Five Tips for Personal Branding for Your Small Business

I'm filled with the energy this year brings. Before ending the year 2023, I had the incredible opportunity to join the hosts of 'Good Morning America' to share insights on creating a new focus for small businesses in the New Year.

Sitting alongside the co-hosts that morning was exciting, but due to time being of the essence with live TV, we could only hit on a few key points. So what better place to continue the conversation than right here with all of you.

In today’s business landscape, establishing yourself and your brand is no longer a luxury but a necessity, especially for small businesses striving to carve out their niche within a competitive market. Your personal brand is a powerful tool that can distinguish your business from the rest and help create a lasting impression on your audience.

Navigating the ins and outs of digital marketing, PR, and the overall networking efforts necessary to craft a distinctive and authentic personal brand can be overwhelming for a lot of business owners, especially those who are just getting started.

Understanding and incorporating all of these entities make up the key ingredients for achieving success. Businesses need to stay relevant, attract new customers, and retain existing ones, so as a brand, you need to constantly be refreshing your focus and your messaging.

As a fellow business owner and entrepreneur, believe me when I say nothing worth having comes easy. The valuable and meaningful achievements we as entrepreneurs strive for require effort, perseverance, and the wherewithal to overcome the challenges that often lie ahead. But knowing the ultimate reward is worth all of the hard work and dedication that comes along with taking your business to the next level.

Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or an established business owner looking to revitalize your brand presence, I’m sharing five actionable tips for personal branding that will help build and amplify your brand.

Reevaluate Your Mission and Values

When it comes to personal branding this step is crucial for several reasons. First, personal branding is an extension of a company’s identity and aligning it with the core mission and values ensures authenticity. What are your business goals? Once those are clear, you can ensure they align with your mission and values.

A consistent brand image that reflects your fundamental principles establishes trust and credibility with the audience. Trust is the foundation for strong customer relationships and loyalty and contributes to long-term success and resilience within the marketplace.

Secondly, as businesses evolve and adapt to the changing market dynamics, their mission and values may need realignment to stay relevant and resonate with the target audience. Personal branding allows for the opportunity to communicate these changes and showcase your company’s commitment to growth and innovation while staying true to your identity.

Collect and Utilize Customer Feedback

Collecting and utilizing customer feedback is critical for businesses engaged in personal branding. The information gathered offers insights into understanding the customer's perceptions, helps in identifying strengths and weaknesses, and allows for the opportunity to redefine and shape your image.

A few ways in which to actively obtain feedback is through surveys, reviews, and direct communication. The next step, take the feedback and develop hyper-targeted content.

By creating content that is specific to your audience's needs demonstrates your commitment to their satisfaction. And when your community feels that you’re listening to their wants and needs, you’ll also be gaining their trust and loyalty.

Create a SWOT Analysis

When it comes to strategic planning and making informed decisions, you want a system that will provide valuable insights to enhance overall performance and achieve objectives. Creating a SWOT analysis, a versatile tool used by a wide range of businesses, allows companies to assess their internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. It is a crucial step in the strategic planning process.

Diving into your strengths and weaknesses cultivates self-awareness, offering a closer examination of your skills, attributes, and areas for improvement. Armed with this insight, strategic planning becomes key - leverage your strengths for personal branding opportunities and address any weaknesses to enhance your overall brand image.

The opportunities and threats components to the analysis help identify external factors that can positively or negatively impact your brand, allowing you to capitalize on opportunities and navigate any challenges effectively.

Conducting this type of analysis aids in differentiating yourself from others by highlighting your unique selling points. It serves as the roadmap in creating a stronger, more authentic brand.

Invest in Yourself

You are your most important asset and investing in oneself is the cornerstone of effective personal branding. Staying relevant and adaptable is essential and continuous professional development is paramount - it contributes to expanding expertise.

Social media has also created a competitive environment for brands so it’s important that when issuing a message, it’s of the highest quality.

When creating content, take into consideration things like, the type of camera you’re using, the right lighting, the quality of the written content.

Revitalize your brand with a refresh – from your logo to your color scheme, and all elements shaping your visual identity. Keep your website and Google pages current for enhanced analytics and improved search engine visibility.

If updating any of these areas feels outside your expertise, bring in the right professionals. Whether guiding you through the process or handling the refresh themselves, experts can ensure your brand gets the attention it deserves.

Understanding Your Key Performance Indicators

Knowing what your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) mean is essential for measuring success, making informed decisions, and ensuring your efforts align with your goals. Before getting started with a personal branding strategy, establish clear goals and metrics. These two parameters offer a sense of direction and focus, ensuring that your efforts are purposeful and aligned with your desired outcomes.

Metrics play a pivotal role by providing tangible indicators to measure your progress. This measurable framework not only enables you to track your journey but also serves as a basis for ongoing assessment and improvement.

By defining your goals, you’ll be creating a sense of accountability. Taking responsibility for your actions and the outcomes of your personal branding endeavors helps in prioritizing the tasks that directly contribute to your brand objectives and focus on the things that align with your goals.

Ultimately, achieving the goals and metrics you set establishes a track record of success, reinforcing your credibility and attracting further opportunities for personal and professional growth.

As you embark on refreshing your brand, consider these tips as your guide. Each step plays a part in shaping your brand’s story.

Jenna Guarneri - JMG Public Relation