Are you assessing your brand right how? Recently I was invited to sit in on a brainstorming meeting about marketing and growth. Here I was able to pick up some powerful marketing tools needed for growth. These tools may be applied both for personal and business growth.
Assessing Your Brand: Assets
In growth, we learn powerful information. So look at and determine your growth, and the path you took to get there. Assess the road your brand has taken – whether it’s a personal or business brand. Revisit where you have been and decide where you’re headed. Assess your brand’s strengths and weaknesses by asking yourself these questions.
- Present your strengths and weakness so that you stand out, sell your brand.
- What is new with you? Determine what you have learned and how it matters.
- Why does your business exist?
- Who are previous clients and why did they hire you?
- Evaluate your goals: where do you see yourself long/short term?
Target Audience Evaluation
Your target audience are the people you want to work with, your customers and potential customers. The internet provides resources to reach your target via platforms such as blogs, newsletters, social media, and alumni groups. Use these resources to be present for your customers, and assess your brand’s voice on these platforms.
- Who are you targeting? Who’s the decision maker that could benefit from your expertise?
- What are the hot topics? What’s trending in your brand’s space?
- Protip: Subscribe to platforms that your target audience subscribes to.
- Listen to your customers. Assess what they are talking about, and their relevance to your brand.
- Protip: Participate on sites that interest you, this is a great networking tool for finding like-minds.
- Become like your target, interact with their “friends” socially to really get to know them.
The Social Media Impact
Social media is more than a picture sharing platform, it is great for networking. Use social media platforms such as LinkedIn to learn about and follow clients to implement current trends.
- Use social media to introduce your brand to your potential customers, potential employers, and to your peers.
- Seek out and become a “friend” to past clients as well as their friends, and network with them, sharing your expertise.
- Your LinkedIn page should mirror the career for which you are aiming. Find websites dedicated to that career and subscribe to them. This will allow you to network and stay on top of any current or future possibilities. Brag about yourself on your profile, be proud and loud.
Plan and Grow Your Brand
Planning is the most important step one can do to get to the next level. So, plan, plan and keep planning. Brainstorm with colleagues and staff about ways to grow your personal brand and/or your business’ brand. Gather, analyze and leverage data, creating a message map of the recurring themes that you see. Really think about: what is your end game – a job, a career, an entrepreneurship? Evaluate and understand what you will need to get there by assessing your brand. Update your skills, explore what’s new and current. Investing in yourself is important to your brand’s growth.