Let's talk about starting your personal brand

Happy Wednesday everyone, I hope you’ve had a lovely week so far! ??

I am loving having a little bit of sun at the moment, even though there’s still been lots of rain haha. Who’s looking forward to the long weekend over Easter?

Today we’re talking about the Dove’s latest campaign, personal branding and overcoming misconceptions!

Let’s get started!!??

Today I wanted to speak about Dove #TheFaceof10 campaign

A survey commissioned by Dove identified that 1 in 3 young girls want to have cosmetic work to alter their appearance later in life.

A lot of young girls are worried about what they will look as they age leaving them using products that are made for those who are much older.

The message of this campaign is that a 10-year-old’s face should be covered with glitter, not harsh anti-ageing ingredients like retinol.

I love the message behind this campaign and the commitment Dove have to making real change??

I’m excited to welcome today’s guest, meet Anna Michalak ! She is sharing 3 reasons why you should start your personal brand (and 5 steps how to do it)??

“In January 2023, I was a lurker on LinkedIn.

In January 2024, I'm getting recognised at networking events, offered collaborations and working with nationwide clients.

All because I started building my personal brand on LinkedIn. And today, I’m giving you EVERYTHING you need to follow my strategy and do the same.

Hi guys! I’m Anna, a co-founder of Vision Marketing (Social Media Management Agency) growing LinkedIn accounts for people and corporate brands.

I always thought that personal branding was for celebrities…honestly, how wrong was I!

Building a personal brand allowed me to quit my 9-5, earn a living off my SMM business and work with AMAZING businesses and people. All because of committing to putting myself out there on LinkedIn.

And the thing is, if I have done it (with many other amazing creators) - you can do it too.

So, if you’re still wondering if personal branding is for you, here are 3 little nuggets to give you that extra push:

→ Immediately becoming a part of the 1%.

According to Kinsta (2023), only 1% of 260 million monthly users actually publishes content on LinkedIn.

Which means that by committing to publishing your content regularly, you’re grabbing a slice of that pie and are being exposed to 260 million users monthly. How AMAZING is this?

→ No more CVs.

Your personal brand will become your new CV.

It will act as a magnet for attracting clients, customers and opportunities for you and/or your business.

→ Visibility = opportunities.

The truth is, the more visible you are, the more people are likely to build a relationship with you.

Whether directly or indirectly, they’re more likely to trust you, find you credible and listen to your advice.

So the more visible the personal brand, the more likely you are to be offered business partnerships and collaborations (it’s a win-win!).

I’ve caught your attention, didn’t I? Let’s jump into it, then.

Here’s how I started my personal brand on LinkedIn and how you can do too (steal my 5-step formula):

(1) Establish what you want to be known for

It’s so easy to fall into the spiral of “I don’t know what to choose because I know a bit of everything”.

The truth is, you can’t be good at everything, and that’s okay!

Don’t overthink it:

→ Specify what you like doing, and what you have experience in (or want to build experience in)

→ Narrow it down to a niche that suits you best.

Once you’ve made a decision, establish who you want to work with.

→ Is it freelancers? Businesses? CEOs? Decision makers?

In my case, I wanted to be known FOR being a LinkedIn Personal and Corporate Growth Specialist, TO SME businesses and their decision-makers.

See what I did there?

(2) Research your niche

Your research will inform everything you do next, that’s why planning is everything.

→ Research your niche on AnswerSocrates and Google FAQ section (both for your service and your target audience)

→ Find things users search for (problems your target audience struggles with)

→ Write down how you can help (think how can your service be a solution to their problems)

Bonus: Note repetitive keywords customers use on these platforms to later use in your content!

(3) Create a strategy (tailored to your goal)

You won’t know how to get from point A (your current life) to point B (your dream life) without knowing what you want to achieve, who will help you achieve it and how you can get there.

Here’s how to nail it down:

→ Note down what you want to achieve on this platform

Is it to sell your product? Build a community? Build your business? Or maybe grow your network?

→ Outline what your ideal customer looks like

You know what you want to be known for and who to, but what does your ideal client look like exactly? Are they on LinkedIn? How do they use this platform?

→ Note how you can reach and help them!

(4) Write content ideas and separate them into pillars

Your communications need to: reach the correct audience → build relations with them → nurture them for conversion (that’s top, middle and bottom funnel covered for you)

→ Create content pillars

Content pillars are key communications you’re publishing for your audience that bring you closer to achieving your overall goal.

I use 5 pillars:

• Personal Story - that’s how I build relationships with my audience by sharing my journey and my story.
• Educational - where I give value to my audience by sharing everything I know about building a personal and corporate brand online.
• Case Study/Credibility - I build trust with my audience by showing client results, testimonials and account growth.
• Strategy process - I’m transparent about how I create great strategies by sharing all the tips through my content for my audience to learn and use.
• Community-focused - I reach a new audience by jumping on trending topics that I can relate to my niche.

→ Write an outline of the post per each pillar with valuable takeaways you can give to the reader

→ Write a goal for each post (in line with your overall goal we’ve spoken about in Section 3!)

→ Spread these pillars across the week, pick a time when you’re free for 1 hour to post them (and engage with the audience in the meantime).

If you’re starting out, I’d recommend focusing on the first 3 pillars mentioned above.

Then, create content for each one and schedule your posts to make sure you will stay committed!

(5) Create an engagement strategy

On LinkedIn, what you give is what you get, that’s why an engagement strategy is key.

→ Research and choose 10-15 micro- and macro-creators you can engage with to become visible to their audience and build your brand awareness on the platform

→ Block out time to engage with them 15 minutes before and 50 minutes after posting (that’s what worked for me, but try out different timings!)

→ Create a list of your ideal clients and build relationships with them through DMs (nurture them!)

Bonus: Do it consistently and watch your account grow.

And voilà! Now, that you have the motivation to make it happen and all the necessary tools.

When will YOU start building your personal brand?

PS. A BIG thank you to my lovely friend Imogen for inviting me to her KICKASS newsletter. Amazing place, with an even more amazing audience <3”

I love this! Personal branding has been life changing for me as well but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. This approach from Anna is so valuable!!

Today’s advice is to put your phone down! After you’ve finished reading this newsletter … of course ??

When you work in social media, especially as a freelancer it can be so hard to switch off

So this week in the evenings make an effort to put your phone down and take a break, make time for your hobbies and loved ones

Let’s get screen time down ????

Today my post prompt is to share something that people may not know about your job.

This could be one of your favourite parts of your role or maybe a skill you need that most people wouldn’t know about.

For us social media marketers it could be busting the myth that we just scroll on social media all day ????

If you want more content advice then you need to see this! Click the link below for exclusive info??

https://www.waitlistr.com/lists/b48a5576/your-personal-branding-journey?referral=d4c3d38894b66646

I look forward to seeing your posts, please use #DiaryOfAYoungMarketer so I can come and show some support.

In the meantime if you would like to be featured or know someone who’s a perfect fit for this newsletter please reach out and let me know ??

Have a lovely rest of the day??

Speak soon!

Imogen xx