Digital Lab

Why Leaders Need to Develop a Personal Brand

We want to do business with people that inspire us… people we like and trust. It’s for this very reason that leaders must develop their own personal brand.

In working with thousands of business owners and marketing managers here at 2POINT, I’ve seen that whether a client owns a 1M or a 100M+ company, they all want to attract better clients..hence why they would be working with me and my agency in the first place.

The truth is people are far more likely to give their hard-earned money to a company whose team is charismatic and vocal, no matter what the economy is doing. Case in point: Research by FTI Consulting found that those companies that had strong and vocal leadership elicited stronger investor confidence.

People will always seek out an expert to work with and having a powerful personal brand means you inevitably attract better-quality clients. By also focusing on building a personal brand your company will cut out the competitive process entirely.

Here is a playbook my team and I have developed to get the process rolling:

Define who you are trying to appeal to.

While your personality and beliefs should fit into your personal brand, you have to remember that your friends and family aren’t the audience here. As a leader, you need to consider your business’s audience.

Who’s listening to you? What do you want these people to think when they see you? What platforms are they on?

For example, you own an engineering company focused on the automotive industry, you could build content around how to improve the manufacturing process at automotive companies, talk about the emerging technologies and processes your team uses when working with a new client, etc.

Tie in your personal values.

You’re a leader, but you’re still human! Your personal beliefs should have an impact on your professional brand.

Your values are your strongly held beliefs that are the backbone of who you are — whether you’re at home or in the boardroom.

For example, if your faith is important to you, that can tie into your brand as a CEO. If you’re ruthlessly committed to perfection, that can count as a personal value, too.

Lean into your expertise and experience.

Every CEO, president, and higher-up is an expert in their field. As a leader, your personal brand should cater to your niche experience and expertise in your industry.

What are you an expert in? What information or experience can you share with people who are new to the field? What are you passionate about?

Your personal brand should make it super obvious what your specialties are.

Don’t forget what makes you different.

Nobody wants to read another generic, “blah” CEO bio. Every CEO and high-up at a company cares about teamwork, customer experience, and growth. How are you different? What makes you memorable? Why are you a visionary leader?

You can burn bridges if you go on an all-out tirade about your industry, but if you do it carefully, drawing a line in the sand can differentiate you as a leader.

Spread the word — consistently.

Consistency is the name of the game with branding. 2POINT recommends setting up 3-4 hours a week blocked out on your calendar every week on the same day and time to film content.

Try to film as many 1 minute clips each week during this time and partner with an agency like us that can take all the raw videos you just shot and turn them into usable content with captions, graphics, audio, etc.

Throughout the week you may hear about another competitor doing something that struck a chord, you may find out about a new technology coming out, you may have had an ex-employee who did not meet your standards and it’s on your mind, whatever it is jot down the idea and speak your mind during your shoot time.

People want to watch videos that don’t feel scripted, someone venting, someone being inspired by something that happened in the week, these are videos that will separate you from your competition.

The Bottom Line

Emotion is key in the world of branding and digital marketing, and a personal brand can help you tap into consumers’ emotions.

These five steps will help you make something as intangible as a personal brand into something tangible and actionable.

When done well, CEO branding will make you memorable, trustworthy, and downright likable in your industry. Be sure to partner with a trusted digital agency to create a bulletproof personal brand that shows your best side to the world.

Are you building your brand?

Click the button below to start a conversation with our marketing team we’ll help you build more than just a company brand. Set yourself apart as an expert in your industry, and attract your dream customers.