How can you measure the reach of your personal brand on multiple platforms?

The most important step is defining the objectives - your “why”. Why do you want to invest in building your personal brand, what do you hope to gain from it? Once you have the answer to this question, you can begin to craft SMART objectives and work towards building your brand.

A foundational step to gauging the reach of your personal brand across various platforms is to first clearly define your objectives. This alignment ensures that you're not just casting a wide net, but instead, drawing in the audience that resonates with your brand's core values. For those just embarking on this journey, start by setting realistic and tangible goals—consider what you wish to attract, whether it's career opportunities, a specific audience in your niche, or partnerships. A practical tip is to use SMART criteria to frame your goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, which can significantly help in tracking your progress and impact effectively.

Don’t make the common mistake of trying to be everywhere at once. Start small - pick a niche and a single platform, and build from there. LinkedIn is by far the best platform for serious and ambitious professionals who are trying to build a legitimate personal brand, so consider using LinkedIn as your primary channel.

Measuring the reach of your personal brand across various platforms can be akin to finding the perfect product-market fit; you want to be where your audience naturally congregates. For instance, selling advanced yoga mats on a platform predominantly used by weightlifting enthusiasts can be an uphill battle due to the mismatch in audience interests. For anyone just starting out, focus on one platform that aligns closely with your brand values and content style, and grow your presence there before expanding to others. This concentrated effort can give you a solid foundation of engaged followers, setting a strong precedent for your brand's expansion.

The critical first step involves delving into the numbers and metrics - potent indicators of your brand's performance. Two key metrics to focus on are Reach and Impressions. A robust brand showcases a healthy combination of good reach and double the impressions. Progressing further, tailor your analysis to each platform; for instance, evaluate the engagement rate on Instagram. It's a straightforward formula: Total engagement (likes, comments, shares, and saves) divided by total impressions, multiplied by 100. This calculation unveils the content quality's impact, revealing whether people are actively interacting with your brand. The same evaluation technique holds true for other platforms, ensuring a better understanding of your reach.

In my experience, using third-party tools, such as Later, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social, has provided more promising results compared to each social media platform's analytics tools (Facebook Insights, Instagram Insights, Twitter Analytics, etc.). Main reason being, the third-party tool may give you the ability to analyze performance of several platforms in one place, helping to conserve time, energy, and resources. All in all, using any tool vs not will help you gather valuable insights about your audience, engagement, and the overall performance of your posts which results in more informed decisions as you aim to scale.

Every month, do a holistic content audit to identify what’s working and what isn’t, so that you can efficiently pivot and tweak your strategy accordingly. There’s no point tracking metrics if you aren’t drawing the right insights and making adjustments along the way.

As a marketer, I've found that the key to successfully scaling both my personal and client social media accounts lies in the ability to adapt and re-strategize consistently. Trying different types of content, posting at different times, and engaging with audiences in various ways without fear of stepping out of the comfort zone. Trial and error will lead you to discover those 'content pots of gold' - the posts that resonate with the audience, drive engagement, and ultimately, help scale your accounts. Social media is a continuous game of adaptation. What works today might not work tomorrow. So, keep analyzing, keep experimenting, and most importantly, don't be afraid to re-strategize.

3 unusually helpful tips that many of my clients don't consider out the gate: 1. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC): a powerful tool that can help grow your presence. Encourage your followers to share their own content related to your brand or products, and feature their posts on your own account. 2. Collaborate with Micro-Influencers: While big-name influencers can certainly give your brand a boost, don't overlook the power of micro-influencers. These are individuals with smaller, but highly engaged and loyal followings. 3. Use Customer Service: Many businesses overlook this part. Responding to comments, messages, and reviews in a timely and helpful manner can significantly improve your brand's reputation and customer satisfaction.