Why You Need A Personal Brand Even If You Plan To Step Back
By Georgia Kirke
Do you dream of building a business that doesn’t rely on your constant presence?
It’s a vision many business owners in my entrepreneurial networks share, but often hot on the heels is the question, “Why would I build a personal brand and not just a company brand?”
A company brand and a personal brand perform different functions and with so much choice in the world people are eager for emotional connection (now more than ever!).
Emotional connection
Creating high-value content is so much more than marketing collateral. Look at it this way, if you have ever been to an art gallery (even if you know nothing about art and don’t know how to interpret the paintings), you are searching for something that speaks to you. In every piece of content that you create people are searching for something that they resonate with.
How to create emotional connection
Take a few moments to consider what specifically it is that might appeal to your target audience and help them connect to you and your business. What attracted some of your previous ideal clients to work with you? What do your ideal clients really want from you that you can help them achieve? What problems do you help them solve and what difference does that make to their lives?
A personal brand doesn’t mean you have to be at the forefront all the time or the only point of contact. However, if you intend to have a team and systems in place to handle enquiries and progress business, make sure that you manage client expectations so they don’t feel short changed if someone other than you is their designated go-to person.
Why a company brand is not enough
A company brand is a conjoined narrative voice that typically shares business-related information. It might include a logo and a set colour scheme, but it rarely delivers a compelling reason to do business because it’s not personal.
Personal branding is incredibly important regardless of what type of business you’re in; without a personal brand price becomes the main consideration.
For example, think about the big four accounting firms Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG International Ltd, and Deloitte. If you don’t already know anything about them, how would you choose who you wanted to support you?
What are their differentiators?
They are all qualified. They are all big firms with lots of experience. They all have testimonials. What would swing it for you? It’s likely to come down to price, and perhaps your feelings about the helpfulness of any staff members you speak to.
The real power
The real power in attracting your ideal clients to you is to build that emotional connection. Install a content marketing framework within your business (see earlier blog) that showcases you and your services but is backed up by the rest of your team who take care of everything backstage (the technical stuff, scheduling, editing, everything else!).
Over time your inhouse team can also begin to take their place on the front stage so that your target audience can connect with them too.
The next steps
Start to think about how you can create a personal brand that gets you known and build up a self-managing company so that it doesn’t consume all of your time. When you do this you are creating something powerful for your team to step into (build it into development plans).
A personal brand that also introduces other key team members helps make your business incredibly attractive; your target audience gets to meet and hear from the people who will be supporting them through their journey from day one. They have the opportunity to form an emotional connection.
10-second takeaway
What do you think sets you apart from other business owners in the same industry as you? What is your unique selling point? Pop into the Facebook group and share two ideas!
Would you like support to create a compelling personal brand that wields power in the marketplace? Feel free to book a discovery call with one of my team or jump into the Facebook group and ask any questions or join in the discussion there.
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