5 Ways To Shift Your Personal Brand Without Alienating Your Audience

Building your personal brand is by far, one of the most powerful ways to build a business and establish your credibility while boosting visibility to your initial target audience. However, it is also important for entrepreneurs to know the proper time to pivot in order to remain in business while keeping step with their audience. 

You might think that pivoting is something that only large companies do when they are facing financial trouble. But, every good business owner transitions every so often. Even smaller startups need to make sure they have a plan before making drastic changes. In this post, we will explore 5 ways you can shift your personal brand without alienating your audience.

It’s a common problem for people who are in a unique position deciding whether to pivot into a different market or remain in the current situation with their personal brand. They don't know how to make the transition without losing their current audience or burning bridges with past connections.

You have a lot of options when it comes to making the shift or initiating the pivot but not all of them will work out the way you hope they will. You want to be mindful of your current base as well as your new audience and your team or operations process. Pivoting is a major decision and you do not want to rush it. Here are 5 specific ways to handle your pivot with ease and to keep your audience in step with what you do and who you are.

Identify WHY the pivot

While it’s important to have a long-term strategy for your business, pivoting is sometimes necessary in the short-term. Your brand is made up of everything you do and say (aka your personal brand). For example, if you are an entrepreneur who started off as a solo founder but later brought on co-founders or investors, this might be considered a pivot. Pivots are often triggered by changes in financial goals, market trends or consumer needs. Whatever the case may be, you must establish the WHY for the pivot. By identifying the underlying factor for the shift, you will be building a solid foundation that will not be easily swayed during the tough times. The best brands are built from a strong foundation and a clear vision.

Identify WHO the pivot will benefit

There are very few business decisions that are made in a vacuum. However, in the case of pivoting your company, it is particularly important to consider how this decision will impact people other than yourself and your team. As you think about whether or not to pivot as a company, take some time to review the following questions: 

• Will my customers be impacted? How so? 
• What does our current business model say about us? 
• How can we align what we do with who we want to be perceived by others and serve (and vice versa)? 
• Does the new direction align with our core values?

Identify WHAT the pivot entails

The process of pivoting is often difficult for entrepreneurs, but it can be one of the most important steps in maintaining a successful business. Making a significant shift can be a daunting task to undertake, but it's crucial to extending the impact of your personal brand. When you’re considering a pivot, are you mindful of how it will affect the infrastructure of your operations? Branding? Google searches? Link replacements? Brand links, phone numbers, etc? These are some of the minor things to think about that are often overlooked.

Identify WHEN the pivot will take place

Pivot too early and you might cause a catastrophe for your current audience base. But stay too late in the old brand and possibly lose out on opportunities that could accelerate market penetration for the new offer or service. Timing is everything, which is why It can be a tough decision. What does your timeline and plan look like? Are you involving a launch or roll out strategy that includes the media or press coverage? Any potential partners participating? If you don’t have a time frame in place or a strategy to execute the new message for the shift, it’s important you consider it.

Identify WHERE the pivot will be announced

What platform do you use the most? Where are most of your potential customers spending their time at? Is there an email list? How updated is your YouTube channel? Based on your plan, you should be able to clearly identify the specific platform that will do most of the driving for when you start communicating the shift. It is imperative to point out that you want to be on as many platforms as you can so you’re always around, but spend most of your time on the platform that your prospects are on and will yield the highest engagement. Do not neglect platforms that have historically produced lesser engagement or interaction. Give those attention despite what the past presented.

Are you ready to start PLANNING your pivot?

Your personal brand is one of the most important assets you can have. It's what makes you stand out from your competition and gives people confidence that they're in good hands when selecting your services or products. To make a shift can either hurt or help your business. Now that you have a clear 5 step process to begin planning your shift, just make sure to be strategic and mindful with your approach..

With that in mind, don’t forget that the problem with a strong personal brand, is that if you’ve done a great job with cultivating a strong customer culture, it may require additional effort to work with your raving fan base to get them to buy into the new approach. On the flip side, if you have attracted the right customer base, then they will follow and support you no matter what direction you take the brand.