3 Ways to Create Personal Connections with Your Brand

Raoul Davis is a CEO Branding Expert, a Partner at Ascendant Group and the co-author of FIRESTARTERS: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life. Find him on Twitter @CEO_Branding.

When I strategize with CEOs to enhance their overall brands (think social media, speaking engagements and media deals), they often worry that the focus is too much on themselves. "This should be about the company."

To some degree, they're right. However, a CEO brand that resonates is a gateway drug for a successful corporate brand. And from there, personal brands for employees at all levels become important (but it starts at the top).

If you're not a multi-national behemoth, most clients will rarely make a personal connection with your company — they make that connection with a person. An independent investor often decides whether or not to invest based on the person. Accordingly, personal branding is vital to incrementally growing your business. The best companies are those that start from the top and iteratively build employees' personal brands.

Here's how:

1. Embrace the niche!

Sales is an emotional game, and emotions are picky creatures. People search for an emotional connection with the person whom they will pay for a product or service. Encourage your team to focus on niche areas and specific areas of excellence. This allows team members to shine by assisting clients with clearly differentiating expertise. Niche experts build trust.

For instance, a financial firm sets itself up by differentiating the expertise of its team. It can have investment advisors embracing unique product areas, like investment planning for plumbers, hone business owners, or real estate professionals. Your niche-oriented team will speaking a common language with their clients.

2. Use LinkedIn for personal branding outreach.

LinkedIn allows you to build relationships instantly with your target audience. Encourage your team not to outsource social media contacts to a random millennial. They have a real opportunity to develop a connection with people in a variety of fields who can become instant fans of their brands - and, by extension, your company.

LinkedIn allows lightning quick, zero-to-sixty branding. There are few better ways to establish a personal brand for business. The key is value. You aren't selling your brand on LinkedIn. You're establishing it. HUGE difference! Unfortunately, most people don't get that, and 99 percent of their blatant sales tactics end up deleted or ignored.

To build a brand, take the time to compose meaningful content and personalized notes. A potential client will be much more likely to connect with someone who has clearly put thought and initiative into their branding efforts. Positive first impressions are more likely to lead to mutually beneficial solutions.

3. Make your brand a force for good!

Have you ever been to a conference or walk-a-thon supporting a charity? All of them seek vendors and sponsors featuring a variety of goods or services. These types of sponsorships are especially powerful for local niche businesses. Seeing people from those companies supporting a good cause is positive PR and a chance to interact with potential customers who may share a desire to do good things.

Give your employees guidance on which philanthropic groups can complement their brands. Sometimes a little push in the right direction will free up their time to develop client relationships.

Your brand is important. Your company's brand is important. Your employees' brands are important. And you can effectively strategize to make them all successful!