In recent years, social media has toppled traditional advertising, with more people trusting social media content over ad content.
Whether you run your own business or you’re an influencer-in-training, the importance of personal branding is greater now than ever. And an effective personal brand can build trust and earn you followers, while a weak brand identity may only repel people away.
Use these tips to get started with personal branding on social media.
Define Your Role
Personal branding is personal, but it should never be self-serving.
You must know who your brand is for, how it serves them, and what value you bring. After all, social media platforms are highly-saturated, so you must identify how you’ll stand out from the crowd.
Ask yourself who your niche and ideal followers are and what kind of content they want to see. If you’re not sure, consider polling people or asking followers for their feedback.
Once you know your role on social media, make sure every post, video, or story clearly reflects it.
Know Your Image and Voice
Your personal branding strategy is nothing without knowing what kind of image and voice you want to convey.
These points are at the heart of a personal brand. You should have a personalized logo (you can create one with this logo creator), a color scheme or unifying design, and a theme to your content.
And your voice should remain consistent, from your captions to your DMs.
While it’s fun to change things up sometimes, your brand should be predictable to your followers. After all, they’re following you because they like what they see. Deviating from your brand may only alienate those who are cheering you on.
Make Connections
Speaking of your supporters, social media is social, and connections are vital.
Rather than having a personal brand that is merely consumed by social media users, invite them to be an active part of your world. Put calls-to-action in your posts, asking people to comment or send you a message. Use polls or quizzes (such as those found in Instagram stories) to encourage engagement.
And when people want to connect with you and your content, be sure to always respond, solidifying your brand as one that’s friendly and trustworthy.
Be Consistent
One of the best ways to build your brand on social media is to create consistent content. That means updating regularly and creating content that consistently aligns with your brand identity.
What that content will look like may vary depending on the platform. For example, on Twitter, you may sprinkle several new tweets on your profile every day. On Instagram, you might put one regular post up while posting a few clips to your story each day. But on Facebook, only a few updates throughout the week may suffice.
Staying consistent keeps your followers engaged, while keeping your personal brand relevant.
The Basics of Personal Branding on Social Media
If you’re ready to get started with personal branding on social media, follow these basic tips to start building your brand and attracting new followers.
For more marketing and branding strategies, check out our latest business articles!