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Tag: Personal Branding

  • 3 Ways to Build an Online Presence With Social Media

    3 Ways to Build an Online Presence With Social Media

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The internet has changed business almost beyond recognition. Gone are the days when business cards, a listing in the yellow pages and well-considered display advertising were needed to establish a presence with potential customers. In the 21st century, digital marketing has replaced many traditional marketing activities. Social media networks are among the most effective channels for establishing an online presence.

    The importance of social media for your company’s online presence

    Since the advent of the world wide web in the 1990s, having an online presence has become all but a requirement for successful businesses. Customers look for products and services online, and many have become accustomed to online shopping. Granted, there may be some local businesses that manage to attract customers by word-of-mouth only, but most companies rely on online connections.

    For the first decade and a half of the internet’s existence for the public, building an online presence relied on creating a company website and perhaps using email marketing. Since then, digital marketing has grown and diversified, with social media networks becoming one of the most important marketing tools. Being visible on social media allows brands to connect directly to consumers and establish trust between a business and its potential customers.

    In addition, leading social media networks offer marketing tools explicitly designed to help brands connect to their audiences. By 2021, more than 90% of U.S. businesses with more than 100 employees were using these tools for social media marketing. However, your brand can be small to benefit from an online presence. Most social media marketing tools will scale up or down to accommodate companies of all sizes.

    Related: How to Make Social Media Marketing Effective for Your Brand

    Building a successful online presence

    Building a successful, effective online presence on social media requires a strategic approach [perhaps link to the previous article here]. Before going into detail, it is worth defining what we mean by social media presence. The term refers to a brand’s social media visibility and its audience connections.

    Three main pillars to help establish this presence are branding, public relations (PR) and digital marketing. For all three, a strategic, well-planned approach delivers the best results. Simply adding a post now and then is not enough to establish a recognizable presence or build lasting connections with your target audiences.

    Related: Why Effective Content Marketing Will Transform Your Social Media

    1. Branding for social media presence

    By the time they start building their online presence, most businesses have created a brand identity and developed a strategy for branding. If that is the case for your business, your brand must remain recognizable on social media.

    The company’s brand voice and aesthetic should be easily identifiable across all digital and analog marketing channels. In practice, that means a social media user scrolling through their feed should be able to recognize your posts without seeing your brand logo or your account handle.

    Aligning brand messages between all channels helps reinforce and strengthen them. Alignment also helps build trust and credibility with potential consumers. On the other hand, if your brand voice, messages and visual presentation differ between outlets, the differences will create confusion. They dilute the brand’s messaging and damage the credibility you are trying to build online.

    2. Public relations (PR)

    Strategic PR is another channel brands can use to engage their audiences. Public relations has traditionally relied on media outlets to disseminate brand messages.

    However, by using social media, brands can reach audiences — including journalists — directly and start a conversation. If the conversation is relevant to other audiences, social media platforms make sharing content easy and increase its reach. As a result, new audiences become aware of the brand, leading to a greater social media presence.

    Another way of leveraging PR to increase a brand’s online presence is by contributing to other media outlets as an expert guest or regular contributor and linking to your brand’s social media channels.

    Related: What’s Hot and What’s Not in Public Relations for 2023

    3. Using digital marketing to increase your social media presence

    Brands with a successful social network presence utilize all their digital marketing channels to build that presence. These synergies between marketing activities do not happen automatically. They must be written into your digital marketing and social media marketing strategy.

    In practice, your marketing and brand team must actively pursue opportunities to highlight your social media presence and drive engagement. Here is an example: if your brand has been using email marketing successfully to connect to consumers, encourage readers to connect to you on social media. They benefit by establishing a more immediate and direct connection if they need support — your brand benefits by being able to connect more frequently.

    Other digital marketing channels like blogs can elaborate on a topic introduced on social media and encourage readers to join your brand’s community on a specific channel. The key to using other digital marketing channels to support your social network presence is to create connections between your brand’s channels.

    Related: How to Build on Your Digital Marketing Momentum in 2023

    Consistency matters

    Building a successful online presence through social media networks requires a consistent and strategic approach. Utilizing existing digital marketing channels and ensuring close alignment with the company’s overall branding supports a growing social media presence. In addition, strategic PR activities can also increase a brand’s social media presence across all its channels. Delivering consistent, relevant content that aligns with overall brand objectives is the key to growing and maintaining an engaged social network audience.

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    Jessica Wong

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  • 7 Ways to Write A Killer Bio

    7 Ways to Write A Killer Bio

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Do you ever feel like your personal brand story is missing something?

    Maybe you’ve noticed every other brand story presenting an immense challenge, but without a struggle to share of your own, you wonder if you need to amplify your life events to make your story more powerful.

    If you’ve already tried that, chances are it felt ungenuine. You’re not alone. When we see these stories of struggle everywhere, it can feel like our story should be like this, too. But that’s not the case at all.

    With a strong story, you can seamlessly resonate with your audience and get recognized as a thought leader. But the secret to making it more powerful lies in your authentic story… not a model that amplifies the challenges just to connect with your audience.

    Keep reading to discover the best way to adopt the favored hero’s journey model and write a killer bio that earns your audience’s love and trust — even if you don’t have a dramatic event or immense challenge to construct it around.

    Related: How to Create an Epic Brand Story Like Elon Musk’s and Henry Ford’s

    The hero’s journey trap

    You’ve seen the classic hero’s journey: the hero is called to adventure, discovers a guide, faces a challenge, experiences a profound transformation and returns to the world with newly discovered gifts or insights.

    While a great model, initially curated by author and professor Joseph Campbell, it does, however, present a trap. Over time, it has led people to believe that a story is not powerful or engaging unless it entails a grand challenge or adversity; such as a traumatic car accident, chronic illness, problematic divorce, falling into poverty; the list goes on.

    We see it all the time: those inspirational stories of overcoming hardship — and when true, can make a huge impact! But, the challenge lies within those who don’t carry a story of trauma or monumental challenge.

    They end up trying to make their story ‘more exciting’ by overdramatizing their life events, which can do more harm than good.

    The truth about creating a powerful brand story

    When planning a novel back in 2014, I found myself seeking to force an element of evil into my story. It just didn’t come naturally, yet I deemed it essential!

    I blindly reached out to one of my favorite fiction writers of all time: Richard Bach. To my surprise, he wrote back! I was beyond excited! Here was his advice:

    “Your stories can tell simply that your characters want to live a simple, gentle life. What stood between them and that life, and what did they do to find their way through the cliffs? How is your heroine different from others? What does she think and dream? What kind of wind blows her toward her dream, and what currents take her off course? How does she change, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 20?

    The evil forces, the bad guys, are for writers who write for what they think their readers want… You do not need evil to tell a lovely story.”

    Reflecting upon this, I recognized how it applies perfectly to personal brand stories. You see, you are the character, and the dramatized challenges are the evil forces we feel are necessary.

    So, despite the familiar storylines, your story does not need to entail this to be of influence.

    Want proof? Many thought leaders have significantly impacted with their unique gifts and message without focusing on their challenges. Such as:

    • Marie Forleo; who followed her desire to go against the conventional grain and chase more pleasure after recognizing she was unfulfilled;
    • Jay Shetty; who followed his inspiration after meeting a Monk and not resonating with the route his student friends were taking;
    • Preston Smiles; who followed his innate desire to share love and happiness, care for others, and do “big things.”

    Everyone faces challenges, but not all stories of transformation are filled with heavy, extraordinary events — and despite popular opinion, they don’t need to be. You can simply run with a different story; driven by desires, dreams, insights and realizations.

    Related: 30 Tips to Grow Your Audience and Stand Out on Instagram

    How to write a killer bio (without amplifying your life events)

    You can now unfold your most genuine personal brand story — without falling into the trap of feeling the need to dramatize everything. Follow the prompts below and infuse them into your story of transformation.

    1. What was your chapter 1?

    Reflect upon where it all began, who you were and what life looked like. This is the part that will resonate the most with your audience who knows this world well.

    2. What stood in between you and your dreams?

    Everyone faces problems and obstacles, big or small. What stopped you from creating your dream life at the beginning?

    3. What “wind” blew you toward your dream?

    Before seeking a new path, you were called to action, to adventure. What was the final straw that made you make a change? This could be a moment, a realization or simply your yearning desires.

    4. What helped you find your “way through the cliffs”?

    Who and what aided you get across the line? Identify mentors, guides, books or practices that helped you to give your audience insight — and connect the dots to you and your offer.

    5. What “currents” took you off course?”

    What challenges arose that could have stood in your way of success? For some, this is rock bottom; for others, it’s simply a more profound insight or realization that makes turning back no longer an option.

    6. How did you change due to your success “from chapter 1 to chapter 20”?

    Reflect on your transformation and highlight what changed for you, internally or externally. This transformation can happen over some time or in one precise moment.

    7. What gifts do you now have to share with the world?

    Look at where you are today and what you have ‘returned’ with: new insights, wisdom, gifts, experience or purpose. What are you here to do, who are you here to serve, and how?

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    Natasha Zo

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  • 7 Secrets of Truly Successful Personal Brands

    7 Secrets of Truly Successful Personal Brands

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The choice to launch your brand is noticeable. But creating a solid brand is essential. Authenticity, consistency, initiative, confidence, courage, and time are required to complete everything.

    Personal branding is not a thing to do because social media says so. Today it’s an essential element in your communication strategy, used by not only famous and influential people and big businesses but also every individual that wants to be seen, heard and ultimately valued.

    Globally, everyday people are already creating their own brands. The corporate branding machine enslavement is too much, so many professionals are leaving employment. It is crucial to build your brand authority because other than leading to commercial and reputational opportunities, it’s also positive for your self-expression.

    Better clientele, industry recognition and financial gains result from it. Due to declining trust in our institutions, customers trust individuals more than businesses; therefore, you should concentrate on establishing your personal (and business) brand as part of your elevation strategy.

    Check out these seven personal branding success secrets:

    1. Find and curate your “A-Team”

    A new brand’s path can be pretty tricky and resemble an endless race of overcoming technical, emotional and personal obstacles. A key component of overcoming these obstacles is finding and building a solid team that shares your vision and mission.

    Co-founders, workers, advisers, consultants, mentors, coaches and even dependable family members may be a part of your team — link your team selection to your values and ideals and favor compatibility above competence.

    Related: I’ve Interviewed and Hired Thousands of People. Here’s What to Keep in Mind Before Offering the Job.

    2. Tap into future trends and needs

    Adapting based on future trends and customer needs is pivotal because the world is evolving daily. For example, if Jeff Bezos tried setting up an online bookstore today, he would most possibly fail miserably. However, his foresight to know what customers need drove Amazon to a global ecommerce store today. Timing is everything!

    Likewise, knowing the market’s future can help your brand make the right moves and become successful. But it doesn’t imply it’s impossible to foresee how the corporate world will develop. What matters most is how analytically sound you are and how well-equipped you are to anticipate future events.

    Even though it won’t always be exact to a tee, this will give you a solid idea of where things are going. Making assumptions about future trends carries some calculated risk, but staying safe will never help you or your brand grow.

    Related: Looking for a New Business Idea? Here’s How to Identify What People Really Need

    3. Unlearn outdated trends to make way for the new

    For a brand to flourish, it is vital to unlearn in business. We can only build something fresh and distinctive if we let go of our outdated attitudes and practices—discovering a new project or closing a transaction with unexpected customers results from curiosity.

    Unlearning is a systematic strategy to advance and overcome barriers one at a time.

    Entrepreneurship success is composed of 20% learning and 80% unlearning. Remove the restrictive presumptions to make room for helpful information.

    4. Think fast for solutions and act fast

    One of the secrets to a great brand is having the capacity to think and respond quickly. Since environmental issues are worsening, the brand must move soon, seek eco-alternatives and sustainable solutions that reduce their adverse effects, and convey the concept of conscious living to the next generation as quickly as possible.

    Simply acting quickly and moving quickly to find answers can give you a competitive edge. If you are not in a technology-dominant business-like distribution, manufacturing, or something not typically controlled by technology firms, your rivals are probably advancing slowly. We must make many daily decisions, but some are more crucial than others.

    For example, eating is essential, but whether you choose a salad, chicken or a Big Mac is less important at the moment. You can think more rapidly if you can swiftly pick what to eat. Even if your choice weren’t the best, the effects would be minimal in the short term.

    5. Be adaptable and flexible

    Being an entrepreneur entails weighing possibilities and dangers equally. This will help you create a distinct brand and ensure its long-term survival and competitiveness. Many new brands tend to concentrate on a single item or service.

    Meanwhile, they frequently need to see the value of brand creation right away. Startup brands often think that the benefits of their products are evident and that the brand can speak for itself. You can only place that much faith in some potential consumers.

    You must include the development of your brand skills in your content strategy and make sure that the visuals reflect this.

    You must evaluate new items in light of your company values as you grow. Check to see if your objectives are compatible, and if not, make any necessary modifications.

    6. Become an autodidact

    After college, education for most people typically comes to an end. However, your reputation will continue to rise if you develop a passion for studying and being an autodidact.

    However, in this day and age of information overload and many online distractions, being an effective autodidact can be taxing. Therefore, staying focused on your mission is more crucial than ever.

    Some people contend that the age of the autodidact, or self-directed learning, is currently upon us. After all, the internet is brimming with tools for self-learning that you can utilize to build your brand. However, beware that some may lack substance and are merely shiny bells and whistles.

    Related: 6 Little-Known Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

    7. Be street smart

    Being “street smart,” or able to foresee and handle unexpected everyday business issues, is generally seen as a crucial ability for brand owners and entrepreneurs.

    Most investors claim to be able to spot this capacity when they see it, but the experience is necessary to describe it. To be a street-smart person, you need to comprehend your brand’s surroundings or condition well.

    You are consciously aware of your surroundings. Moreover, you can see what’s happening around you even when you can’t see it. You can form opinions about the situation based on lived experience, the environment and the people in it, giving you the confidence to put your faith in these opinions.

    Related: Are You ‘Intelligent’ Enough to Be an Entrepreneur?

    Conclusion

    To succeed at personal branding, you must be a brand new, evolving you. In a world full of imitators, be genuine and authentic to yourself.

    Authentic personal branding is more than simply self-promotion and marketing commonly seen online. It focuses more on making a courageous difference in people’s lives and inspiring them to live better lives. It can also be about inspiring humanity to do good. After 33 years in this game, I believe and practice that “doing good” is all possible.

    You must invest time and effort to be the “go-to” authority in your chosen area. All things worth doing must be done well; therefore, it’s better to make the most of that time and effort!

    Applying the seven tips above will help you create an authentic personal brand that is true to you and enjoy the success that will inevitably follow.

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    Jon Michail

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  • How Online Journaling Helped Me Get 10k Instagram Followers

    How Online Journaling Helped Me Get 10k Instagram Followers

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Growing up, I always loved writing. Writing allowed me to express my thoughts and ideas. It was also a great avenue to vent my frustrations. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve always kept a private journal. I struggle with journaling on a daily basis, so I would always update my private journal every six months. It wasn’t until I started my software company, Trend Watchers, that I decided to hop on the #buildinginpublic trend.

    Building in public is where you document yourself starting a company from scratch. When documenting your journey, you are supposed to showcase the good, bad and ugly days.
    Most people build in public on Twitter, but I decided to do it on Instagram. To start, I decided to delete my account and start from scratch.

    Related: How Journaling Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur and Leader

    How journaling online grew my Instagram following

    At first, I documented my journey through Instagram posts only. I would create a minimalistic graphic on Canva and would max out my Instagram caption, sharing whatever lesson I learned that week.

    The thing that makes my Instagram posts so unique is my wide variety of topics.
    One week, I’ll write about a lesson I learned from conducting business, another week I’ll write about a lesson I learned from dating, and so forth. There is no way to predict what I will write next. Even I have no idea what topic I’m going to be writing about beforehand.

    My posts are 100% based on inspiration. This makes my posts even more unique to where people want to share and read my posts. I started seeing growth on my page after I started posting pictures of myself to go along with the maxed-out caption.

    Growing up, I never took photos of myself. When I try to look back, I can only find the photos my parents took of me. I never took any of myself. To change this, I decided to post high-quality pictures of myself with each post that goes up. After doing this for over a year, I’m able to look back at my life with gratitude and can tell you exactly what was going on based on the photo I’m looking at.

    Instagram also likes it when you show your face. It makes you appear more human. I noticed my engagement jump up by 50% when I started adding photos of myself. This organic engagement boost combined with sharing my story with the Trend Watchers customer list helped me make my way to 10,000+ followers. When I first started the page, I had no idea it would make it this far, but by building in public, I have earned the following:

    Related: 7 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Without Buying Followers

    1. Networking opportunities

    To get the most out of networking online, it is important to have your profile well put together. Once it is well optimized, start following key people within your industry.

    One of my favorite tactics is to follow professionals I meet in person and have them follow me back. I also keep my Instagram stories up showcasing my life, and usually by doing this, they will remember me. Some of these relationships go nowhere, but now and then, an opportunity will come through.

    2. Dating opportunities

    About 2-3 times a month, someone will slide in my DMs. Most of the time, I’ll take these girls out on a first get-to-know-you date, and the conversations are just amazing. Most of the time, they have the same energy as me, and it’s refreshing to be around someone that has a growth mindset. Whether your intention is dating or not, building an Instagram following the way that I have can help you meet new people and build meaningful relationships.

    3. Customer acquisition channels

    My Instagram page also serves as a way for me to acquire new customers. If I’m selling high-ticket, I’ll have them follow me on Instagram to further build trust. They can scroll through my posts, learn more about me and see that I am authentic and credible. This often makes closing the sale a breeze.

    4. Amazing friendships

    Women are not the only ones sliding in my DMS. Every once in a while, guys will as well. Most of these people are not serious, but now and then I’ll come across someone who is. We’ll end up talking, and before you know it, we are great friends talking about issues both in our business and personal life. This is probably one of my favorite benefits of documenting my journey online.

    When I decided to start documenting my journey on Instagram, I did it for fun. I love having my own personal databases/journals that I can always look back on and go through. Little did I know, my public journal would gain momentum and start touching lives all over the world. Not only is it touching lives, but it is starting to open up doors in all directions that I could have never imagined.

    Related: 4 Ways Documenting the Journey Has Become More Popular Than Celebrating the Outcome

    If you are passionate about writing or keeping a journal, I’d highly recommend documenting your journey online. You’d be surprised by the people you’ll touch and the opportunities that will come your way.

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    Dejon Brooks

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  • Lauren Maillian Shares How to Grow Your Business by Aligning Your Talent With Your Motivation

    Lauren Maillian Shares How to Grow Your Business by Aligning Your Talent With Your Motivation

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    If you need help aligning your talent with your motivation so you can grow your business, Lauren Maillian is here to help.


    Marta Skovro

    Lauren is the definition of an innovative entrepreneur. She co-founded her first business, Sugarleaf Vineyards when she was just 19 years old. That made her the youngest self-made winery owner in the U.S. (before she was even allowed to drink).

    At the same time she was working as a model in Paris and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since then she’s gone on to become a founding partner at Gen Y Capital Partners, an early-stage venture firm focused on investments in mobile and consumer-facing technology-enabled companies.

    She’s also founded digitalundivided, non-profit leveraging data, programs, and advocacy to catalyze economic growth for Latina and Black women entrepreneurs and innovators. There’s more but you get the point by now.

    She provides more details – and how you can develop the confidence and strategy needed to thrive – in the latest episode of the Launch Your Business Podcast.

    I’ll share a few of my favorite takeaways below.

    How to figure out if your business idea is a passion or a hobby

    Many entrepreneurs start a business based on something they’re passionate about. And while that may sound like a foolproof plan, it’s easy to mistake your passion for a hobby. Lauren gives the example of her friend that enjoys doing hair and is considering opening a hair salon. She then asked her friend how she’d feel if 100 people showed up the next day wanting to get their hair done. Would she feel excited or overwhelmed?

    So what does this mean to you and your business?

    Lauren goes on to say, “If you had a whole bunch of clients, if you could make a lot of money doing this, would you continue? Would that light you up and motivate you? If not, that’s not what you’re passionate about.”

    She also shares why it’s so important to do the deep work required to find your passion. “When life affords us the opportunity to chase our passions while achieving success in doing something that is enjoyable for us, then we get to that point where the timelines don’t matter because you’re just being yourself. And that’s when you can actually really say, I get paid to do what I love.”

    Realted: 4 Reasons Following Your Passion Leads to Success

    Why having faith in your ability is crucial to your business

    I often say self-limiting beliefs will take your chances of success much faster than any external obstacle. Lauren provides more context and shares the impact of not being confident in your abilities.

    “Have the faith that you deserve to be there. Have the faith that your skill is enough to get you through. Have the faith that you are qualified to get yourself out of whatever situation you’re in. Because when you feel uncertain it’s seen and felt and reverberates to people around you. They will then begin to doubt all of who you are because they don’t know why you are acting insecure. So make sure that your confidence is unwavering in yourself and your skill when you are in these difficult situations.”

    And, it’s important to note there’s a big difference between having confidence and the “fake it till you make it” approach. Let’s say you’re currently on level three out of ten when it comes to your expertise on a subject. That’s fine, just be the most confident and honest level three out there. You’ll earn trust, gain experience and continue ascending.

    Lauren’s operational definition of success

    How do you define success for your business? The most common answers typically include a combination of time, lifestyle and financial freedom. However, Lauren’s response to that question stood out to me because of the empowerment referenced.

    “Success to me is being able to decline opportunities because they don’t align with what you want, and knowing that declining does not change your circumstances in any way. Financial, environmental, in terms of the opportunities that you’re gonna get in the future, any of that.”

    She continues, “It’s when you can say to yourself does this align with who I am? Do I wanna do it? Does it make sense to do it? You don’t feel like you’re required to, or have to in order to maintain a relationship. There’s no prerequisite anymore for the next opportunity, other than is it something I wanna do? And ultimately, we know that we are successful when we have the power, the ability, and the autonomy to say no on our own without getting the approval to say no from anyone else.”

    Related: 3 Keys to Entrepreneurial Success

    Next steps

    Ready to get more tactic-level detail on how to find your zone of genius and scale your business? Here are a few more ways to learn from and get inspired by Lauren.

    Listen to the full podcast episode

    Follow her on Instagram, and LinkedIn

    Join her newsletter to stay up to date with her projects and events

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    Terry Rice

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