Entrepreneurship News South Africa

Eight tips for building your personal brand

Building up your personal brand is the most difficult and yet the most rewarding process for an entrepreneur. Right from conceptualising, to putting into action, every little step can be a giant leap for the brand value. Here is how you can build your own brand successfully.
Image credit: Marek Uliasz - .
Image credit: Marek Uliasz - 123 RF.com.

Be available

The first and foremost thing about starting a business is to be always available. Opportunities don’t knock on your door twice and if in one of these opportune moments you are offline or your phone is on silent, you might lose a huge chance forever!

Build contacts

Whether you are an aspiring actor or a new garment chain, contacts will take you places. Study the industry to find out how you can build better contacts and make sure you do ample homework beforehand. Get to know the important people and how you can reach out to them. Find out the places and occasions where it is easy to make contacts and charm your way into people.

Do your study well

It is important to study the industry, as well as the potential customers to know and understand what sells best or how you can reach out to them better. It is true that people are immensely attracted to discounts and free but creating a brand is much more beyond that.

Utilise social media

From eight to eighty-eight, no seems to be immune to the charm of social media and this is what you have to utilise the best in order to reach out. Create a niche for your brand using social media.

Don’t engage in aggressive marketing

Nothing can be more off putting than aggressive marketing. Do not be that annoying person who keeps pushing people to buy products or services by constantly pestering them. You might simply end up in their blocked contact but that’s not all. It might create such a negative image that they would rather spend more on an inferior brand than go for yours!

Organise well

It is important to be organised and have a transparent and easy system in place. Maintain lists and database to keep a track of all your contacts, clients, sales, supplies, services, payments etc. so that even in your absence anyone can hold the fort without having to rummage for every little thing. Take out some time every day to organise and maintain your records to avoid future discrepancies.

Don’t fake it

In this era of connection, you will be surprised to know how fast information can travel. Just like word of the mouth can bring your business, it can also ruin your brand image completely. Therefore, it is important to be honest, ethical and genuine.
In today’s connected world of the internet, this is especially true if you are selling big ticket items like cars or diamond rings. A customer’s review of your services can easily make or break your business.

Think about it, would a consumer trust you more if they read positive reviews and experiences of your business from other customers? Or would they rather risk getting ripped off from a business with bad reviews?

Hence, be authentic stick to having transparent business ethics in order to reach your goal!

Be dynamic

One of the most important things to remember is that you can’t progress if you are satisfied. Therefore, once you have achieved a goal, move into the other. Have a vision of both short and long-term goals so that your brand value keeps increasing. Stagnancy can herald the end of profits and reputation; thus, it is important to keep it moving and dynamic every moment.

These little steps will go a long way in helping you establish a brand value for your business. With ethical business strategy and hard work, it is actually possible to create a successful personal brand quite fast.

About Stephen Marshal

Stephen Marshall is a Director of LMG Solutions with extensive experience in marketing and financial services in Meridian, Idaho. My work has been featured and mentioned in a wide range of publication, including Tweak Your Biz, Mobile Business Insights, Social Nomics, Small Biz Club, Energy Central, Dzone, Biz Community, Blog Her and more.
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