Every single person who uses social media has a personal brand. We all have a unique digital footprint that our friends and followers can easily recognize and identify as being us.
Companies use this knowledge to form multinational branding campaigns that help establish them in society and increase their market share. Individuals have turned back to social media and polished their brand to such a level that they can make a career and a lucrative living from being themselves.
You do not have to aim for world domination, but you will be pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to make a name for yourself as a local celebrity. Make a game plan and begin polishing your image; you never know how far the ladder of success will carry you.
Begin thinking of yourself as a brand
To put a dollar value on your services, you need to start thinking of yourself as a brand. What is your specialty? What aspects of your personality are people drawn to? Are you an expert in a specific subject? What do you do well? Are you a teacher, a speaker, a motivational icon?
Once you ascertain how you are perceived, you can channel that into how you want to be perceived. Many people have found significant success by simply enhancing their sheer force of personality and God-given charisma.
Research brands like Wendy’s use Twitter to give the company a specific personality or motivational speakers such as Debbie Scheer Speaks, who have positioned themselves in the entertainment market based on their specific personality traits.
Identify Your Target Market
Once you know your brand image, you can begin looking into defining who would most value what you have to offer. Now that you are a brand, you are also the product. Thinking of yourself this way will make it easier for you to identify your customer base.
If you already have followers and fans on social media, then connect with them more personally and more often. Consistency matters a great deal on social media, and many influencers have clear schedules on when they release content. Connecting personally with your existing fan base will also help you find out what made them want to follow you. This is information you can use to position yourself to draw in more followers.
Once you know who your target market is, you can begin curating content to appeal directly to them. Share and highlight this content to increase your brand’s interest and attract new fans who share similar interests.
Create a Personal Website
Social media is great as a tool to draw fans, connect with followers, and share content. But as a brand, you need a clear home or one-stop hub where people interested in your services can find you. There is no point in doing so much work and investing in yourself if the people who want to pay for your services cannot find you.
It does not need to be a complex site. Even a few pages can make a difference as long as it is consistent with your branding and looks professional. If you can, hire a website designer and work with them to create a space representing you well.
Many websites offer you templates you can adapt to suit your needs. You can then pay a small fee to them to host your site on their server.
Be More Visible
Now that you are a brand, you need to be much more visible. What you were doing before got you this far. Now it is time to enhance and adapt it to a larger scale.
Look at how other influencers and media personalities have added to their media presence. People do giveaways of products, stream games they play to followers via Twitch, conduct Zoom talks or panel discussions, and so much more.
Among the variety available, there is sure to be something you can do that you would enjoy and is in line with your brand image. Find it and begin enhancing your online presence.
One of the easiest ways to be relevant and add value to your brand is to be more yourself. You are the value you bring to the brand, and by leaning more into your interests, you will attract more like-minded people. Use your platform as a way to tap into the cultural zeitgeist and form an individual voice that reflects the thoughts and opinions of your followers and fans.
Conduct surveys, host forums, encourage, and mediate dialogues among your followers. They will see you using your platform for what you believe in, making them more loyal to your brand. Be true to yourself, and success is sure to follow.
