Build Your Personal Brand Online for Business Success

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Taking the time to grow and build your personal brand along with your business brand can help to boost customer confidence in your organization and allow you to leave your mark on your industry.

In today’s digital era, social media provides unprecedented access to companies, business leaders, and individuals and has crossed the lines of many people’s personal and professional lives. Often, the reputation of the leader behind a company is just as important as the company itself.

Many entrepreneurs are beginning to get this message, personally engaging with new prospects, delivering key messages, and – in turn – elevating the trust and credibility of their business.

Here’s how you can begin to build your personal brand online to increase your business success.

1. Define Your Brand

The most critical decision in personal branding is figuring out what you want to be known for, and how that may relate to your business. For instance, do you want to showcase certain values, knowledge or key attributes? The more you can focus in on a niche, or a unique point-of-view, the better.

The goal is to stand out from your peers and provide thought leadership that is authentic and offers value to your audience.

2. Register a Domain Name

Once you know how you want to define your brand, get your own space on the Internet and register a domain name (or Web address) that reflects your brand’s direction. Registering your name is always a safe bet, but a descriptive domain name can better convey your brand (and also be more memorable).

You should select a domain name extension (i.e., the part after the “dot”) that is credible and well recognized, like .com or .net, so that it supports your personal brand. Read more on how to choose a domain name.

3. Choose the Right Vehicle

Next, consider how you want to communicate your message. Your social media pages may be sufficient to carry your brand, but a personal website can also provide additional flexibility, control and maximum awareness. If you choose to stick with social media alone, you can redirect, or point, the domain name you register to your social media page(s).

Doing this gives you a branded Web address to market your social page and provides you with a brand that you can carry to the next social site du jour.

4. Be Consistent in Your Delivery

To build trust and confidence, consistency is key. Like strong corporate brands, strong personal brands carefully choose a set of core principles and messages and focus on them throughout all aspects of the brand’s execution.

Consistency also applies to the ties between your personal and business brand. While you may want to avoid blatantly marketing your company’s products via your personal branding platforms, you can create subtle connections to your business by publishing blog posts, and sharing and retweeting social posts and other content.

Remember, the key is to represent yourself as a thought leader in your field, thereby creating an indirect connection with customers between your expert knowledge and the brand of your company.

Branding Image via Shutterstock

This article, "Build Your Personal Brand Online for Business Success" was first published on Small Business Trends