At April’s Linking Out Club, we were very fortunate to have the fabulous Christine Gritmon talking about personal branding and why everyone should develop their personal brand.
So why do you need a personal brand?
If you have a job in a company, why should you have a personal brand?
* Being known
* Having control over how people view you
* Helps you change direction
If you own your own company, you need a personal brand because
‘ All things being equal, people prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust’ (Bob Burg).
Even if you have a company brand, you need to have a personal brand. Personal profiles are so important on LinkedIn – we network with other humans, not with company brands.
We all have a personal brand – these are the things that make you known.
But–
- is it a strong personal brand?
- is it the right perspective?
- Is it memorable?
If your personal brand is memorable, then all the separate interactions you have will build a picture of you as someone to know, like and trust, and ultimately, do business with.
Who are you and why should people care?
You must get clear on who you serve and how and make it easy for people to find out what you do. You should have clarity in your message about the value you bring – what is your USP?
These days, you must give value for free. If you don’t, people will go to someone who will give value. People are happy to work with you especially if you have given some value away – it demonstrates your expertise and they will want more.
What are your personal brand values? This is the prism through which you should run everything you do – to ensure alignment and continuity. When people understand your personal values, they can check that your values align with their own. This is a powerful way to attract the right clients.
Are you recognisable? How will people know that they have seen you before? What makes you stand out? It doesn’t have to be visual such as logo or brand colours, it could be content type or tone of voice. Make people think ‘Oh yes, I have seen this person before.’
Why Should People Care? – what can you do for them?
You should come from a place of always wanting to add value to any environment you are in. Bring specific value, especially value that is often missing that others do not bring.
What can people expect to see/hear if they follow you? You don’t have to be business all the time – consider creating a mix of business and personal, so people can really get to know you and build that personal relationship.
Who Do you Serve and How?
Be clear about who you are for and who are you not for. Don’t try to be all things to all people because you will be nothing to anyone.
What are their pain points? Speak to your clients and find out what their challenges are.
What information do you want them to have? Any communication that someone sees develops a picture of you. Think about what you want your potential client to know about you.
What would make them contact you directly? This is more towards the business agenda of personal branding – what makes someone take the next step after following you to make contact?
How do you want them to describe you to others? What kind of words would clients use when talking about you? Make sure that those words are infused into the interactions you have with people.
How Can They Find You?
If people cannot find you, then you don’t have a personal brand.
Be where your client is and be where you are going to shine and show up regularly. Be a part of your clients’ world.
Networking events – chose them wisely and follow up with the right people.
LI vs TW vs FB vs IG – you don’t have to be everywhere all the time. Have at least a landing spot even if you spend most of your time somewhere else. Make your pages as strong as possible so that people can see you on the platform where they hang out but they know where to go to find your main content. Go into incognito mode on your web browser and Google yourself. See where you show up when people search for you and make sure your headlines make it clear who you serve and how.
If you are in a niche where there are speciality social media platforms, chat forums and website/blogs, make sure you use these places.
Referrals – make sure that the people who know you understand who a great referral for you would be.
Take it off platform – try to connect with people in other ways, have a 121 with them or meet up for a coffee.
To connect with Christine Gritmon
On IG @cgritmon
On FB Christine Gritmon Inc
On LI Christine Gritmon
ON TW @cgritmon