Why growing a brand needs to include your personal profile.

Whilst some businesses look to trim costs and cut back in their marketing budgets, this is now the time to really refocus on what your aims and objectives for social are, for not just your business but your own, personal brand. There is a wave of new, post-pandemic influencers coming and people too often believe that their company page will do their promotion for them – but what happens when you leave that job? All that reputation and influence you’ve helped to build is tied to that specific brand – leaving you back at square one.

Building your own brand is just as important as building your business’. Becoming a respected and influential source in your industry holds huge benefits for everything you touch; taking those first steps to work on this now will put you at the front of the queue for in-person opportunities once lockdowns have been lifted.

At the most basic level, your personal online profile is the first thing that many people will see of you. With social media screenings becoming more and more popular among hiring businesses, that first impression is critical in presenting what you want others to see. With CareerBuilder saying that 70% of employers conduct an online search about candidates, building a polished and respected personal brand should be an extension of a CV. Why hire a digital marketer who can’t market themselves?

If facing a resistance from your employer to dedicate more focus to growing your personal brand, there are simple arguments that make it a no-brainer for companies to dedicate time and effort to helping its employees to properly amplify themselves: it leads to added influence for your business’ brands as well. According to Entrepreneur, company posts that are shared by employees with an authentic message receive 561% more reach than the same message shared by the brand’s social media channels.

Employees hold a lot of power on social media – especially on LinkedIn – and a key point of any business growth strategy should be unlocking the potential of those channels. Ensuring that everyone is invested in both professional and personal growth includes incorporating social media. There must be a concerted effort to grow a brand and it should be made clear that utilising as many amplification streams as possible includes developing your own profile online.

In a digital world, especially one where working from home is becoming the norm and there’s opportunities to hire from all around the world, it’s not enough to simply be good at your job anymore. Soon, businesses will seek to hire people who have an established personal brand with high, authentic engagement rates. This will be, for businesses, just another way to grow their brand. For you, it can be a stepping stone to greater things.

As the primary social networking site for professionals, LinkedIn fosters an incredible sense of community and that has been amplified during the pandemic, as influencers rally around each other to support and lift others. Taking part in this can really integrate you into a sphere of information: not only will it help increase your standing, but it can provide you with genuine insights that can improve your own abilities.

Collaboration with like-minded people in these communities can lead to Q&As hosted live across streaming platforms, helping to involve an audience and create your own community who will display loyalty to you and your brand. It’s this community and brand that can result in further opportunities for both yourself and your business, with partnerships that will continue to flourish long after the pandemic has passed.