Personal Branding for Business Owners: Is It Necessary?

• Updated on: 2018-09-21
• Read original article here

Social media has really changed the way we look at personal branding. Professionals can now share their expertise with millions of followers on a regular basis. Readers can interact with their idols directly.

For professionals, social media is a big portfolio and a way to build a strong personal brand.

While the benefits of personal branding are apparent for professionals, not many entrepreneurs and business owners take it – and social media – seriously.

The big question has always been whether personal branding is necessary for business owners. We are going to answer that question in this article.

It is easier for customers and an audience in general to connect with a name – a face – than a brand. In recent years, some of the most successful companies and their founders have leaned more on the personal side of business than before. Steve Jobs was Apple’s face and Bill Gates is the name synonymous with Microsoft.

It’s not just with tech companies either. Small, often home-based businesses, can build better and stronger relationships with their customers simply because the customers know the people behind the brand. Personal branding is important indeed.

There is one additional advantage to personal branding for business owners and that is credibility. We unconsciously associate a credible, capable person with that person’s business. When you see a man you’ve known to be a good advertiser starting a digital marketing company, you can expect the company to carry his credibility.

Personal branding for business owners is also about marketing. There is a wealth of opportunities to be explored through personal branding. Tai Lopez, an entrepreneur who has been a big hit on social media, reached his current success through good personal branding.

The combination of great companies and a good social media presence made Lopez the go-to guy for those who want to learn more about starting a business.

You too can establish yourself as an expert in the industry. All you have to do is share the knowledge you have and let others benefit from that content.

Let’s say you are running a home furniture business and are selling custom crafted furniture items. Use your love for woodworking as the target of your.

Share tips and tricks, stories on how you got started and some woodworking secrets for fellow crafters.

It is also worth noting that a personal brand is a good way to grow. You can develop a strong personal brand while working on your business at the same time. The result is growth that the audience can follow along, creating a stronger bond between you (and your business) and the audience.

This type of relationship is difficult to forge over a short period of time. There aren’t that many opportunities where you can take the audience – your customers – on a journey together with you.

If you’re starting a new business, focusing on personal branding efforts alongside the more conventional marketing approaches used by the business is vital.

At the end of the day, a personal brand is an investment. You’re building your name, your credibility and your presence – both online and offline. While the benefits of these investments are not always obvious, especially in the short term, they will come in handy when they count.

A personal brand is how others perceive you; as a business owner, that is as important as your business’s brand. With the market being as competitive as it is today, a personal brand may just be what you need to set yourself apart from the competition. It can even be the extra competitive edge that takes your business to success.