Being an entrepreneur is not just limited to creating a product or service that stands out. When you are at the helm of a growing enterprise, you become as much a part of the brand as your product.
As an entrepreneur, your brand and its values are often associated with who you are as an individual. You are seen as an authority in some regions of business specific to your enterprise.
As a business person and an innovator, your goal is to hold on to this perception among the public and establish yourself as someone who knows their industry.
What Is Personal Branding?
Personal branding is the representation of one’s niche, goals, and values, giving people an idea about what the person stands for. It also provides the person with a unique identity. According to Forbes, you can see a 23% increase in revenue when there is consistent branding across channels.
Why Is Personal Branding Important?
People want to buy a product or service that they know. This is the primary reason why businesses and individuals are always trying to be visible to the public eye.
Consumers also tend to be more trusting of a brand that has a vocal CEO who speaks to the press and has a welcoming persona online. Whether it is through LinkedIn posts or Facebook Live, when you interact with your customers, you build a cult following for your brand.
Here are 6 reasons why you must invest in your personal branding as an entrepreneur.
1. Building Credibility:
Generally speaking, customers are more likely to trust a brand when their founder or CEO comes across as a credible individual. Your branding should work towards positioning you as someone who can be trusted because when people trust you as a person, they also trust your brand.
When you are seen as someone who has a certain amount of credibility, more people are likely to follow you, listen to things that you have to say, and also invest in your brand and products or services that it offers.
For building a credible persona, you need to be able to speak about current affairs politely, offer useful suggestions, and remain honest to your audience without exceptions.
2. Establish Yourself As An Industry Leader:
Irrespective of your industry, every brand, and its founders want to be seen as authority figures. For example, if your brand is around AR, you would want the press to look at you as the first person they should ask about it.
You need a flawless brand positioning strategy to be able to position yourself as a leader in your chosen field. This does not mean that you cannot speak about your other areas of interest.
In fact, a person who has multidomain knowledge is often looked at with really high respect in any industry! However, what serves best while building your brand is to stand for your expertise in one domain and then slowly make your way into others.
You can do this through thought-leadership articles, posts on professional forums such as LinkedIn, by being a part of panel discussions and through online videos about your domain.
You can make these videos using online promo video maker free available easily on the internet.
3. Creating Points Of Engagement With A Larger Audience:
It takes time to establish yourself as an authority figure in your sector because it requires careful planning and branding placements. But when you create content for your personal channel that is informative and strong, you can start grabbing eyeballs of the correct set of audience.
Moreover, crossposting your promo videos on your brand’s page also helps gain the attention of followers who are mainly interested in the product or service you offer but also might be intrigued about hearing from you.
Gradually over a period through word of mouth and referrals, more and more people will get to know about you and your personal brand, thus granting you a larger following.
4. Increasing Your Value And Market Price:
People are eager to pay more for products and services that they consider to have significant value. Take Apple, Gucci, or Ferrari, for example. They sell products that are available from a variety of different brands, and yet, people aspire to own these brands specifically.
When you have positioned yourself as a credible person with a significant grasp over your subject matter, people will look at both you and your brand differently.
A classic example would be Zivame, an Indian lingerie brand founded by Richa Kar. Richa’s strong personality and pioneering stance inspire many an Indian woman to start their own venture even if it is unprecedented.
This, in turn, makes women from across the country trust Zivame as the brand that they want to purchase their lingerie and intimates from!
5. Gain More Freedom:
When you are a trusted authority in your field, you get to make specific calls about your career and how you progress with it. If you have a separate appeal from your brand, your investors would also be more comfortable with giving you free rein over the brand.
Take, for example, influencers like the Try Guys who were once associated with big brands like Buzzfeed and how they grew to start their own YouTube presence and eventually their own brand and business.
6. Facilitating Networking:
When you are an entrepreneur, an essential strategy for growth is networking with other leaders in your industry, understanding their views, and figuring out ways in which you can contribute and collaborate.
When you have a strong personal brand, not only will people want to work with your brand but also be interested in exchanging ideas and growth hacks. Having strong relationships with your fellow entrepreneurs is always a huge plus.
Conclusion:
You can be successful in your personal branding endeavors by using some simple tools such as a good branding strategy, your social media handles, and a video editor for pc through which you can edit your thought leadership videos.
Your brand image as an entrepreneur is as vital as branding for your business. You can end up being synonymous with your brand, which would facilitate the growth of both you and your brand.
