We may often say or hear that a person’s “reputation precedes them,” and no business owner can argue with the importance of a good reputation in their industry. But along with the way others see you comes a different, but equally critical, aspect of perception—the way you want people to see you, also known as “personal branding.”

This phrase raises a lot of questions: What is personal branding? How is it different from corporate branding? How do you develop a personal brand? And how do you promote a personal brand without impeding on or overshadowing the business or organization you represent?

Personal branding is all about being intentional with regard to the impact you make on others. That can be as simple as a business card, or as complex as a presence on multiple social media channels, speaking gigs, and a presence known throughout your industry.

Whether you put thought into it or not, you have a personal brand.

Therefore, it’s important to consciously cultivate what you are known for and how people can interact with and follow you. For some, that’s a blog or podcast; for others, it’s through Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, or Facebook posts; and for still others, it’s regularly attending a local networking group.

As with a corporate brand, it’s essential you strike the right tone when interacting with followers. However, your personal brand is different from your organization’s brand. It’s your own. You’re in charge of it and your personality should be present.

This difference can make some organizations shy away from encouraging individuals to develop personal brands associated with the company or nonprofit. But it’s beneficial to both the organization and individuals to welcome and invite personal branding.

I’ll give you two examples. I spent much of my career as an independent business owner within a franchise. There was my own company’s branding known locally, and that of the nationally known company and product we sold. We were authorized to represent that brand, as well as our own.

As a result, it was a win-win for both brands. There was synchronicity in all of our marketing, communications, and outreach.

More recently, as one of the founders of The Women of Community Impact, it was important that we simultaneously work toward making our community a better place for all its residents, and we encourage our members to promote themselves and their businesses.

Everyone benefits from this arrangement. The leadership team and members enthusiastically put our all into the organization because we reap the rewards of elevating the influence and prominence of our own businesses and careers. More people want to be involved in the organization, because they see it as a way to grow their businesses while serving the community. In turn, membership and engagement has flourished.

As a side note—we always welcome new members to our group! Consider joining us on the second Wednesday of each month for our virtual networking series, Coffee & Connections. It is a wonderful group of women committed to supporting each other and our communities.

Personal branding can be a powerful tool for your team.

If you’re in a position of leadership, you might be wondering how you can encourage employees, volunteers, or contractors to use personal branding to benefit both themselves and your organization. Here are a few tips:

• Make it known that you encourage positive personal branding that’s associated with your company or group. Share with them logos and taglines they could add to their social media pages or business cards, and remind them to follow the organization on social channels, so they can share posts.
• Set boundaries to ensure success. Ask them to let the organization know if they’ll be posting or talking about the company or nonprofit. Let them know if there are off-limits topics. Make sure they know you are placing your trust in them with your company brand.
• Remember, camaraderie and support go both ways. Acknowledge people who do boost the organization’s brand. Retweet them, share their posts, highlight their speaking gigs if appropriate, and thank them.

What about you as an individual? How do you promote yourself and your organization?

• First, reach out to leadership for the company or nonprofit and let them know what you would like to do. Hopefully, they will encourage you, as it is in their best interest to do.
• Make sure your brand is distinct from the corporate brand. If you only share everything they post, or repeat corporate language verbatim, you won’t stand out to people.
• Consider how your goals line up. You know what you want for your career, but how does that fall in line with the goals of the organization? For instance, maybe you want to raise your profile and your company wants more clients. Developing your brand around local public speaking opportunities would be a smart move with your aligned goals.
• Be yourself, and be the person of integrity I know you are. Leave controversial subjects off your personal brand. If you wouldn’t discuss a topic with a boss or client, it’s not appropriate for your social media accounts either.

Would you like to promote yourself more to further your career or grow your business? I teach my Celeste Giordano coaching clients strategies to quickly raise your profile with the right people.

If you’re ready to discover strategies to make it easier to run a successful Legacy Business as you “double plus” your income THIS year, contact me today.

 

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Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlus™” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with more than 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.

To learn more about Celeste, click here.

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