How Personal Branding Helps Business Growth
From: "Help! My Business is Growing" Podcast
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.
Erica Castner is a Brand Strategist, and Founder of Castner Consulting, specializing in helping business owners and creators find, connect, and convert prospects into clients.
For over two decades, she has helped business owners + personal brands expand their reach and online presence.
She is also the host of the Voices of Impact podcast and recently became an Ironman.
In this week's episode, we discuss:
02:53 What is personal branding? And how do you leverage it to grow your business?
05:25 How do you expand your reach and personal brand beyond social media or LinkedIn, such as summits and face-to-face interactions?
15:25 What are the steps to take if someone wants to speak on a bigger platform such as a TEDx talk, for example?
24:35 What are some significant and positive changes in the business when the owners or founders successfully implement personal branding?
29:37 What is the one tangible thing a founder or CEO can do this next week to get them closer to building their personal brand?
Listen to the podcast here:
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:
Who is your audience?
What is your message?
What is your positioning?
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.
How do you expand your reach and personal brand beyond social media or LinkedIn through summits and face-to-face interactions?
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 and 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
What are the steps to take if someone wants to speak on a bigger platform such as a TEDx talk, for example?
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.
What are some significant and positive changes when owners or founders successfully implement personal branding?
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
What is the one tangible thing a founder or CEO can do next week to get them closer to building 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.
We go in-depth with this topic and more over at the podcast. Listen here:
To Recap:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Increasing brand awareness and allowing potential customers to experience your brand is a positive result of establishing a personal brand.
5. 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.
About Erica Castner
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
by Kathy Svetina
Kathy is a Fractional CFO and the founder and director of NewCastle Finance LLC. She is a financial puzzle solver, focusing on women-owned businesses, and providing financial insights needed for a healthy and sustainable business.