How Personal Branding Helps Business Growth

Aug 12, 2022 | Listen

How Personal Branding Helps Business Growth

In this digitally driven age, the concept of Personal branding is so prevalent that it is literally everywhere online. You’ll find tons of articles on the subject on Google, and it is the subject of numerous LinkedIn and Instagram posts, YouTube videos – and even podcast episodes like this one.

Personal branding is here to stay and has become an important part of marketing. It is one of the best ways to stand out and stay ahead of the pack. It is the public persona you choose to establish for your target audience, including your thoughts and beliefs. It keeps you in control over how people perceive you, the value you provide, and by extension, your business.

So how do you develop your personal brand and leverage its power and your influence to grow your business successfully?

In this episode of Help! My Business Is Growing, our guest Erica Castner defines what personal branding is and how it can benefit all aspects of your life, including your business.

She shares actionable tips on developing your personal brand to help you gain confidence and grow your network and, of course, your business.



Timestamps for this week’s episode

  • 02:53 What is personal branding? And how do you leverage it to grow your business?

  • 05:25 Expanding your reach and personal brand beyond social media or LinkedIn

  • 15:25 Steps to take to speak on a bigger platform such as a TEDx talk and more

  • 24:35 How does successful personal branding by its owner positively impact businesses?

  • 29:37 What’s one action a CEO or founder can take next week to build their personal brand?

What is personal branding? And how do you leverage it to grow your business?

Personal branding is an opportunity and an extension of our own brand.

How you leverage it to increase brand awareness will depend on the following:

Then you can evaluate which platform best fits your business goals, allowing you to focus on having conversations.

Whether you talk on a particular platform (for example, this podcast) or in front of multiple people either in person or via virtual summits, having conversations can help expand your brand.

In the simplest form, I like to think of personal branding as an opportunity and an extension for our own brand.

Expanding your reach and personal brand beyond social media or LinkedIn

Focus on three to five industries that are already talking and marketing to your ideal customer and build relationships with them.

Engage and share ideas on speaking opportunities, referrals, partnership opportunities, and things that will lead you to your target market organically.

Take part in “Content-based networking,” where you come together with people in a similar or complementary industry and create content to benefit the customers you serve.

You can expand this concept via collaborations and partnering up in their workshops and more. Share that space create affinity partnerships and share resources that are of value to the audience.

Sharing will help you embrace a “giving mentality”, and everyone will benefit. You become more valuable as a leader in your industry when you can bring other resources and powerhouses to your audience, and vice versa; you automatically become more valuable to your audience. You also provide more opportunities for growth to other businesses by helping others make connections.

“I found that the coolest way for us as business owners is to talk to people already talking to your ideal customer. It’s engaging and sharing ideas on speaking and partnership opportunities, referrals, and things that will organically lead us to our target market.” – Erica Castner

Steps to take to speak on a bigger platform such as a TEDx talk and more

If you want to speak at a big conference or podcast one day, start with something local.

If you can’t do that in-person capacity, create live stream content where you’re exercising your voice and practicing topics that resonate with you.

Getting feedback from other people helps identify what works and what doesn’t in terms of your style of speaking.

When comfortable and confident, apply for these bigger speaking opportunities.

For business owners who don't know where to start, have conversations with people who are already marketing to your ideal customers.

How does successful personal branding by its owner positively impact businesses?

Increased visibility with the target audience is one positive change businesses enjoy by positioning themselves as a company that will provide value via its message or expertise.

Decision makers get the opportunity to experience and consume the brand and to learn more about its services. And they’re ready to work with you because you’ve positioned yourself from a place of strength all along the journey.

Part of our responsibility as business owners is to beat our own drum. Go out there and start engaging in conversations to find out what other people are doing, and letting them know that we want to expand our reach through speaking opportunities.” – Erica Castner

Actionable steps CEOs or founders can take next week to build their personal brand?

Know what your expected result is, and make sure that you’re engaging in

conversations and putting yourself in the specific arenas where your audience can experience your brand so you can strike up conversations with them.


Summary

  • Personal branding is an extension of who we are, as it intersects how you see yourself and how others see you. You can leverage its growth by having meaningful conversations, which will also help grow your business.
  • Expand your reach by finding people already serving your target audience. Collaborate with them to create content that will provide value to the audience as well.
  • Before speaking on a bigger platform, start small, practice, get feedback and get comfortable. Once you have gained confidence, apply for the bigger speaking opportunities.
  • Increasing brand awareness and allowing potential customers to experience your brand is a positive result of establishing a personal brand.
  • Go back to basics and evaluate what your goals are. It will help you strategize how to build your personal brand to benefit your business.

Transcript

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About guest – Erica Castner

Brand Strategist and Founder

Castner Consulting

For over two decades, Erica Castner has helped business owners + personal brands expand their reach and online presence. She is the founder of Castner Consulting, specializing in helping business owners and creators find, connect, and convert prospects into clients. She is also the host of the Voices of Impact podcast and recently became an Ironman.

Website – https://ericacastner.com/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericacastner/

Instagram – www.instagram.com/ericaqueeniecastner

Podcast | Voice of Impact: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/voices-of-impact-with-erica-castner/id1488325449


About host – Kathy Svetina

Kathy Svetina is a Fractional CFO for growing small businesses with $10M+ in annual revenue.

Clients hire her when they’re unsure about what’s going on in their finances, are stressed out by making financial decisions, or need to structure their finances to keep up with their growth.

She solves their nagging money mysteries and builds a financial structure with a tailored financial strategy. That way they can grow in a financially healthy and sustainable way.

Kathy is based in Chicago, IL and works with clients all over the US.

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