Personal branding is a key part of marketing your business. After all, if your team members are likeable then your business can sell itself!
We’ve seen an increase in ‘extravagant’ personal branding over the past few years, as LinkedIn becomes more popular and more competitive, and it got us thinking… how much is too much?
First off… what is personal branding?
People often mistake personal branding for selling who you are, but that’s only a very small part of it.
Personal branding is about using your personal page (preferably on LinkedIn) to market your business. It shouldn’t be done as a one-person-band that does not complement your business… well, unless you’re a one-person-band.
Don’t sell your soul
We are seeing more and more people sharing far too much about themselves and their personal lives for the sake of ‘marketing’. In reality, you may be doing more harm than good.
A key thing to remember is that you are marketing your business-self, not your whole self, so your content should still be relevant to your industry and your business. What may be a good post for your Instagram profile among friends likely isn’t suitable for your LinkedIn connections, who will be looking to you for professionalism and industry knowledge.
It’s absolutely fine to share what you want on social media but when you are posting from a ‘personal branding’ perspective people are looking to use your business, and may be put off by unprofessional-seeming posts.
Find a happy medium
Getting personal branding right can be tough… you may overdo the personal content and forget you’re marketing your business, or you may go to the other extreme and post constantly about your business and seem a little too robotic.
Here are some content ideas to make sure you get your personal branding just right:
Work-related personal content
The emphasis on ‘work-related’ is important here!
Have you received some nice words from a client, or has your team been treated to some cakes? That’s the sort of thing you should be sharing! It reflects your business in a great light and shows how great you are, too.
Work-related anecdotes
Work-related anecdotes (a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person) are great as people can learn about you and your business all in one… again, we’re emphasising ‘work-related’ here.
Anecdotes are extremely popular on LinkedIn, but often they can seem like the original poster is just sharing a story from their past.
Always tie your stories back to your business somehow, whether that’s your job role, the industry or the business itself.
Business and industry updates
Sharing relevant information about your business or industry to your personal page will highlight your industry knowledge and will make your business seem desirable to your connections. Who wouldn’t want to use a company who has knowledgeable and enthusiastic team members?
Always put your personal stamp on things
We said it was a difficult one to balance…
Remember to put the ‘personal’ in ‘personal branding’. Use your own words when writing content for your personal page rather than using similar language to a business page.
When you share content from your business’ social media pages, or industry news from other outlets we suggest you add a comment of your own to accompany the original post, with your own thoughts on the content you’re sharing, as this will continue to put a personal spin on work-related content.
Can we help?
We hope you’ve found these tips helpful. If you’re still struggling to ace your personal branding, don’t worry - it can be tough!
We manage a number of personal LinkedIn pages for clients from various industries, so that their personal branding is tip top, and we also provide Two Hour Takeovers where we can train you on how to manage your own personal branding in the best way possible.
If you would like to know more, send us an email at info@jandpr.com. We’d love to help!
