Act Like A Brand, Think Like A Marketer
Like it or not, YOU are a brand.
Sure, you’re a human being, a lovely one at that, but you’re also a brand. If you’re a business owner, your personal brand is also a business brand.
In the era of social media and pandemic restrictions, how you show up (or not) online is more important than ever. If you want to make an impact as a leader, you must show your face. Sorry, not sorry. There’s no getting around it. People want to know who’s behind the curtain. There’s no more hiding behind beautiful graphics or pithy quotes.
Your image is more important than ever. How you present yourself makes an immediate impression on your audience. Look, you’re an audience member too. Think about how you’re impacted by how people visually represent themselves online.
What judgements or impressions do you have when you see other professionals in your feed? What assumptions do you make about their personalities? More importantly, what is your sense about how competent they are or how much money they command for their offers? Your audience is also making assumptions about you.
Fortunately, you have a lot of influence over the impression you make. Do not take it lightly.
There’s no need to run out and buy a whole new wardrobe or invest $10,000 in a designer handbag. (Although if that aligns with your brand, by all means go for it.) The idea isn’t to show off your wealth, it’s to CURATE your image so you communicate, to the best of your ability, who you are as a qualified, unique expert.
Your image is part of your marketing. It’s speaks before you do. Much like music, it communicates with both the conscious and unconscious part of your audience’s brain. A potential client may have a reaction to your image and not even know why they’re drawn or repelled by your brand.
Can you make money without being mindful of your image? Yes, you can. You can even make money without showing your face. But if you want to LEAD, you have to be seen. You can’t simultaneously lead and hide.
When you’re a leader, you make a name for yourself and your brand works FOR you instead of you constantly hustling for attention and traction.
If you’re unsure how to curate your image to support your brand and goals, open up your phone and start scrolling. Pay attention to what resonates with you. Notice what turns you on and what turns you off. Then think about how you can align your own visual presence with what you like.
Here’s the deal about sales, people buy (or not) because of your energy, whether you’re selling a product or selling yourself for something like a speaking gig. Of course, people are looking for solutions, but there are thousands if not millions of options out there. Why someone chooses YOU is an individual response to your energy and how you show up as the brand. And your energy is undeniably impacted by how you feel about how you look.
If you want to be seen as a leader in your industry, you need to be SEEN as a leader in your industry. That first and foremost starts with how you see yourself.
Ready to elevate your brand? I can help.
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