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Why Meetings Are The Best Place To Build Your Personal Brand—If You Develop The Right Mindset

May 24, 2023 No Comments

Personal branding is about authentically delivering value to the people you seek to influence, inspire and impact. One of the best places to do that is in meetings. In fact, meetings (both in-person and virtual) are among the most powerful ways to build your brand and advance your career, when you actively engage in them. That’s because:

The people you seek to impact and influence are there

Many of the people you need to impress so you can keep you career moving upward are right there, face to face or on Zoom. It’s the place to showcase your work and talk about the unique contributions you make to your team or a project.

Meetings take you out of your solo world

Delivering value that’s invisible will not catapult your to career new heights. Everyone’s busy. You can’t expect your boss and other influential people to be actively figuring out what you’re doing every day. Meetings bring your value out of the shadows.

You learn what’s going on

Meetings are learning opportunities. They often provide context, important details and sometimes valuable insights—all of which can be helpful to your success and make your contributions more impactful. You also learn things that have nothing to do with the project at hand—like who the boss chose for the new team member—but are important for you to know.

You build connection and relationships with your peers

It’s hard to build a relationship via email, texting or Slack. Meetings let you connect more deeply and bolster relationships with key stakeholders. Relationships are built through multiple consistent touchpoints. Meetings are among the most meaningful touchpoints.

Meetings let you showcase your expertise

That doesn’t mean bragging. It means demonstrating what makes you exceptional. Meetings let you make your mark and reinforce your brand differentiation. By actively participating (not multitasking) and sharing your ideas and opinions, you show your knowledge and point-of-view.

You demonstrate your communication skills

Meetings provide the forum for articulating your ideas clearly and concisely (and in a branded way—with humor or structure or data). Solid communication skills make you look confident. And by actively listening and participating (no checking your email!), you show respect for your colleagues and let people know you are interested.

Meetings provide a forum for acknowledging others publicly

Everyone wants to be recognized for their contributions. Acknowledging others and expressing gratitude is fuel to those around you. And when you do this in meetings, in front of a group, it’s more like rocket fuel.

You can get feedback

Feedback is essential if you want to learn and advance your career. Meetings provide a forum for others to provide candid actionable input you can use to refine what you do and how you do it.

You demonstrate that you are a leader

Meetings are places where decision makers identify emerging leaders—those who demonstrate leadership skills without holding the title. When you take an active role in meetings, you demonstrate your leadership and collaboration skills and get on the radar of those who have the power to promote you.

You enhance your credibility and likability

By actively participating in meetings and providing valuable input and unique insights, you build your credibility as an expert in your field. The way your deliver your input and interact with other meeting participants can make you likable. Strong personal brands sit at the intersection of likability and credibility.

Make meetings matter. Be deliberate in the way you participate in meetings so you can stand out, grow your brand and advance your career.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By William Arruda

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

I’m a personal branding pioneer, motivational speaker, founder of Reach Personal Branding and cofounder of CareerBlast.TV. I’m also the bestselling author of the definitive books on executive branding: Digital YOU, Ditch.Dare. Do! and Career Distinction. I’m passionate about how personal branding can inspire career-minded professionals to become indispensable, influential and incredibly happy at work—and I teach my clients (major global brands and 20% of the Fortune 100) to increase their success by infusing personal branding into their cultures. Here’s a fun fact: I have the distinct privilege of having delivered more personal branding keynotes to more people, in more countries, than anyone on earth.

Sourced from Forbes

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12 Killer LinkedIn Profile Examples to Inspire You to Update Your Own

January 6, 2023 No Comments

By Neal Schaffer

LinkedIn is a paradise for many types of business professionals, and if you are not finding success on the platform, it might just come down to your personal branding as manifested in your LinkedIn profile. I hope to inspire you to revise your profile by showcasing some standout LinkedIn profile examples.

Since LinkedIn is a great place to find a job or recruit a new employee, everyone on LinkedIn should have a profile that gives their experience and qualifications, which makes it easy to identify opportunities. Likewise, people in sales use LinkedIn to find sales prospects and decision-makers.

Of course, people don’t only use LinkedIn to locate immediate opportunities. Instead, it’s a place for networking and relationship building. Then, when the time comes, professionals have a network they can rely on for help. This could be a job, help fill a position or even a sale.

With that said, LinkedIn wouldn’t be a powerful tool if people didn’t have high-quality profiles to represent themselves online. Here are some tips to create a great profile, and some LinkedIn profile examples to inspire you.

What’s a LinkedIn Profile?

A LinkedIn profile is a LinkedIn member’s page, where they have a picture, career goals, and other material. In other words, it’s like a business card or personal website but with a social media twist. LinkedIn calls the profile a “professional landing page” because it’s supposed to be the first impression people have of you on the platform. Often, this is the “actual” first impression because LinkedIn introduces a lot of people who’ve never met in person.

Why Should You Update Your LinkedIn Profile?

Updating your LinkedIn profile makes sure that your profile accurately reflects your professional life. People go through a lot of transitions, both personally and professionally, over the years. By keeping your profile updated, you’ll make it easier to meet the right people, find the right opportunities online, and put your best foot forward.

Here’s an example. Especially during a recession, lots of people look for new opportunities. They might go get a degree or new certification, get laid off, or decide a new career is their best bet. Some people even start a business or retire early. In turn, their goals and needs on LinkedIn change. If someone switches from recruiting to operational management in another company or industry, they won’t need to find recruiting candidates anymore. Or, a person starting a business might need new employees. Either way, their LinkedIn profiles should reflect the job changes.

The Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile

It’s difficult to talk about the best LinkedIn profile examples without talking about what makes them great. After all, some profiles are more effective than others. In addition, LinkedIn profiles can be quite different depending on the member, whether that’s related to their career, their personal goals, or individual branding. With that said, here are some “must haves” for a good profile.

Professional Profile Photo

Having a professional picture is important because profiles with photos are 14 times more likely to be viewed. Besides this, a great picture helps you introduce yourself, especially in an era where there are fewer in-person meetings than there used to be. Therefore, a nice profile picture also helps people recognize you when they meet or see you at some in-person event.

However, you should always use a full-focus photo, and it needs to be a close-up shot. This isn’t where you use special effects or a blurry, poorly focused selfie that you adapted from Instagram. Remember, your LinkedIn profile picture is part of what provides a good (or not so good) first impression.

Besides the need for clarity and professionalism, you’ll need these parameters:

PNG or JPG file, because this is what LinkedIn requires.
LinkedIn recommends a square photo shape of 400 x 400 pixels. You can get this by cropping a rectangular picture to showcase your smiling face.
Generally, you’ll want a file size under 8 MB, though you can go larger if needed.

In other words, choose a small, high-resolution photo that has a relatively small file size. These parameters will get you the best results. Otherwise, the photo might not look nice once it’s posted online.

Cover Photo or Background Picture

This is the picture or graphic that you see at the top of someone’s profile, and it’s a great opportunity to make a splash. Generally, I recommend something that promotes a professional accomplishment or other parts of your online presence. For instance, you can promote a portfolio of work, a website, free resources, books you’ve written, or client testimonials.

These aren’t as difficult to make as you might think. A graphics editing tool like Canva can help you create awesome content for social media. You can use several design elements with this tool and others, offering the opportunity to create something special.

Finally, your cover photo should always reinforce your personal brand. While most people are used to a personal brand when job hunting, in the social media age you should project your brand whenever possible. Ideally, people will see you as a go-to person when they need what you have to offer.

A Brief, Powerful Profile Headline

A great headline is one of the most important elements of great profiles, and you’ll see some of our LinkedIn profile examples highlight this element. One reason for this high level of importance is that the headline text gets shown in search results within LinkedIn and Google SERPs. This means that your profile will get discovered more easily if you have a great headline. Plus, a good headline can help you edge out the competition for that often-critical profile view.

Technically speaking, a headline can be difficult to write. That’s because the headline is limited to 120 characters long, so you need to say it quickly. Be sure to include your industry-related keywords, skills, and interests.

Summary or the About Section

Next, there’s the summary. This is the piece of text below your headline, and it allows for more detail about why you’re special. When people click through your headline and see your profile, they are often on the fence about following up, especially if they are looking for an opportunity more than a particular person (you). The job of your summary or about section is to convince people to contact you.

12 Killer LinkedIn Profile Examples to Inspire You to Update Your Own

Even the best LinkedIn profile tips can be hard to follow if you don’t have some examples. After all, these examples can help you understand the best way to apply the tips. In addition, some inspiration is always useful when you’re writing an expressive piece like this. Here are some of the best LinkedIn profile examples I could find. Each of these can give you some inspiration to write a killer profile yourself.

1. String Nguyen

Why is this profile great? At first, her profile immediately grabs your attention. You can tell she is an artist at heart (her qualifications bear this out) and that she’s both unique and motivated. However, this is also one of our better LinkedIn profile examples because of its technical excellence.

Her headline precisely describes what she does. The string is a serial entrepreneur and creative who makes plenty of money helping other people create wealth (while doing it herself).
She uses emojis to make her message more memorable. For instance, since her name is String, she inserts violins (stringed instruments) in several places.
Presents a captivating story about her roller coaster ride from a “KFC Chick to building a multi-million brand.” That includes working a 9-5 job in a conventional career and deciding it wasn’t for her.
Uses self-deprecating humour: “I could have won Forbes 30 under 30, and I asked: “thanks for recognizing my skills, will I win an award for looking under 30?” They lol’d and said no. ” Somebody who talks like this is generally a competent person who doesn’t let success get to their head.
Is inspirational – “If a KFC chick can do it, so can you. ” In other words, String knows what she wants, and will work hard to achieve it. This is very attractive to many employers and potential business partners.

2. Laszlo Block

Laszlo is actually a prominent business leader, having served as an executive at Google. However, he left Google to start a new business that takes a more humane approach to human resources. This need for humanity in HR is deeply felt by many within the business community.

Why is this a great profile?

Besides checking on all boxes, what stands out is the summary section of Laszlo. In five succinct paragraphs, Laszlo weaves his professional story by highlighting his accomplishments and achievements while he was at Google. Then, he talks about his current activities.
Then, Laszlo gives you a reason to connect with him on a human level: he has a world record for Greek Syrtaki dance which reveals his personal passion. Of course, choosing this particular fun fact helps paint a picture of someone who knows how to relax and have fun.

3. Lalaina Rabary

Among the LinkedIn profile examples we’ve discussed so far, Lalaina’s profile is the most conventional. She tells you what she’s like in simple terms, but doesn’t use humor or fun facts to make herself out. It’s all business.

Why is this profile great?

Her simple background image is impactful because it uses simple symbolism to define her personal brand. In addition, she wears an outfit for her profile picture that’s the same color as her background image, boosting the brand message.
Reading her summary, you can easily see her passion for her job: She loves it and finds her work very satisfying.
She ties the messaging of her background photo as well as the passion for her job together in a convincing way to understand her mission, “to help others discover and nurture the leader within,” in a very memorable way.
Lalaina lists her volunteer work, which also helps support her personal brand as someone who dreams big with heart.

4. Ted Schachter

Ted is someone who’s spent a lot of his career in academia. Nowadays, he teaches marketing and communications to the next generation while staying active in the business.

Why is this a great profile?

Note the consistent branding of his glasses, from his background photo to his profile photo to the emoji in his name. Even better, he tries to use glasses on his profile that are similar to the ones in his photograph. Makes me wonder if similar frames are part of his signature look.
Ted uses the Featured section smartly to showcase a New York Times article in which he is quoted. Because the New York Times is a well-respected publication, being quoted there is often prestigious.
He clearly spells out his experiences in a succinct manner in his summary, including numbers so that we can better understand the scale of his many accomplishments. In other words, as someone who’s always looking for additional opportunities (Ted wears many hats), he makes it easy to see what value he can bring.

5. Beth Kanter

Beth specializes in helping non-profits navigate the digital age, including through a digital transformation. She also helps them reach out to donors and other stakeholders. Her goal is to keep non-profits focused on their human mission even with technology.

Why is this profile great?

Beth uses a mix of powerful keywords in her headline to convey that not only is she an innovator in the non-profit world for which she is best known. Beth is also known for both digital transformation and workplace wellbeing, creating a truly unique and compelling brand.
Beth speaks to us directly in her summary where she talks about the questions that have guided her career, leaving a lasting impression on the reader of her passion for serving others.
At the end of her summary, she not only talks about her past books but also about her present research, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, about Artificial Intelligence and Scaling Generosity. Talking about her sponsored research ties her branding together in a very concise and powerful way.

6. Neil Patel

Neil is a world-famous marketer and technology person that lectures all over the world and owns an agency.

Why is this profile great?

If you searched Google for anything related to marketing, chances are that you have come across Neil Patel. His profile reflects the wide circulation of his work.
Neil’s got a professional profile photo and his cover photo lists his expertise in different aspects of digital marketing that reinforce his personal brand.
The summary section outlines his achievements, including being recognized by President Obama. He says all of this without bragging or coming across as arrogant.

7. Pam Moore

Pam is another veteran marketer, and she’s had a recent job change.

Why is this profile perfect?

Pam has a nice picture that looks like it came straight out of a magazine and was probably taken by a professional. Besides this great picture, Pam has a cover photo of a foot race. That picture piques the viewer’s interest because there isn’t anything else about running on her profile.
Her headline has a list of keywords that describe exactly who she is. As a result, you not only know why you should contact Pam, but the keywords help her profile show up on a lot of searches.
Pam’s summary is quite elaborate, but without being overbearing. In other words, you can quickly see her many accomplishments.
She has a very complete profile, with information that includes courses, projects, honors, and awards.

8. Anthony Gioeli

Anthony is another marketer, and he specializes in the AI space. Overall, his profile is very down-to-earth and businesslike, without any humor.

Why is this profile great?

Anthony has a well-rounded profile with a clear focus on his key accomplishments. This way, you can see at a glance what he can do for your company.
He uses bullet points to highlight his most important points, so busy readers can extract the important information quickly.
There is an ample amount of endorsed skills and recommendations, which adds to social proof.
Anthony includes a link to his publication. This way, you can buy the book but also connect the man and the author.

9. Elise Micheals

Elise has a sales background, but she’s turned her skills into a new career: coaching.

What’s awesome about this profile?

Elise’s profile picture has a video behind it if you click. The video message makes her likable and approachable instantly, which is especially important for someone in her field.
Her banner image precisely says what she does – Coaching, specifically for men. She also helps men push past their failures and work through what’s holding them back.
The headline clearly states what problem she solves, how she does it, and for whom.
Elise’s summary uses bulleted lists to outline the problems and solutions she offers, being more specific than her headline.
As a professional coach, she has listed all her licenses and certifications to establish credibility.

10. Jay Baer

Jay is a superstar marketer for Convince and Convert, as well as a conference speaker and writer. However, that doesn’t mean that his profile has to be boring. Far from it.

Why is this profile incredible?

Jay has a great headshot that makes one want to know more about him. In particular, his smile is friendly and engaging.
A branded cover photo shows off his skill set and his tagline while remaining minimalist.
Jay’s headline is precise and punchy so you’ll remember it easily.
The opening lines of his summary are to the point and give an immediate impression of his expertise in marketing.

11. Juhli Selby

Juhli is a trainer who specializes in teaching small businesses to do marketing. Her practice focuses on social media techniques.

What is good about this profile?

Juhli uses a very inviting profile photo combined with her background photo to almost personally welcome us into her backyard in British Columbia. For someone who works with small business owners, this is highly effective because SMBs thrive on personal relationships.
Her headline is equally inviting, not just in making it clear as to what her specialties are, but also that she is about building relationships online and connecting with opportunity. In other words, Juhli pitches herself as approachable.
She continues this welcoming environment by featuring her women’s business networking LinkedIn Live replays. Of course, it’s also a great example of simple content marketing.
Finally, her profile summary begins by focusing on her passion ”to help get more positive voices online” and ends with her real-life passions, humanizing her profile and truly completing a welcoming presence on LinkedIn.

12. Anthony English

Anthony is a business coach, but he also has a heavy IT background. This makes him a multifaceted professional with a diverse point of view. In this profile, Anthony emphasizes coaching because he runs a business doing it.

Why does this profile rock?

In the headline, he talks about someone named Rachel who charges what she’s worth. This is bound to immediately pique your interest. It also tells what problem he solves for people: not knowing what they are worth professionally, and how to ask for it.
You will never see another about section like this one. It tells a fictional story about Rachel who is struggling with imposter syndrome. The story is relatable because it talks about the struggles and aspirations of his target audience: small business owners.
The summary also has a clever CTA that subtly nudges the reader to connect with him – “Do you know a Rachel? She probably wants to connect with me.” Best of all, the CTA drives home his point that someone who is stuck in a rut business-wise needs a coach like him.

LinkedIn Profile Examples Conclusion

Writing a killer LinkedIn profile is important for professionals. After all, LinkedIn these days is more than a resume site. Instead, it’s a place where professionals build their personal brands and look for new opportunities. I hope that these LinkedIn profile examples have helped you to see where your own profile is great, and where it might be lacking.

By Neal Schaffer

Neal Schaffer is an authority on helping innovative businesses digitally transform their sales and marketing. Founder of the digital marketing consultancy PDCA Social, Neal currently serves as a Fractional CMO to several companies. He also teaches at Rutgers Business School and the Irish Management Institute. Fluent in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, Neal is a popular keynote speaker and has spoken on four continents in more than a dozen countries. He is also the author of 4 sales and marketing books, including Maximize Your Social (Wiley) and the recently published The Age of Influence (HarperCollins Leadership), a ground-breaking book redefining digital influence. Check out Neal’s Maximize Your Social Influence podcast for marketing inspiration.

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3 Questions That Will Improve Your Personal Brand

December 6, 2022 No Comments

By Zach Benson

Entrepreneurs have long been quick to adopt new marketing trends, and personal branding is no exception.

Personal branding has finally become something that most entrepreneurs have accepted as a must-do. Thanks to Elon Musk, Gary Vaynerchuk, and other public-facing founders, more business owners are hopping on the personal branding train and making an effort to put a face to their companies.

The problem is most entrepreneurs are throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. If you want to build a personal brand that helps your business’s bottom line, you need to be intentional with how you show up.

And no, that doesn’t mean picking out the perfect filter for your Instagram grid or paying for thousands of fake followers to “look” important.

After helping entrepreneurs in all industries step into the spotlight and grow a personal brand people buy from, there are three non-negotiable questions you must ask yourself before getting started. (If you’ve already been trying to grow your personal brand for some time — don’t worry. Take a moment now, ask yourself these questions, and notice the gaps in your strategy that might be stalling your growth).

1. What kind of impression do you want to leave?

Modern-day personal branding is like going to an event, meeting someone new for the first time, and finding yourself talking about them a month later because something about them got etched so deeply in your brain.

When you leave the room at a party (i.e., when you finish having an interaction with an ideal client):

What do you want them to take away?
What do you hope they remember?
What do you want your target market to associate you with?
How do you want to be remembered?

These questions all fall under the same roof: defining what kind of impression you want to make on your target audience. By answering these questions, you create (or recreate) the foundation of your personal brand. Without the proper foundation, the house can’t be built.

2. How do you want to make people feel?

Continuing from question one, we’re taking it one step further. While most entrepreneurs on social media spend their time making sure their personal brand “looks” a certain way, they forget that’s not ultimately what makes someone buy.

People buy from you because of how you make them feel.

All humans make their buying decisions based on emotion. We buy with emotion and justify with logic. To grow your personal brand, you must clarify how you want to make people feel at the core. Think about your target audience and how you want them to feel after they come in contact with your personal brand.

Do you want them to feel:

Empowered?
Brave?
Confident?
Relaxed?
Energized?
Calm?

After you answer this question, you will have the creative clarity to craft a content strategy that shares one common goal: to make people feel a certain way.

Gary Vaynerchuk is a shining example of this. His personal brand’s biggest objective is to help people feel empowered and in control. Every single piece of content he puts out aims to help his target audience feel capable of creating a life they truly love.

3. Am I willing to let my audience in?

Here’s the hard truth: today’s biggest, most widely known personal brands are the ones who take their audiences behind the scens. In other words, if you are serious about growing a personal brand that people not only love — but buy from — you need to be willing to connect with your audience on a human level consistently.

While this can be done in various ways, the easiest way is to tell your story. Instead of the company’s story — tell your story. Show your audience who you were before you were a leader. Show your audience what you overcame to build your company and bring your vision to reality. Show your audience that you’re so much more than your title, and show them that you’re a human just like them.

This doesn’t mean you need to tell all of your deepest darkest secrets. It means you need to decide what things you’re comfortable sharing with your audience from your personal life.

For example, some CEOs share everything from their quirky hobbies outside of work to their family, their kids and numerous other hats they wear. In contrast, others prefer to share only one or two different components of what makes them.

The most important thing to remember is that what works for someone else doesn’t have to be the way you do it. You get to let your audience in whichever way feels most authentic and aligned for you.

As long as you aren’t hiding behind your title, accomplishments and computer, you’re one step closer to building a personal brand that grows your business’ impact and income.

By Zach Benson

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

3 Questions That Will Improve Your Personal Brand

November 23, 2022 No Comments

By Zach Benson

Entrepreneurs have long been quick to adopt new marketing trends, and personal branding is no exception.

Personal branding has finally become something that most entrepreneurs have accepted as a must-do. Thanks to Elon Musk, Gary Vaynerchuk, and other public-facing founders, more business owners are hopping on the personal branding train and making an effort to put a face to their companies.

The problem is most entrepreneurs are throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. If you want to build a personal brand that helps your business’s bottom line, you need to be intentional with how you show up.

And no, that doesn’t mean picking out the perfect filter for your Instagram grid or paying for thousands of fake followers to “look” important.

After helping entrepreneurs in all industries step into the spotlight and grow a personal brand people buy from, there are three non-negotiable questions you must ask yourself before getting started. (If you’ve already been trying to grow your personal brand for some time — don’t worry. Take a moment now, ask yourself these questions, and notice the gaps in your strategy that might be stalling your growth).

1. What kind of impression do you want to leave?

Modern-day personal branding is like going to an event, meeting someone new for the first time, and finding yourself talking about them a month later because something about them got etched so deeply in your brain.

When you leave the room at a party (i.e., when you finish having an interaction with an ideal client):

What do you want them to take away?
What do you hope they remember?
What do you want your target market to associate you with?
How do you want to be remembered?

These questions all fall under the same roof: defining what kind of impression you want to make on your target audience. By answering these questions, you create (or recreate) the foundation of your personal brand. Without the proper foundation, the house can’t be built.

2. How do you want to make people feel?

Continuing from question one, we’re taking it one step further. While most entrepreneurs on social media spend their time making sure their personal brand “looks” a certain way, they forget that’s not ultimately what makes someone buy.

People buy from you because of how you make them feel.

All humans make their buying decisions based on emotion. We buy with emotion and justify with logic. To grow your personal brand, you must clarify how you want to make people feel at the core. Think about your target audience and how you want them to feel after they come in contact with your personal brand.

Do you want them to feel:

Empowered?
Brave?
Confident?
Relaxed?
Energized?
Calm?

After you answer this question, you will have the creative clarity to craft a content strategy that shares one common goal: to make people feel a certain way.

Gary Vaynerchuk is a shining example of this. His personal brand’s biggest objective is to help people feel empowered and in control. Every single piece of content he puts out aims to help his target audience feel capable of creating a life they truly love.

3. Am I willing to let my audience in?

Here’s the hard truth: today’s biggest, most widely known personal brands are the ones who take their audiences behind the scenes. In other words, if you are serious about growing a personal brand that people not only love — but buy from — you need to be willing to connect with your audience on a human level consistently.

While this can be done in various ways, the easiest way is to tell your story. Instead of the company’s story — tell your story. Show your audience who you were before you were a leader. Show your audience what you overcame to build your company and bring your vision to reality. Show your audience that you’re so much more than your title, and show them that you’re a human just like them.

This doesn’t mean you need to tell all of your deepest darkest secrets. It means you need to decide what things you’re comfortable sharing with your audience from your personal life.

For example, some CEOs share everything from their quirky hobbies outside of work to their family, their kids and numerous other hats they wear. In contrast, others prefer to share only one or two different components of what makes them.

The most important thing to remember is that what works for someone else doesn’t have to be the way you do it. You get to let your audience in whichever way feels most authentic and aligned for you.

As long as you aren’t hiding behind your title, accomplishments and computer, you’re one step closer to building a personal brand that grows your business’ impact and income.

By Zach Benson

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

5 Steps For Building A Personal Brand As A Web3 Founder

October 25, 2022 No Comments

By Himanshu Bisht

Personal branding is essential for any entrepreneur, but it’s especially important in the world of Web3. With blockchain technology estimated to grow exponentially in the coming years, thought leadership in this space can offer a big advantage to founders and builders.

In my experience helping Web3 entrepreneurs build successful brands and creating my own niche presence, there is one common pattern I have found: People follow people. They don’t follow lifeless company logos and brands. Perhaps this is why more and more founders are spending significant time building their personal brands now.

Personal Branding Myths Busted

Personal branding is often seen as narcissistic and self-indulgent. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Personal branding is one of the most effective marketing tools available, and it’s a key driver of success for entrepreneurs.

A personal brand is not about having millions of followers. It’s about authority, trustworthiness and relatability. It’s about building a genuine fan base that appreciates your content and looks up to you as a thought leader in your space.

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of personal branding for entrepreneurs in Web3.

My 5 Steps For Building A Personal Brand As A Web3 Founder

1. Define Your Niche

The first step to building a personal brand as a founder is getting clarity. Be precise about what you’re passionate about and what you want to be known for. This will help you attract the right followers and build a personal brand that is unique and authentic.

Remember, personal branding is a two-way road. Whether you want to talk about DeFi, or you are more excited to talk about cryptocurrency, it is important to choose a topic that you are interested in talking about and is something people want to hear about.

2. Choose Your Social Media Platform

Social media is a powerful tool for personal branding. In fact, most of the Web3 audience is hanging out either on LinkedIn or Twitter (also known as “crypto Twitter”). By being active on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium, you can reach a wider audience and share your ideas with the world.

3. Create Content That Educates And Entertains

Once you’ve defined your personal brand and chosen your platform, it’s time to start creating content—but not just any content. Make sure your content is engaging, informative and entertaining.

The best personal brands are built on a foundation of great content. If you can consistently produce high-quality content that educates and entertains your audience, you’ll be well on your way to building a personal brand that people know and trust.

4. Attend Web3-Specific Industry Events

Your personal branding journey doesn’t stop at content creation. To really take your personal brand to the next level, get out there and meet people face to face. And what better way to do that than by attending Web3-specific industry events?

By attending events and networking with key players in the space, you’ll not only gain valuable insights, but you’ll also make important connections that can help you further your personal brand.

5. Collaborate With Other Thought Leaders In The Industry

As you start building your personal brand, it can be helpful to collaborate with other thought leaders in the industry. You can do this through guest blogging, co-hosting events or even just engaging in thoughtful debates on social media.

Not only will collaborating with other thought leaders help you further refine your personal brand, but it will also help you reach a wider audience and solidify your position as a thought leader in the space.

Final Thoughts

For Web3 founders, there are big advantages to building a personal brand and providing thought leadership in the space. In fact, these are key factors in attracting the right investors, customers and followers when you are starting something new from scratch.

By following the steps outlined above, you can start building a personal brand that will help you attract your desired audience. So what are you waiting for? Get started today.

Feature Image Credit: getty

By Himanshu Bisht

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Himanshu Bisht is an experienced startup marketing expert. He helps entrepreneurs build impactful companies & powerful personal brands. Read Himanshu Bisht’s full executive profile here

Sourced from Forbes

In News

Why Personal Branding for Women Is More Important Than Ever

May 4, 2022 No Comments

By Lakesha Cole

The pandemic resulted in a disproportionate number of lost jobs for women, which is why their need to self-brand effectively is uniquely critical.

You keep saying that you want to show up differently, gain authority in your industry, get booked on national TV, grow your business, speak on a big stage or confidently apply for that six-figure job. But as you’re reading this, does your online presence reflect that?

If you’ve ever tried to grow your personal brand from the ground up, you know that it can be intimidating, but right now and more than ever before, it is vital for women.

American working women took some major hits during the pandemic. Before 2020, they made up more than of the workforce, a percentage not expected to return until 2024. It was a rough year, to say the least, and we had to make some tough decisions. Many women saw their lives briskly transformed by stay-at-home orders, school closures and the onset of remote work. When child care centers closed, hundreds of thousands of working mothers lost their jobs, requiring an overwhelmingly larger number of women versus men to stay home and prioritize family needs.

Now that it’s time to return to the workforce, women must establish a personal brand. Whether you are looking to find a new job, get a promotion or create a competitive advantage, it’s imperative that you now represent the best version of who you are online — showcase what you do, what you stand for and what you do believe in.

What is personal branding anyway?

Put simply, this term refers to how you present your unique combination of skillsets, experience and personality, as well as your perspectives. Jeff Bezos famously quipped that personal branding is “…what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” That can be a paralyzing thought; what are the lasting feelings that people around you feel when you’re no longer in their presence?

We tend to associate the concept of a well-crafted brand with major corporations, but that can’t be further from the truth. In this digital age, where we are the product, it has become a critical ingredient to success — on both the personal and professional fronts.

The truth is, you have all of the power to design how the world sees you, and by extension your professional brand. You have everything you need, both visual and written, to usher new energy into whatever space you occupy (or want to occupy). Whether you’re an intrapreneur aiming for a six-figure promotion, the founder of a non-profit or a self-employed Etsy designer wanting to share genius with the world, crafting a strong and authentic personal brand is the differentiator — the key to securing more interviews, being considered for more opportunities and giving people around you a memorable sense of who you are. A personal brand puts you in control of your next career move and helps you attract the employer you want, not just the one who will have you back.

Why it’s crucial for female entrepreneurs

Before the pandemic hit, perhaps your career path was a little blurry or non-traditional. These times have changed everyone, including giving us time to reflect on values and passions. Struggles highlighted our strengths and what set us apart from others. For many, the pandemic provided clarity concerning which goals they wanted to continue to pursue, which ones to let go of and where a broader purpose might lie. All of the above make up who you are. This introspection will help you truly thrive, and is the key to crafting a personal brand story. When you weave it into branding, you alert others to what you desire and expect in your next career move, as well as what they can expect from you.

What is the story you want people to tell when you walk out of the room? That message you leave behind — that is your brand. Eventually, if done correctly, it becomes more than a career or a business; it becomes your legacy. Whether you’ve decided to return to the same field, start your own business or perhaps run for political office, creating a strong brand will help elevate all goals.

Building a personal brand post-pandemic

As lockdowns and other restrictions unfolded, the world became a little more savvy and dependent on technology. We all got a crash course in video chats, remote work or education and certainly increased online activity overall, including possibly Googling a few new people who crossed our social feeds. That same level of online curiosity will continue as people emerge from being homebound, seek out new relationships and try to reconnect with old ones.

According the Pew Research Center, 31% of U.S. adults report being online almost constantly now. So clearly, an online presence impacts our day-to-day lives, whether we are looking at the screen or producing content for others to find. What we each put out into the digital world makes an impact. By building a personal brand online, you attract the type of people, employers and relationships you desire, while also telling the world what you won’t stand for. It sets clear boundaries and expectations and lets the world know what your presence, ideologies and work ethic bring to the table.

Such a digital footprint is, in fact, the first impression most employers, future relationships and potential clients will see, so how you make it is more important than ever before.

People buy from people first, and that will never change, and they don’t connect with stories that don’t resonate. If they can’t connect with you, they will likely not care to purchase from you, either. Your personal brand is that connection.

So, does your online brand reflect your inner brand? Have you created an online presence that you can be proud of? The better you present that unique you online, the more straightforward your path forward will be. When done right, it encompasses story, vision and purpose and keeps an audience loyal and committed, no matter where life takes you.

By Lakesha Cole

Sourced from Entrepreneur

In News

4 Pointers To Help You Get Hired In The Post-Pandemic Era

August 27, 2021 No Comments

By William Arruda

“Help Wanted” signs are everywhere, and they’re not going away anytime soon. A shortage of workers is gripping the nation: April saw a new record of 9.3 million open positions.

As employers struggle to fill critical roles, the time is ripe for you to pursue your dream career. Just remember that you still have competition. Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, says the business world is entering a “great resignation,” as more and more workers seek to switch jobs.

What does this mean for you? If you’re interested in starting post-pandemic life in a new position, don’t wait. The most coveted roles with the most in-demand benefits (yes, including remote work) are likely to attract hundreds of qualified applicants. You have to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Here’s how:

1. Highlight transferable job skills on your résumé.

According to Isaiah Hankel, founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist, today’s employers are less worried about highly specific skills. “You might have been told to tailor your résumé for each role you apply for, but from what I’ve seen, that strategy won’t work in 2021,” Hankel says in his recent article for Harvard Business Review. “Many companies are nervous about hiring more specialized candidates because they’re unsure what the business landscape will look like after the pandemic. To show you are adaptable, generalize the skills on your résumé into three main areas: systems-oriented, people-oriented, and self-oriented.”

A study by global staffing firm Robert Half found that 84% of companies are willing to hire and then train candidates who might not meet specific job requirements. Considering 62% of employees reported landing a position they weren’t qualified for, it appears companies are largely being honest about their intentions.

2. Focus on personal branding by updating your online presence.

Anne Pryor, a Reach-certified personal branding strategist shares my passion for urging all applicants to spend time working on their digital personal brand. “Regardless of the current economic climate, it’s absolutely critical for all professionals in job search mode to understand their unique promise of value and be able to express it in the virtual world,” Pryor says.

Today, your personal brand is intrinsically tied to your online presence. In fact, your first impression will be delivered online. A study by CareerBuilder indicates that 58% of employers use social media to verify candidates’ qualifications—and 50% see a professional online presence as a reassuring sign of a candidate’s potential. Tailor your profile on broad networking platforms like LinkedIn and other mediums that fit your desired position or industry. An established GitHub profile, for example, can cement your status as a software engineer.

3. Go beyond the traditional résumé format.

Remember when a résumé had to fit on a single page with your entire work history neatly organized in chronological order? As proof that these formats have gone out the window, check out TikTok Résumés. The popular video-sharing platform is partnering with companies like Chipotle, Shopify and Target to invite job seekers to apply for in-demand positions.

Today, your imagination is the only thing limiting what form your résumé can take. A video résumé might be a great way to show off your visual work if you’re applying for a role as a videographer, graphic designer, or illustrator. If you’re looking for a job as an accountant, make a résumé in Excel that shows off your highly relevant knowledge of complex or obscure formulas. One student applying for a position at Spotify even made a playlist-themed résumé—and it’s fantastic.

4. Use stories to convey experience during the interview.

Storytelling isn’t just an interesting way to convey information. Research indicates stories can be 22 times more memorable than facts on their own. When hiring managers think back to interviews with dozens or even hundreds of different candidates, your ability to tell a story will make you and your experience stand out from the crowd.

Lily Zhang, a career counsellor at the MIT Media Lab, understands the power of a compelling story. “A good place to start when preparing your narrative for a particular interview is to figure out what main points—personal experiences, skills or qualities—you want to get across to show the interviewer you’re right for this job,” Zhang advises. “Then, look for opportunities to tie these points together in a cohesive way and find supporting stories from your work experience that back these points up. Connecting your career story to the job you’re applying for to create a bigger narrative is the goal.”

If you’ve been thinking about applying for a new job, now might be a good time. But the abundance of opportunities shouldn’t make you feel complacent. Instead of relying on a cookie-cutter approach, make yourself stand out by incorporating these four key ingredients. After all, effective personal branding is about authenticity and differentiation.

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By William Arruda

William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and creator of the LinkedIn Profile Type Indicator (LPTI) which measures your LinkedIn profile likability and credibility. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Sourced from Forbes

In News

How To Double Down on Personal Branding in 2021

May 26, 2021 No Comments

By Julian Paul

A proven 3-step approach to personal branding

Recently I took the Marketing New Realities and the Personal Brand class by the great

as part of my MSc High Tech Entrepreneurship at

. There were many brilliant concepts covered. But the core centered around how the world increasingly emphasizes this fact: A brand’s credibility and existence now rely on what customers say and do rather than what the brand wants them to do.

Before going into my three main takeaways, let me share two case studies I felt were quite impactful to myself and the broader class.

The North Face — Question Madness

The North Face video ad campaign with extreme athletes as the stars. YouTube

What an ad! This campaign portrays the uncomfortable and scary truths. Something not often seen from big brands… pain and broken bones are ugly, but they define the daily lives of extreme athletes. The North Face knows this and shows the entire world they understand exactly who their customers are.

Further, The North Face decided to take a user-generated content (UGC) route with a strong focus on empathy which translates directly into a sense of belonging with their core audience. Because of this, they literally did not need to put any product front and centre. Rather, their brand and product is the athlete — no matter where they are. As a result, their entire brand now resembles the safety and support system that allows athletes to survive extreme conditions — which translates into their secret sauce:

The customer is the hero.
The customer is the marketer.
They helped people belong.

Heineken — Worlds Apart

A short video on Heineken’s “Open Your World” Campaign. YouTube

Phew! What a shocking video and context. Mark posed some great questions to this case study. Who is the target audience? Why would this sell more beer? Let’s get into what I think about it…

The target audience is those who think our differences are greater than our potential to connect. It’s a beautiful analogy to the way the world is seemingly trying to divide us among our identities. And it offers the antidote: Heineken Beer. Heineken is treading a thin line between encouraging alcoholism and highlighting the culture it enables.

I personally believe it is clearly the latter. As a beer consumer myself I can relate to the environment filled with deep conversations that occur in a typical pub, bar, or even at home… I think you know what I am talking about. So the answer to the second question is also very clear to me: this campaign would definitely sell more beer. Its message is inclusivity from all political or ideological ends.

My 3 Main Takeaways

Building on these two case studies, I collected three main takeaways that resonated most with me. Now, if you know me, then you understand how much I love mental models and processes. So, my takeaways are designed for a personal branding beginner (like myself). And personal branding begins with producing inhuman amounts of content… the following points relate to a process I have identified from this class and am applying to myself. They are meant to be applied top to bottom. Let’s get into it.

1. Apply AIR with your initial content

I know it’s cliché, but content is king! Simple, right? Not really. Creating content that actually connects with people is difficult. AIR makes this easy:

Authentic = Are you real? Is what you’re sharing honest?
Interesting = What value does it add? Is it tangible?
Relatable = Does it connect to your target audience?

People believe and trust in what they see and experience. AIR relies on consistency and trust. The key to AIR is community-driven.

Be of the community, not just in the community.

Once you nail AIR, you create acts of advocacy that will move customers to connect and communicate with other customers. This only comes from creating and sharing content, increasing buying decisions as a result.

Mark says this best:

“Know who your super sharers are and tailor your content angle towards them.”

I say in addition, you need advocates, not followers.

2. Define your customer island

Personal branding is the marketing of today. And marketing is about all things human. It’s about emotions. So you should aim to create the marketing of no marketing: enable your customers to create and share your/their stories. Do this by understanding what they are into. And once you define that, you can group them into customer islands (imagine a Maldivian atoll as a reference), where the name of the game is word of mouth (WOM) marketing.

This might seem very difficult, but there is a simple solution: Think about creating talkable stories and approach the following types of influencers: celebrities, creators, and advocates. Each has its unique use case and its effectiveness will depend on your application.

Once you understand your customer islands and which influencer type you need to gain access to each, you will receive feedback from a whole range of customer segments that were totally agnostic to your personal brand. Beautiful, right? So analyze carefully and choose wisely.

If you create your personal brand, you create your island. And those who identify with it, will come to you.

Mark categorizes customer islands under human-centered marketing, which he built a beautiful manifesto for. Check it out here.

3. Leverage RITES to scale your content

Expanding on the ideas of customer islands and creating your first consistent content series with AIR, I loved this model as a way to scale bigger and broader as a creator. Once you’ve ticked all of the five RITES boxes, you will be able to connect with your island like never before:

Stay Relevant
Be Interesting
Be Timely
Be Entertaining
Become Superior

Mark goes on to state that your personal brand is a business. So, as with any business, you should know that the customers are in control. Even more so in the age of personal branding. Be wise and make your personal branding efforts less about ego and more about the people on your island. RITES allows you to discover and frame the type of content you need to grow your personal brand to new heights.

The internet is all about giving away value and enabling others

Coming Full Circle

I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I did writing it. Needless to say, the ideas put forth are interpretations and learnings I took away from Mark’s class. However, the approach and condensation of them are my own. My hope is that you receive the same amount of value as I did. Thanks so much for all of these concepts

. It’s been a pleasure!

More insights from Mark’s class

Marketing is all about content. The key to success is consistency.
Branding is no longer what you tell customers, but what customers tell each other. And that’s pure emotions — the most human company wins.
If you do not align with your customer’s values and beliefs, 57% of people will stop buying or even boycott you based on a misalignment from your position on a social or political issue.
If you align with your customer’s values and beliefs, 23% of consumers will pay at least a 25% premium, 48% will advocate for and defend the brand, and 51% will buy the brand exclusively and more often.

My final realization

Personal branding is here to stay. So why not master it and create the island thousands of people are waiting to join?

Feature Image Credit: Austin Distel on Unsplash

By Julian Paul

Sourced from BetterMarketing

In Uncategorized

Personal Branding Could Be a Solution Against Unemployment: Humberto Herrera

February 16, 2021 No Comments

By Genxee

The United Nations (UN) reported that the number of jobs that have been lost during the Sars-Cov-2 virus pandemic has doubled compared to the 2009 economic crisis.

Releasing its most recent report, the International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN integral organization, asserted that full-time job losses are estimated at up to 255 million.

For the director of the ILO, Guy Ryder “this has been the most serious crisis for the world of work since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Its impact is much greater than that of the global financial crisis of 2009”.

Likewise, the ILO estimates that the loss of world income from these jobs amounts to 3.7 billion dollars. It transcends that women and young people are the ones who have suffered the most from job losses.

About this, the specialist in personal branding, Humberto Herrera Rincón Gallardo, assured in an interview for this medium, that to alleviate the crisis that the entire world is going through it is necessary to manage finances and protect the personal economy, through a strategy of positioning.

This strategy -Humberto Herrera said- consists of making a difference with 97 percent of the other competitors in the labour market and of taking advantage of the digital tools that are within our reach such as social networks to grow our credibility and provide greater confidence to employers, clients, etc.

When asked if we are facing one of the most difficult moments in the world economy, the expert -with ten years of experience in advising great figures in the business world- assured that it is indeed one of the most complicated moments and therefore, where we should try different things in order to get around the situation.

“Of course what is happening is very delicate, but above all, we must see it as an opportunity to prosper and try innovative strategies using all the tools we have at our disposal, and of course, following the recommendations of international organizations”, explained Humberto Herrera.

Among the suggestions made by the ILO Observatory, the maintenance of flexible macroeconomic policies for this year stands out; the formulation of specific measures aimed at improving the situation of women, youth, and low-skilled workers who receive low pay, as well as the promotion of social dialogue to implement the necessary recovery strategies to achieve more inclusive, fair and equitable economies. sustainable.

With more than ten years in the field, Humberto Herrera is one of the top personal branding experts in the world. In the last 10 years, he has advised more than 1,000 clients in the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

By Genxee

Sourced from Influencive

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A Complete Guide to Using Social Media for Your Small Business

June 19, 2020 No Comments

By Anders Hjorth

Social media has revolutionized human relations and transformed the way we communicate. It has created a new type of celebrity thanks to the power of personal branding.

And businesses are increasingly realizing how direct person-to-person relations via digital channels can be beneficial to their sales and marketing.

To master this new type of business communication, most companies could use a bit of social media advice and some digital marketing tips. So, we’ve gathered a collection of social media tips for business in this article.

They’re easy to understand, easy to execute, and should prove valuable for any small business social media marketing operation.

8 effective social media tips for your small business:

Learn about your audience
Choose your primary and secondary social networks
Use a mix of hero, hub and help content
Repurpose your content
Leverage inbound marketing and partnerships
Set up social commerce
Evolve your content from articles to video to live
Plan and automate

8 social media marketing tips for small businesses to try

Whereas social media marketing has become an advanced marketing discipline where experts compete for excellence and for outstanding results, it’s also a playground where any business — big or small — can make a difference for itself.

The following social media marketing tips can be implemented by practically any business. (Take special note of Nos. 4 and 8, which are our favorite social media tips on this list.)

1. Learn about your audience

One of the great benefits of social media is the access to market data it provides. Social media platforms are data-driven platforms designed to tailor advertising to their users. In the process, they provide access to some of that data to businesses.

As a business owner, you’ll get access to the social media metrics you need to steer your business, but you’ll also get insights into your audience that you can use for a social media audit or for defining your target market.

How to put your audience insights into action:

While running your social media activity, you’re constantly learning more about your audience. However, you can gather audience insights for a marketing plan in a more structured way.

Define your target: First, define what characterizes your target market. Perhaps you have several segments with different characteristics you can outline.
Estimate segment sizes: Go to Facebook audience insights and enter the characteristics for each segment to gather an estimate of the audience size.
Learn about their media consumption: Identify which publications your audience reads, what they watch, and who they listen to and follow on the internet by looking up their media preferences with SparkToro.

2. Choose your primary and secondary social networks

There are so many communication opportunities via social media marketing that you can easily spread your efforts too thin. By choosing one primary social network where you concentrate your efforts, you’ll get the biggest return on investment.

Other networks can be part of your small business social media strategy as secondary networks that you utilize in a more opportunistic way.

How to select your primary social network:

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to pick one social media network and stick with it. Here’s one approach.

Analyze the options: Analyze the user characteristics of the various social networks via information they share with you. Make a list of candidates for your primary social network.
Compare with your target audience: Compare and contrast the characteristics of the users on each platform with the characteristics of your target audience to find the best fit.
Evaluate your strengths: You probably have more affinities and more reach with one or more of the social networks on your list. Objectively evaluate your strengths on each platform.
Apply weights: Set up a simple spreadsheet where you can score each social network on attractivity, audience fit, and strengths. You can weight each score to account for the most important elements. Then pick your primary network, and mark the others as secondary. Build your social media strategy around this primary social network.

3. Use a mix of hero, hub, and help content

Google has a challenge. Its advertisers were brought up with search marketing but were not necessarily educated on how to use Google’s other great advertising channel: YouTube.

Google therefore created a conceptual framework for working with YouTube. This framework helps define the role of video content, which by nature is more expensive to produce and distribute.

Whether you plan to use video or not, the YouTube strategy playbook — which uses the three Hs of “hero,” “hub,” and “help” — can be of great use when planning social media activity for your business.

How to establish your content mix:

Creating a mix of content with the three Hs is very focused on the hero content, or the driving elements of your business’s storyline that you want your broadest audience to see. Let’s look at what you need to do to establish your content mix with this in mind.

Content audit: The first thing you need is an overview of your existing content and events that can be used in your content strategy.
Brainstorm: The fun part of the process is the brainstorming and idea-testing for your hero content. Aim to find a unique and remarkable content idea that resonates strongly with your audience and emphasizes your brand’s differentiation.
Plan around the hero content: Some of the other content you use in your social media strategy can be built around the hero content. Other content pieces act as “hubs” and will simply help your brand stay top of mind. And “help” content is more traditional company information that you place around and between the more story-driven hero content.
Build a content calendar: The three types of content come together in a social media content calendar, which helps you stay organized and share your content in a consistent and effective way.

4. Repurpose your content

If you’ve followed our second tip, you may be wondering how to best utilize your secondary social networks. You may also be overwhelmed by the thought of needing to publish content to your social networks multiple times a week.

This is why content repurposing is an important strategy. A publication has a limited life span on social media, and in order to generate a return on your investment in a piece of content, you need to maximize its usage.

How to thoughtfully and effectively repurpose your content:

The initial version of your content should be optimized for your primary social network. Subsequent versions can be formatted to suit other networks, perhaps using a more visual angle, a different perspective, or simply different text.

Optimize for your primary network: The first time you publish a piece of content, it should be optimized for your primary social network. Each social network has its own ideal mix of image, video, text, emojis, and hashtags.
Adapt to secondary networks: You will likely need to make changes to the format of your content when publishing it on your secondary social networks. Perhaps you’ll only use parts of the content you prepared for your primary network.
Republication: One piece of content can typically be presented several times to your primary audience. This is useful as you never reach 100% of your followers with one post since everyone is online at different times. Using different text and images for subsequent publications is a good way to make sure your content doesn’t appear stale or repetitive.
Repurposing: Content in which you have invested significant time or money can be repurposed at a later stage. Perhaps you can update a survey you ran, provide a new editorial angle, or redo the graphics. A good way to organize the use and reuse of content is to build a social media content calendar.

5. Leverage inbound marketing and partnerships

Inbound marketing is an approach by which you create and publish content that will drive interested users closer to your offering.

It’s a structured process using planning, scoring, and automation to manage long customer interaction processes. It’s a great approach to marketing for small business, especially in the B2B space.

How to put inbound marketing into action:

Inbound marketing is about using content to drive users to your offering without reaching out to them with advertising.

Analyze the user journey: Users travel through various stages before they become prospects for your offering. You first need to identify what questions the user is asking before they’re ready to move to the next step in the user journey.
Create and publish content: With the stages of the user journey in mind, create content that corresponds to each stage, and think of mechanisms that will bring the user to the next stage: Newsletter subscription, whitepaper download, webinar registration, etc. This is the stage where you’ll actually use social media platforms to publish your content and engage with your audience.
Automate the funnel: One of the aims of inbound marketing is to create an automated lead generation process. It uses content and publications on social media to generate interest and subsequently works like a content relationship management tool. You’ll need a technical solution such as HubSpot or Salesforce Pardot to pursue this approach seriously.

6. Set up social commerce

Users can be strongly influenced by social media but may not be used to buying products there. There is, however, a rising trend of social commerce on social networks like Instagram and Pinterest.

Facebook also recently launched its Page shops, adding e-commerce functionality to business pages on its platform.

How to use social commerce in your social media strategy:

Social commerce is a shortcut from social media to e-commerce. It can be an interesting opportunity for companies with strong social media activity and the possibility to sell online.

Prepare product information: In order to sell online via social media, you need the same information as for any other e-commerce activity: product titles and descriptions, images, prices, and an order fulfillment solution.
Choose your platform: If your primary social network has e-commerce functionality, go with that platform. If it doesn’t, consider trying one of the leading social commerce platforms: Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook.
Build the e-commerce functionality: It’s fairly easy to set up social commerce. Products and prices can be entered individually or as a product feed so your shop is up to date.

7. Evolve your content from articles to video to live

When you first consider content for your social media marketing plan, you might think about articles and images.

But video content has become accessible to small businesses now that platforms like the Facebook Live Producer empower you to create professional-looking live video content. You might even want to make video your hero content, as we saw in tip No. 3.

How to make smart use of video:

All you need is a smartphone with a good camera to start producing live video. We also recommend adding a good-quality microphone or headset.

Plan your video content: For video content, you need to create a title, write a script, and find the right filming location with good lighting and an appropriate background.
Test-run your video: To overcome the fear of looking silly and get used to speaking to the camera, do at least one test run. A teleprompter software tool can be helpful as well.
Set it up as an event: You can create video content for later publication or create a live event. Whichever you choose, make sure to build awareness before publication to drive more views and more engagement.

8. Plan and automate

Running social media activities is about efficiently using resources. The best way to organize any social media activity is to plan ahead and automate as much as possible.

There are a number of simple social tools to help with automation that each perform specific tasks, or it can be done using a more complete social media software suite that covers all of your automation needs.

How to plan and automate your social media activity:

If you’ve built your content mix using tip No. 4, you may have started using a content calendar as the nervous system of your social media strategy. Now, all you need to do is connect your primary and secondary social networks to your content via automation.

Define your primary social network: As described in the first tip, you should first define your social network set-up and decide where primary content goes.
Build your content calendar: A content calendar is a key component of a social media strategy. Build your calendar by placing the hero content first and scheduling supporting content around it. You will likely have a regular flow of hub content, and the amount of help content you produce will depend on your business activity and commercial calendar.
Automate publication: Bring it all together with automation software that allows you to connect your content to your social media accounts. Schedule posts to each of your social networks in advance, keeping your content calendar moving like a well-oiled machine.

The best social media tools for small business

Social media automation tools will help your business automate the implementation of your content strategy. In the tips above, we’ve mentioned various tasks for which these tools are useful: in implementing a content calendar, automating publications, and planning ahead.

Let’s look at a few tools that work in different ways.

1. Later

The core functionality of Later is to build a visual content calendar and schedule image posts to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Later’s visual overview of the calendar is one of the best we’ve seen.

The content calendar view of Later is visual and well adapted to planning Instagram posts.

2. MeetEdgar

MeetEdgar is great for getting the most out of your content. It’s the content repurposing, recycling, and automation champion.

A unique feature of MeetEdgar is the automatic creation of post variations submitted for approval.

3. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is one the best and most complete social media management tools covering the entire spectrum of automation, management, research, and reporting functionalities for your social media activity.

Sprout Social provides a wide variety of reporting options, including content performance across the social media channels you are using.

Learn from what you do and focus on where you win

Most social media activity only pays off in the medium to long run, which can be frustrating to businesses looking for quick wins or a rapid return on their investment.

But some of the above tips are sure to generate value for your business even in the short run as they can help you focus on what’s essential and what tasks are the best use of your time.

Focus your efforts, optimize your content output, plan ahead, and automate where you can in order to get the most out of your small business’s social media strategy.

By Anders Hjorth

Sourced from the blueprint