Many professionals understand that importance of self-promotion, but many of you may be asking, “What do you mean by Building Your Brand?” It is important to have your own identity in business outside of the identity of your organization. Not only will it help you with you individual growth, it can help promote and bring more eyes to your organization.  For example, if you have a well-established social media following and you post a blog about your company’s culture and how much you love it, he people that engage with that post will ultimately be engaging with your company indirectly.

1. Connect with Everyone You Meet

It is important to establish a network of your peers and of thought leaders in your community. The more connections you make the more opportunity you have for building your brand. This comes down to two things; Understanding human behavior and establishing common ground. Being able to read the subtleties of a person’s communication style and feed into that can make an instant connection. Establishing common ground, whether it is a personal or professional topic, can help you steer the conversation in a direct that is mutually beneficial.

2. Put Yourself Out There

The only way to establish your network is to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people, whether that is through the various established social channels or at networking events. Although social media may end up being where most of your connections reside, I believe that the most influential and important connections are made face to face. Going to networking events, speaking events, and different conferences are great ways to establish firm and lasting relationships with your peers.

3. Write

Now that you have built a solid network, it’s time to share relevant content and promote the voice of your brand. Writing blogs is the easiest way to let your followers and peers know what your expertise is and how you stand on certain topics. Not to mention it’s also a great way to broaden you expertise and learn more about different subjects. I love writing blogs about things that I am new to; by doing research on these new areas I can learn and develop my own opinions or methods.

4. Share with Others

The only way to continue building your brand is by sharing your content and sharing relevant ideas that align with your identity. Utilizing various social channels can make this step very easy. Whenever I publish any new article, I share it through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in order to push the content to my followers and eventually to their followers, too.  Never be afraid to ask for a share. Reach out to your connections and ask them to share your posts and articles.

5. Endorse Others

Reach out to someone, ask for a share, and let them know that you will give them a share in return. Endorsing those that are in your network or follow your brand can prove to be lucrative when they reciprocate. There have been numerous times that I endorsed someone on LinkedIn for a particular skill and just days later they reciprocated and endorsed me. This doesn’t have to just be through LinkedIn or social media. You can endorse others by featuring them in an article or sharing their content.

6. Be Consistent

If you have to get ahead of yourself by scheduling personal blog posts and scheduling outreach, then do it. It’s important to be consistent with your posts and with your communication. The more active you can be the better. I like to reach out to a few key contacts each week for questions and potential collaboration.

Follow these steps and watch see how easy building your brand can be. The more active you are with your network and the more committed you are to your voice and your brand, the easier it will come.  At Revenue River Marketing, building our brand is vital to our success. Check out our team!