People buy from people. One of the most significant revelations I had a few years ago was that people weren’t buying only my expertise, they were buying my time and attention. I do the same! I buy things from people. I go to the coffee shop because the barista is friendly to me apart from making a great coffee. This is why you have to work on your personal brand, and these tools will help you build it and make it stronger.
1. Logofy your name
You should make your name visually appealing but most important recognisable. You could vector your signature or just use a font and a colour that makes you unique. Obviously, the best option, if you had a budget, would be creating a professional logo.
Examples of personal brand
2. Find your voice
The way you speak is meaningful because it will bring or put off your potential customers. Your voice has to be a balance between your authenticity and how you are expected to speak. Some personal brands, like Dan Meredith, swears and it’s a bit rude, but their target market is young entrepreneurs who like a bit of laddish bunter. Other brands are more blinky than others. Make sure you got it right.
3. Linkedin: a powerful tool
Linkedin is one of those tools that is either overused or underused. I find Linkedin a great took to connect with your potential customers but also if you use it well you can get your contacts to share your expertise. Using the blog or posting is great because Linkedin hasn’t got an algorithm that filters, so every contact sees your updates. Use it!
4. Canva
I know a lot of people using Paint or Word to create images for their social media. Canva is an excellent way to make professional looking posts. You could get a designer to create some templates.
5. Buffer
Social media is powerful and as a personal brand is essential. But unless you have thousands of followers, it won’t bring money so don’t spend a lot of time on it… I use Buffer to schedule posts, using one of two hours a week maximum.
6. Meetup and Eventbrite
Meetups are great to put your brand out. You can create meetups or Events in Eventbrite, to give talks and show your expertise to your potential customers. This is a great way to build a client base or possible customers database.
7. Zappier
Similar to Buffer… automating things like emails and forms from your website is a great way to keep your customers happy and engage without spending a lot of time. Your time should be used with people who really need it (and so they pay for it).
8. Mailchimp
Having a good nurturing programme in Mailchimp (or others suppliers) is another good way to keep your potential customers engage. Also, you can keep your customers up to date with the service you offer, but remember to not spam. You need to show your services nicely and creatively. Help people to make the decision.
9. Your website
Your website is possibly one of the best tools for your personal brand. In it, you can have the information of what you are on about. But your website can help you to automate your leads, can help you to spread your knowledge on a blog, can be a hub to put your agenda… there’s so much you can do with it that I won’t be able to list it.
10. Write a book
My friend wrote a book, an awesome book (as soon as is translated to English, I’ll recommend it). After writing the book she saw how her status and a personal brand grew. Writing a book is a great way to engage with potential customers, and if you use the tools above too, you can get a lot of potential customers in your pocket.