A personal brand is essential to a leader and their company’s image. Business executives must be aware of how theirs is viewed by others.
1. Lead with compassion.
Empathy is the first step to compassionate brand leadership.
Empathy is letting go of your anxieties and taking an emotional risk to understand another’s thoughts and feelings genuinely. Compassion is addressing this. Compassion is the next stage.
2. Lead with your personal use of content.
Face it…a lot of eyes are on you. In other words, showing up on social media gives business owners a free way to create trust and differentiate their brands.
Using self-portraits, films, and photographs in context sets you apart. Showing up and talking about your business’s results generates credibility and trust. On the other hand, when business owners do this often, they build a stronger brand.
3. Brand leaders plan to win friends and influence people.
Above all, humans make every firm for humans, aiming to help others grow.
In other words, smile, don’t criticize. Listen intently, remember names, and speak respectfully. (But carry a big stick.)
4. Stay mindful of public persona-sharing.
It matters how you show yourself. Above all, keep in mind that for some, it may be too intimate. Therefore, others may get a better understanding of their professional selves.
People are yearning for a deeper connection, even with strangers. In other words, a person’s “whole public persona” matters, including transparency, sincerity, and vulnerability.
5. Create videos for your brand.
Video is becoming increasingly significant with the proliferation of short-form formats across all social media platforms.
Therefore, videos can help put a face to your brand and educate fans. Otherwise, career advancement is harder.
6. Use storytelling to brand educate.
More brands will use abbreviated storytelling to educate or entertain the audience, condensing their profession into one critical skill and illustrating hidden lessons from that area.
It can be a new topic or a new angle on an old one. On the other hand, we can all build a unique brand that you can monetize online and offline.
7. Commit to helping good causes.
That is to say, the next generation’s workforce is raising the bar for firms and leaders to contribute to the global good.
Above all, companies that bake community wellbeing into their mission and values report stronger client loyalty. In other words, employee retention is higher for leaders that focus on servant leadership and help their teams succeed.
8. Compare and contrast minimalism vs. grandiose.
“Less is more” will be the new branding philosophy for any leader in 2022.
That is to say, brands now lean towards minimalism, using simple forms, typography, empty spaces, and limited color palettes. Consequently, designers want their goods to speak for themselves. On the other hand, the minimalist design puts your product front and center.
9. Use consistent social media posting.
Personalize your social network. Embrace honesty and transparency.
On the other hand, don’t strive to please everyone. If you’re a professional entrepreneur, post five tales per day on social media and experiment with TikTok and Snapchat. Be yourself, but offer funny things to engage your readers.
10. Make yourself accessible.
On the other hand, nothing beats getting a response from a leader.
Constantly communicate with your customers. Above all, they know your business and if our brand meets their expectations.
Be reachable by those that matter. Those on the ground have the most refined insight, not those in the C-suite.
11. Keep an eye on consistent self-representation.
Consequently, 2022 is a year of constancy. In other words, be constant in your participation in online communities, phone calls, and presentations.
Customers and prospects know what to expect when you present yourself regularly in terms of brand image, social media updates, blogs, and email newsletters. That’s nice!
12. More brand podcasts?
There will be an upsurge in personal branding podcasts.
Above all, this has been expanding for years…and will continue to grow in 2022.
13. More articles, books, and videos?
So anticipate more leaders will establish personal brands that re-humanize work.
For example, employees want honest leadership that cares more about fostering a culture of inclusion and engagement than optimizing the bottom line.
That is to say, leaders will use more white papers, books, articles, videos, and social media to re-humanize workplaces.
14. Focus on boosting virtual relationships.
Consequently, the last two years have elevated virtual relationships. To grow your brand in 2022, you will need to build relationships online and across many platforms.
After all, nothing succeeds like success, unless it’s a determination added to that success. Along with a generous helping of modesty and prudence.
No brand lasts for long that doesn’t have innate humility and grace attached to it. Let your leadership reflect those qualities.