Creating a social brand, personally or professionally is one of the most important things as small business owner or entrepreneur can do to boost their business. It helps people from all over thew world, or your targeted areas, get to know you on a personal level while building up a social network.
Below are 5 steps you can take to build a strong social network:
Write a blog and create content regularly – Content rules all. Please understand that. Creating original content can do things for your brand that you never thought were possible. Think you’re in a niche that doesn’t allow for much news or commentary? You’re just not thinking out of the box enough. The best way to establish yourself as an expert in your niche is to write about it — anything about it — regularly and promote it through your social media channels. It may take some time for your content to catch on and find the right people, but when it does, you’ll be amazed at the results.
Provide value to your niche – This goes hand-in-hand with the first tip, but providing value can really help you establish your brand in social media. Again, think outside the box. Take a look at your competitors and take note of what they’re doing. Then, take note of what they’re not doing. Is there a space you can fill in where they’ve left a void? I bet there is. That’s where value comes from. It’s creating something or providing information no one else can. Who knows your brand, company or industry better than you? No one. If you believe you can create content your friends, followers and fans can’t find anywhere else, you’re on your way to providing great value.Get on specialty sites and network – LinkedIn is a great tool to build your brand since it’s all about the professional side of the social world. Create a profile, fill everything out as best you can and — this is very important — start networking like crazy. Find other people in your niche, send them an e-mail and introduce yourself. You can create great, long-lasting professional relationships on LinkedIn by just taking a few simple steps. Want to go even further? Visit a site like Brand-Yourself.com and try their branding services. Brand-Yourself is a growing social space that walks you through building your personal brand step-by-step. I highly recommend giving them a look.
Leave your logo behind – I’ve mentioned this before in previous posts, but I think it’s so important and a mistake that a lot of companies make. Step out from behind your logo. Social media is about personality, not your really cool logo. There’s a place for your logo, but it isn’t as the identity of your social space (i.e., your profile picture or avatar). Find someone with a great personality in your company — hopefully that’s you — and let them become the face of your brand. We made this change on our Twitter page and the results were immediate. People can identify with a person. They have a hard time identifying and making a connection with a logo. Take advantage of this advice.
Stand out where you can – So you might be saying to yourself, “I’ve got this really great logo. Where can I use it?” Good question, and like I said, there’s a place for it. If you’ve got a Twitter page (and if you don’t, you really should), creating a custom background for your page is really advantageous. If you’ve got Photoshop and some design skills, you’ve got more options open to you. If your design chops leave a bit to be desired, there are some great sites out there that will help you.
The goal is to dominate in social media and not let your competitors be the only voices heard in your industry.
Have you already started taking steps to build your brand socially?
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