We all know the value of having a personal brand. Whether you are a small business owner running your own show or work for a larger brand’s social media operations, it’s important to showcase your brand voice to your audience. Not only does this increase your credibility, but it also helps your audience connect with you as a person. That’s why we invited leadership coach and long-time #TwitterSmarter member, Nathalie Gregg, to talk about how to develop a personal brand by offering value. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Nathalie Gregg
Topic: Building a personal brand through voice, value, and visibility
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
Your personal brand is an indication of who you are and what matters most to you. So when you prioritize on your brand and the way you communicate with it, you automatically make valuable connections and conversations. That is the priceless asset that your personal brand can give you.
A1. Your personal brand is one of the most powerful pieces of your portfolio!
We need to think about it that way and be very intentional in our work and our communication.
Remember: An asset is something that brings value!!! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/yySj5xTlNX pic.twitter.com/oyLJU5n7ES
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
Jake said it well. To get the most of your personal brand, find what you’re good at and passionate about. You can then use that to enhance your personal brand and offer value to people around you. It’s a great way to establish your authority and get returns from it.
A1: Find the intersection of what you're knowledgeable about *AND* passionate about.
When it's fun & you can share value, people will immediately feel connection. This increases the value of your personal brand as an asset.
Then turn attention to your product. #TwitterSmarter pic.twitter.com/phwsRyvJ5T
— JZ Jake Zachariah (@jzjakez) October 15, 2020
Answer the three main questions our guest mentioned.
A2 .Assess these three:
1. What is your brands #power? Is it generating awareness? Is it converting?
2. What is your brand’s #engagement? Is it #consistent & #sharable?
3. What is your brand’s alignment? Is it align with your goals?
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
Once you answer those questions, you’ll have a good idea of how much value you and your brand is generating on Twitter.
In addition to that, as Stephen suggested, you can also ask your audience what they think of you and how much they want to hear from you.
A2: Your audience will let you know if you ask them. #TwitterSmarter
— Steven Diaz (@mrstevendiaz) October 15, 2020
Of course, if you can ask your audience and they respond positively, that’s a sign that you already have an established community. As Kushlani pointed out, your community and your contribution to them is a great measure of value.
A2: Two words – Contribution and Community#TwitterSmarter
— Kushlani De Silva (@kushlani_ds) October 15, 2020
When you know your strengths, like Nathalie mentioned, you can drill own further and improve upon it.
A3. Continue to develop your strengths!
What is the one thing that you do extremely well?
Focus on it!
Continue to drill down!
Know your challenges and automate, collaborate, or outsource. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/1yMOi343eL
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
And as Iynette added, once you know what your challenges are, you can use it as a learning opportunity.
A3.
The strengths let you shine while the challenges let you learn.#TwitterSmarter
— lynette muthoni (@lyn_muthoni) October 15, 2020
But it’s also important to balance out your strengths and challenges. For as Christine pointed out, focussing on one and ignoring the other can also be harmful for your brand in the long run. Make sure you build a strong strategy with a prime focus on your strengths, but at the same time, work on your challenges so that they don’t come back to bite you.
A3.
If you only focus on your strengths, your challenges will rise up and bite you!
If you only focus on your challenges, you'll never be able to reach your full potential.
Build strategy around your strengths, and back it up by strengthening weaknesses.#TwitterSmarter— Christine Gritmon ❤️ #ChatAboutBrand (@cgritmon) October 15, 2020
The important thing is that you shouldn’t go big too soon and overwhelm yourself. Instead, start small—building a unique brand voice that people can resonate with doesn’t happen overnight.
A4. #2.
1. Align your content with your personality!
2. Choose three branding words and use them often.
3. Choose a platform that aligns with your #vibe & your #tribe! #TwitterSmarter
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
To start off, choose a social media channel where you have the most engaged audience. Then think about the content you share, and align it with your values. And then choose two-three words that relate to your brand and use it consistently to help audience recognize and recall you.
One of the best ways to make sure that your social media voice is unique is to make it authentically you, as Lori mentioned. The more you try to “create” a voice, the more it tends to morph into something that’s not inherently yours.
A4: Don’t create, just BE.
BE YOU!
The minute you start creating a persona, you loose your uniqueness. Then when they meet you in person, they’re confused. Where’s that persona?
Consistency on and offline wins. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/Ko5mXIqBHL
— Lori Anding ? || ? 6ft (@southbaysome) October 15, 2020
There are a few things you can do to incorporate your personal voice into your brand. As Nathalie pointed out, focus on your target industry to get the most engagement.
4. Begin to create your own bodies of work: blogs/articles/ebooks/lives/twitter chats #TwitterSmarter
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
Of course, you don’t have to follow each of these steps in that order. But if you’re starting out and need some guidance, consider it as a good way to go about nurturing your brand. Ultimately, every successful brand does all four activities on a daily basis.
Janet made an excellent point about being consistent and present at the same time. So many brands, though consistent in sharing content, fail to be present—listening and engaging with their audience. If you do both and do so in a channel that needs your brand’s presence, you’ll naturally incorporate your personality in your branding.
A5. It is impossible growing a brand that is never present.
Be part of the platforms your brands needs to be. #TwitterSmarter
— Janet Machuka (@janetmachuka_) October 15, 2020
It’s the key for a successful social media presence. We all buy from people we like and trust. And we also tell others about who we buy from. That’s why it’s important to be seen and noticed. To achieve that, you need a good branding strategy that’s based on community wellbeing.
#2. We all do business with people that we know, like and trust. First, your audience must know that you exist and the problems that you solve.#TwitterSmarter
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
As Christina pointed out, unless you’re seen, you won’t be heard, understood, or appreciated. However, you also don’t want the wrong kind of visibility—which is only too easy to get on social media.
A6: Visibility is foundational. If you can't be seen, you can't be heard, understood, trusted, or approached.
It also needs to be the right kind of visibility. Just like we don't want to just focus on mentions, we need to focus on positive mentions/sentiment. #TwitterSmarter
— Christina Garnett (@ThatChristinaG) October 15, 2020
It’s everything. A good network will take you places. And to build that network, connect with similar-minded people, express what matters most to you and the trials you go through, and prioritize your community, engaging with them regularly.
A5. #2. In order to remain top of my you must do these three things:
1. Connect-With others who are going in the same direction!
2. Communicate –Your #passion and your #pain points!
3. Community –Build a community of like minded people! #TwitterSmarter
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
As Gene so well articulated, there’s no point in waiting to build your network. Every day is a good day to start because all of us need help to move forward in our life. Human beings are designed to collaborate and help each other out. It’s only natural that that primal quality translates to social media as well.
A7 Huge! The most successful people/brands understand that we cant get where we want to go on our own. We need help. We need collaborators and ambassadors. Invest in the network before you need it. The next best time is now. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/zVcqCXevvk
— Gene Petrov – LDRBRND (@LDRBRND) October 15, 2020
Nathalie’s top points summed up our chat nicely. Some common mistakes according to her are:
A8. Common mistakes with personal branding
1. Not making personal branding a priority!
2. Not having a plan!
3. Giving up!!! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/vvGEoYgKlh
— Nathalie Gregg (@NathalieGregg) October 15, 2020
Marianne mentioned a few other great mistakes, including talking too much about yourself and assuming you know it all.
A8: some common mistakes
⭐️ Talking ALL about themselves
⭐️ Not adding any value
⭐️ Trying to be someone they’re not
⭐️ Assuming they are an expert#twittersmarter— Marianne Avery | Social Media Manager (@sociallymaz) October 15, 2020
Lance also shared a few mistakes that many brands make when starting out on social media. For example, swearing, trying to be someone else, ignoring mentions, and not giving credit where it’s due.
#TwitterSmarter A8: Common mistakes made w/ personal brands include:
* Lying
* Not giving credit to others when its due
* Foul language (guilty)
* Taking others for granted
* Not engaging (especially to refute negative info)
* Being ignorant to others' needs and preferences— Lance A Schart (@LanceASchart) October 15, 2020
Well folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading and for more insight from our chat with Nathalie, have a look at this Twitter Moment that Joana put together. And if you have time to spare next Thursday, join us at 1pm ET for #TwitterSmarter.
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all things—technical and marketing copy to fill the pocket; haiku and short stories to fill the soul. A social media enthusiast, I’m a member of the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and always happy to take on writing gigs.
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