How to build a personal brand to build a business brand image?
The World is revolutionary and we do a lot of things to build our business. But have you ever wondered how much your image, as an individual, impact your business?
Even as a team, how many of your people are connected with your audience, users or customers?
Whether directly or indirectly, our business image is effected by our personal image, at some level. That’s why many brands now encourage their team to have a personal brand image on social media or let them speak about themselves somehow.
Here are some reasons why building personal/team brand image is raising:
- It helps the brand build awareness and visibility.
- People trust people more than brands.
- A person telling a brand story is more impactful.
- It will help recruit talent as you will be investing in your employee’s future.
- A great opportunity to show the company culture through the personal brand of the employees.
- Access to a wider audience.
The difference between building a personal brand & building a business brand image.
Building a personal brand.
I will share a simple and popular example with you.
C. Ronaldo is a brand in himself. If he launches any new product or promotes anything, it will sell by his name. You’ll go to a market and if you see his picture on any product you’ll buy it without knowing the actual name of the brand.
Well, why not?
- He is the most liked person on Facebook,
- has more than 300+ million followers on Instagram (yep, he has some crazy following),
- he has won everything there is to win in football, from individual accolades to team success,
- He has been the world’s highest-paid athlete twice in a row in 2016 and 2017.
- and he’s actually the most popular person on Earth.
Recently, just by moving 2 Coca Cola bottle with a water bottle had Coca Cola lost $4 Billion (Whether it was an inside/outside manipulation or not can’t tell, he has an influence).
It’s because he has built a brand image under his own name. His personal brand image is larger than Football itself. He can sell anything by just adding his name on it.
It can happen same to an ordinary person. You can build your own brand & get paid for it (called as Influencers/creators).
If you offer some services like content writing, UX designer, or something you are an expert in. Then you need to build a personal brand image. As your audience will see you as a trustworthy person for the thing you’re offering.
Building a business brand
While building a business brand image, you create a brand image around your business. This usually means it will have an independent identity and even if you’re not around the business, it will carry on.
Now, everyone knows Apple, it’s the most valuable brand in the world. It’s created by Steve Jobs, even after his death company is still making billions of profit (also is doing a lot better now).
Why? Because Apple knows the power of its brand & the loyal following around its brand name. It doesn’t matter who’s running the company or who started it. It has its own brand image.
You buy from Apple because It’s “AN APPLE iPhone” and not because of its features or Steve Jobs.
The iconic status of Apple among its hardcore fanbase explains why they charge so much more than its rivals, despite keeping more or less the same quality in its technology. It’s because of the volubility of the brand.
It’s true that building a brand image for your business will take more time than time building a personal brand image.
It has its own perks.
When I started my agency, I only promoted my business, tried to build a brand image, instead of promoting myself or building a personal brand image. It took a lot of effort at first but it was worth the time. Even if I’m not around or want to take a long vacation, my business isn’t affected by it.
But in today’s world, you as your brand is the most valuable asset.
For brands, it’s more important to let their employees build a strong personal brand. Not just for the brand’s own benefit but also at the individual employee level too — self and skill development.
When you, and your team, build a personal brand, it grows the reach, network & most importantly helps build relationships.
Remember you cannot build a network based on your business, it needs to be you, as a person. So, spending some time building your own presence will benefit you today or tomorrow.
Here’s a thing:
If your goal is to build a business brand image then along with building a business image, build a personal brand simultaneously. You can use the 60/40 rule.
It works like — 60% on building a brand image and 40% on building a personal brand which will ultimately support your business image. It’s easy to trust a person than a business.
We can build our business brand and — simultaneously — work to establish our personal authority around a topic.
So, the time it will take you to build a business image will be reduced by your personal brand. As you’ve already built a relationship with your audience.
If you have a team, encourage them to do the same.
How to do so?
- Let your team have separate social media account such as Instagram, Twitter & LinkedIn, etc.
Even your developing or designer team can help you build a brand image, do not just limit it to the marketing section. This will not only help you build your business, through your team but also helps them grow & develop a company culture.
Take the example of Fast.co company, their team is highly active on Twitter and Instagram. Especially you can see the CEO Domm Holland and the Director of Content Marketing Matthew Kobach, the former is highly active on Twitter & is able to recruit talents from social media & the latter hosts Instagram Lives where he interviews top industry professionals about marketing and social media.
2. Let your team represent your brand by engaging them in some topics they could talk about. Whether at events, shows, interviews, webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. A product designer would love to talk about her new experiences or achievements at work.
3. Try new & cool things such as Clubhouse, Substack or very-niche based communities. This will help them gain visibility, find new opportunities, talk about your brand or anything related to their industry.
4. Don’t just talk about business, talk about yourself too. Building a personal brand requires you to share who you actually are, what beliefs you share, what things you support, what you stand by, etc.
Your personal space is not just about promoting your business, but should also be a process of learning, connecting and sharing your thoughts. Treat yourself and your team as a creator which will help develop professional skills and also personal brand.
Building a personal image for your business brand works something like influencer marketing. The only thing is you’re not hiring someone for a small time to promote your business, instead, you are investing in yourself and your team.
If your team isn’t active on social media, then you’re missing a big opportunity to convert your audience into potential customers.
My end thoughts!
Often a question arises: Sometimes we want to keep somethings personal and some professional. So how to do it?
In that case, you can keep both things separately. For me, Instagram is more personal (& I’m usually not so active there) and Twitter is completely professional & offers a lot more when building a personal brand.
Restricting yourself or your team to be active on social media or from building a personal brand is a loss to your brand. Building a personal brand will ultimately help you build your business, future team, nurture your relationship with your audience & a great direct investement.
👋 PS: Ritika is a founder, product marketer and advisor for early stage startups, find more here or connect with her here. If you’re a first time founder looking for curated resources, download here. If you enjoyed this post, read the past issues here.
