Make the Connection by Investing in Your Employees' Personal Brands Vol. 21

"Your personal brand is a promise to your clients, a promise of quality, consistency, competency and reliability." – Jason Hartman

Key Takeaways in this Newsletter:

• Enhanced Company Visibility and Credibility: Investing in personal branding services for employees significantly increases the company's visibility and credibility.
• Demonstrable ROI: Companies can see a tangible return on investment (ROI) by supporting personal branding efforts.
• Attraction and Retention of Top Talent: A company that invests in personal branding services for its employees positions itself as an attractive employer.

Today, personal branding has become a critical component of career success. A strong personal brand can open doors to new opportunities, increase visibility, and establish credibility. Recognizing this, smart companies are beginning to invest in personal branding services for their employees.

But why should companies make this investment?

Today, my newsletter will explore the reasons why companies should invest in employee personal branding services. By examining the benefits to the company, demonstrating the return on investment, and providing practical implementation tips, I will walk you through how personal branding can enhance both employee and company success!

The Importance of Personal Branding in 2024

Personal branding refers to the practice of marketing oneself and one's career as a brand. In 2024, personal branding has become more important than ever. Social media platforms like LinkedIn? provide professionals with the tools to showcase their expertise, share insights, and connect with others in their industry.

A strong personal brand can significantly impact professional success. It can lead to new job opportunities, speaking engagements, and collaborations. For companies, having employees with strong personal brands can enhance the company's reputation, attract top talent, and create new business opportunities.

Your personal brand can create REVENUE for you - speaking opportunites, new clients, new markets, partnerships, and so on.

Benefits to the Company

Investing in employee personal branding services offers several benefits to the company:

1. Increased Visibility and Credibility: Employees with strong personal brands can increase the company's visibility in the market. Their online presence and engagement can attract attention to the company's products and services, enhancing its credibility.
2. Enhanced Networking Opportunities: Employees with well-established personal brands often connect with key industry players. This can lead to new business opportunities, partnerships, and collaborations that benefit the company.
3. Attraction of Top Talent: A company known for investing in its employees' personal development can attract top talent. Professionals are more likely to join a company that supports their career growth and personal branding efforts.
4. Improved Employee Retention: Investing in personal branding services shows employees that the company values their personal and professional growth. This can lead to higher job satisfaction and improved employee retention rates.

ROI?

To convince management to invest in personal branding services, it's essential to demonstrate the potential return on investment. Here are some ways to quantify the benefits:

1. Business Opportunities: Track the number of new business opportunities generated through employee personal branding efforts. This could include new clients, partnerships, or projects.
2. Client Acquisitions: Measure the impact of personal branding on client acquisitions. For example, track how many new clients employees with strong personal brands are referred.
3. Market Influence: Assess the company's influence in the market by monitoring social media engagement, industry recognition, and thought leadership opportunities.
4. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Compare the cost of personal branding services to the potential revenue or savings it could bring to the company. For example, calculate the potential increase in revenue from new clients or partnerships generated through personal branding efforts.

Our Case Stories?

Here are a few of The Borden Group ’s real-life examples of companies benefiting from employee personal branding, which can be compelling evidence.?

Here are a few success stories:(feel free to reach out to me directly for the full case stories)

1. Company W: After investing in personal branding services for its leadership team, the company saw a 30% revenue improvement in the first 30 days. The team's visibility and credibility on LinkedIn? led to more inbound inquiries and closed deals!
2. New Home Builder X:? Each team member from a select group successfully established a strong personal brand after the company invested in rebranding and synchronizing their messaging for LinkedIn?. The team aligned their personal brands with the organization, ensuring consistent messaging across the platform. The team began actively posting and engaging with each other, enhancing their visibility and creating a sense of community, resulting in new inbound leads from potential clients and more thought leadership opportunities such as speaking and writing articles.?
3. Telecom Non-Profit Organization Y: By involving four executives at the firm and posting on their accounts two times per week, they built strong personal brands that aligned with the company brands. The organization secured more partnerships and event registrations, generated new revenue, sold out the conference, and impacted the industry. The thought leadership content shared by the executives also attracted attention from potential members and collaborators, resulting in increased revenue. (Their CMO's GEN AI newsletter is SO good!)
4. Insurance Company Z: This C-suite team grew its online visibility by +9k%. The team’s brands helped the company educate its audience on innovations and value propositions and assist in acquiring new business through organic channels. Their online presence and engagement generated a wave of visibility, buzz, and interest, generating an increase in inbound leads.

Implementing Personal Branding Services - A Company Pilot Program!

To start with testing internal personal branding services, consider proposing a pilot program. Here are the steps to take:

1. Propose a Pilot Program: Start with a limited scope or trial period to demonstrate the effectiveness of personal branding services. Select a small group of employees who are interested in personal branding and provide them with the necessary resources and support.
2. Evaluate and Report Results: Commit to evaluating the pilot program's results and reporting back to the company. Track metrics such as new business opportunities, client acquisitions, and social media engagement to measure success.
3. Create a Comprehensive Plan: Develop a detailed plan outlining the personal branding services, costs, timeline, and expected outcomes. Set specific, measurable goals that align with personal career objectives and the company's strategic goals. Remember to align with the marketing and comms teams!!

(schedule a discovery call with me to start!)

Aligning Personal Branding with Company Goals

To maximize the impact of personal branding efforts, aligning them with the company's goals is important. Here are a few ways to do this:

1. Collaborate Towards Shared Objectives: Work with your team or department to align personal branding efforts with broader company objectives. For example, if the company is focused on expanding into a new market, employees can tailor their personal branding efforts to support this goal.
2. Highlight Mutual Benefits: Emphasize the mutual benefits of personal branding. While employees gain personal growth and professional success, the company benefits from increased visibility, credibility, and business opportunities.
3. Set Specific, Measurable Goals: Establish clear objectives for personal branding efforts that align with the company's strategic goals. For example, set targets for new business opportunities generated through personal branding efforts or the number of industry events employees speak at.

Leveraging Internal Advocates

Finding allies within the company who support personal branding can be a powerful way to gain buy-in. Here are a few tips:

1. Identify Supporters:?look for colleagues or leaders who understand the value of personal branding and can advocate for you. Lean into those people. If they raise their hand, they are ready. If they dont, don't force it. These handraisers can help build support for personal branding services within the company.
2. Share Success Stories: Highlight internal success stories where personal branding has led to significant achievements. This can demonstrate the potential impact of personal branding services and build momentum for broader adoption. Weekly town hall calls are a great way to highlight this.

Competitive Advantage?

Investing in personal branding can give companies a competitive edge. Here are a few ways to leverage this advantage:

1. Position the Company as an Industry Leader: Employees with strong personal brands can position the company as a thought leader and innovator in the industry. Their expertise and insights can attract attention and establish the company as a go-to source for industry knowledge.
2. Attract and Retain Top Talent: A company known for investing in employees' personal brands can attract top talent. Professionals are more likely to join a company that supports their career growth and development.

Practical Tips for Employees (are you doing this yet?)

Here are some practical tips for employees looking to present the case for personal branding services to management:

1. Develop Visual Proposals: Create professional presentations or visual aids to communicate the benefits and process of personal branding services clearly. Use engaging materials like infographics or videos to make your case more persuasive.
2. Offer to Share Learnings: Propose to share insights and learnings from your personal branding journey with leadership and the broader team. This can create a ripple effect of growth and development within the company.
3. Propose Internal Workshops: Based on what you learn, offer to conduct internal workshops or training sessions. This can extend the benefits of personal branding services to a wider audience within the company.

Conclusion

Investing in employee personal branding services is a smart move for companies looking to increase visibility, attract top talent, and create new business opportunities. By aligning personal branding efforts with company goals, demonstrating ROI, and leveraging internal advocates, companies can unlock the full potential of personal branding.

A strong personal brand is more important than ever in 2024. Companies willing to invest in their employees' personal development can reap significant rewards. So, why wait? Start investing in personal branding services today and watch your company and employees thrive.

Need help getting it started? The Borden Group is ready to partner with you. We work on personal brands! Personal Brand Coaching, Managed Personal Brands for LinkedIn?, Personal Brand Content, Personal Brand Strategies, Personal Brand Workshops, Personal Brand Websites, re/Brands, and more!! We work with individuals and teams. I also consult companies and work directly with their marketing or comms teams. Here are just a few of my testimonials .

Thank you for taking the time to read my newsletter today!

We have data, case stories, written testimonials/ recommendations, and clients who will speak with you to verify their success working with us. We are always accepting new clients!

If you would like to learn more about?The Borden Group, ?you can?visit our website , message me directly on LinkedIn, or schedule a discovery call with me !

Your Marketing Consultant,

Melanie