal branding in her recent blog and podcast which you can read and listen to here.
Our online brands represent us in the digital space and the reputation we build through social media and other online platforms are part of our identity. Whether you manage your online reputation or not, you do have a presence online and whilst you can’t fully control the information available, you can proactively build a brand that you will be proud of. A good place to start is a personal brand audit. Simply Google your name and decide whether you like what other people see when searching for you.
The first step in defining your personal brand is to ask yourself what you want to be known for - what skills, knowledge and attitudes do you have that will make people want to work with you or interact with you. And most importantly, what value do you create for others as this is a key factor in the impression you will make on your audience – how you make them feel, how you make their life better or easier. Having a great personal presence online is just as important as having a high-quality brand for your business, and as you are a representative of your business, it's important that the two are aligned.
So, what can you do to build a successful personal brand online?
1. Show personality
People buy from people, and they want to buy from and work with people they like. There are lots of businesses out there that offer very similar products and services and it’s often not about what you do, but how you do it – the people behind the business and the unique story each business and person have. The combination of the skills, experience and knowledge is a competitive advantage that will differentiate your brand, as well as trigger and keep your audience’s interest. Just like in face to face communication, you can't make people like you, however, you can present yourself at your best and let them decide if they want to get to know you better or work with you.
2. Keep it consistent
Keep your communication consistent, both in what you say and do and the visual side of your brand. Communicate your message in various forms and stick to your values and beliefs, as well as visuals that match your message. Using up to date and recognisable profile photos and visuals that visitors can easily associate with your brand will make it easy for them to connect and engage with you. Often the initial image and the title is the first and last impression you will make on your audience, so having the right visual is essential to attract and keep their attention. Focus on the style of visuals you are using, the colours, the fonts and create a look and feel unique to your brand. Our brains process images up to 60,000 times faster than text, so, including a visual will not only make your post look better, it will help with digesting and retaining the information you are sharing.
3. Make your profile easy to find
Companies spend a lot of time and money on improving their website’s SEO, but they do forget that being found on social media is also important and the same principles apply. You’d want to be found by people who are looking for services and products you offer without knowing your name. Make it easy for your audience to find you by keeping your profiles easy to understand and simple, using relevant keywords in your bio and tagline. The first thing people see when searching for a person or a brand on social media is their tagline, which could be your role description, a short bio or business description. As it's so visible, it’s important to keep it as accurate as possible, with keywords you want people to use when they are searching for your products and services. Using relevant keywords and linking your profiles back to your website is not only an effective search tool, but also a great way to drive website traffic and improving SEO by linking your site to social media, while building your own brand.
4. Talk about your success
There’s a difference between knowing that you’ve launched a new business and trusting that you’ll do a good job for clients. Talking about your achievements and showing results is a powerful marketing tool, as telling people about your success, asking for recommendations and testimonials are all compelling ways to highlight how great your business is and how good you are at what you do. It will also create an aspiration for your potential clients who might see your current client’s success or satisfaction with your products and services. In addition, sharing real life stories is an effective way to present your style and quality of work and will also help to educate others. If you prove that you can do the job and you can do it well, it will help to build trust with potential and existing customers and create more new business opportunities.
5. Keep in touch
To keep your audience interested and engaged. It’s important to communicate with them on regular basis—not just on a formal level, but also a personal level. People would want to hear from you personally as well as about your business, so balancing both can bring you double the benefits. Be active and share relevant updates and content that your audience can relate to and learn from. Interact with others online, join discussions, and be present at the right places to build up a credible brand and online presence - after all, social media is all about interaction and engagement—not self-promotion. Research shows that on average, consumers need to be exposed to a marketing message at least three times before they take action, but you need to strike the right balance and create a regular communication strategy, instead of just focusing on high volume – as with everything else in business, finding the right balance is the route to success.