No matter what type of business you run, you can always improve your presence and increase your brands awareness. One of the best ways to increase your company's awareness is to build your personal brand and position yourself as an expert in your field. Here’s five ways to build your personal brand.
1. Start a blog
One of the best ways to build your personal brand is to start a blog. Creating rich content for your blog, invovles focusing on an area that you understand and becoming an expert in that area. So people want to hear what you have to say. By creating a blog within your industry, you already are the expert.
Finding areas where you don’t have full working knowledge, will enable you to find guest posts that can help your audience understand every aspect. You can also research these areas yourself and blog about the process. By offering insight into each aspect of your business, you build a blog that is an essential guide for industry professionals and position yourself as a leader in the space. In addition, you get the added benefit of learning and expanding your knowledge by researching those areas of which you aren’t familiar.
An added bonus
Industry-leading bloggers can make an additional income or even make blogging a full time job. Targeted blogs have the best conversion rates and will offer the highest advertising rates for your industry. When you understand the industry and what’s happening outside of your business, you have a clearer path of how to grow yourself and your business.
2. Build your social media accounts.
Though a blog may be the best way to build your brand, your social media accounts are the quickest way to spread awareness. Position yourself as an expert in your space on Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter. Follow, friend, and connect with industry experts and use social media as a way to keep up with all the news within your industry. Twitter is an amazing tool to help you curate the most influential players. LinkedIn insures that you can connect and network with those players and Facebook offers you a chance to connect to co-workers, MD's, etc. on a more personal level and engage in meaningful discussion.
Build your accounts wisely and ensure you share your blog content consistently. You can quickly position yourself as an industry expert that’s worth the follow.
3. Network. Join groups outside of work.
All too often, companies and employees are stifled by what they know. They do the same things they’ve always done and expect the same results they’ve always had. While this works, if you want to become a true leader, you have to get outside your box of knowledge and tap into the wealth of knowledge available globally.
Attend networking events, find meet-up groups, and do coffee with people who also run businesses. Talk shop. Learn what they are doing, what is working, and what doesn’t work for them. Find people who work in completely different industries that have similar problems and see how they are solving them.
4. Take additional classes or courses.
Learning through experience can work for some, but others need a path. Taking additional courses at your local college or training courses from an association in your market can be incredibly helpful. Adding tremendous value to both you and your business, while also increasing your industry knowledge.
5. Attend conferences & trade shows.
Please, don’t forget about conferences and trade shows. These are often the one time a year that everyone important in your industry is in one place. Don’t just attend the sessions and the exhibits. Schedule meetings, dinners, coffee, and drinks after the sessions are over. Meet your potential clients outside of the confines of the trade-show floor and get down to business. Soak up as much as you can!
Signing up to council newsletters is also a great way to keep up to date with all current information. With thousands of businesses in London alone, its essential you step out of your normal circles to make the necessary connections for your business to thrive. Checking in regularly with app likes Eventbrite will guarantee, you'll always be in the right places.