If you're an agency owner, a consultant, a startup founder, a freelance worker, or even a doctor or a lawyer, you can benefit tremendously from building a strong personal brand for yourself.
Your personal brand isn't quite you, per se.
While the nature of the personal “self” is a subject of debate among psychologists and sociologists, it's pretty clear overall that your personal brand is a persona.
The word is actually Greek for “mask,” composed of the word roots for “through” and “speak.”
It's a public mask you speak through when you act as a public figure, or interact professionally with others.
Once you've kind of set up the basics — creating a website, establishing a social media presence, and otherwise laying the right foundation to promote yourself as an influencer…
There are also some other techniques you can use to help yourself reach more people.
In a recent blog post, Entrepreneur talks about a few interesting strategies and tools that are a little off the beaten path.
1. Run a $3/day personal branding campaign on Facebook.
A lot of entrepreneurs are already running Facebook ads for their business, but they don't think of running ads to promote their personal brand.
I'm currently running highly targeted Facebook ads that put my Facebook page in front of C-level executives at specific large brands I'm targeting — it's the most cost-effective strategy I'm currently using to connect with high-level executives.
Dean Steadman, CEO of Dignity Bio Labs, says, “Facebook presents you with the ability to put yourself in front of the exact audience you want to attract. I suggest that everyone starts a public page in order to have a personal brand on the platform that is separate from your personal profile.
“Then, run ads targeting your ideal audience and set your budget to just $3 per day. This allows you to grow your personal brand on Facebook and push traffic to your website for less than $100 per month. This is an effective strategy that is affordable for all entrepreneurs.”
2. Post regular long-form content on LinkedIn.
I have seen some entrepreneurs in my inner-circle completely crush it on LinkedIn, especially in this final quarter of the year.
High quality long-form content can perform very well, helping you grow your LinkedIn audience, which you can then push to other social platforms, blogs and websites.
Becoming active on LinkedIn is something I am committed to in 2018.
“LinkedIn has seen a major increase in popularity this year, which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to be seen and heard by a very large and now active audience,” Immanuel Debeer, digital marketing manager of Flight Hacks, says. “LinkedIn always had a large user base, but now its users are engaging with content more than they did in the past.
“Rather than just repurpose content, commit to writing some long-form content exclusively for your LinkedIn profile. By turning comments into conversations, you engage with your audience and establish yourself as an authority.”
3. Participate in Twitter chats — or start your own.
Twitter used to be my favorite social media platform, and Twitter chats back in the day — especially in the online marketing industry — offered a tremendous amount of value.
Twitter's newest changes have me interested in getting active again, and participating in Twitter chats once again.
David Baddeley, director of Finance.co.uk, says, “Twitter chats were immensely popular years ago and have started to become popular one again, which I attribute to the recent increased interest in the new 280-character limit. The easiest way to find relevant Twitter chats to participate in is by following the most influential people in your industry.
“They are usually weekly events that last for 30 to 60 minutes, and feature a specific hashtag, which is how participants follow and engage with the discussion. Answering questions and providing value is an easy way to help strengthen your personal brand.”
4. Start vlogging to document your entrepreneurial journey.
Starting a daily vlog in 2018 is one of the things I'm most excited about.
I have a fun project starting soon and I can't wait to document the process.
Filming all day and then editing at night is going to require dedication, but I'm fully committed.
“Vlogs have become very popular,” says Rahe Riazi, CEO of Copperblu Media, “as mobile devices allow consumers to consume video content on the go. Entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuk and Casey Neistat are prime examples of how one can grow a massive personal brand simply by vlogging their day-to-day life.
While their results aren't typical, you can still use the same strategy to build an audience, albeit much smaller than Neistat's 8.3 million subscribers. You will need a unique angle and story, but once you figure that out, the opportunity to attract an audience and raise your personal brand is limitless.”
You can find seven more tips for personal branding in the full article from Entrepreneur.
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