Online Branding…and Offline. You Need Both!

Personal branding means developing your brand through online and offline marketing which can include meetings and intentional networking.

Personal branding means developing your brand through online and offline marketing which can include meetings and intentional networking.

One common mistake businesses make is to focus 100% of their attention on either online or offline branding. Savvy entrepreneurs know that you need both. Here are five steps to consider.

1. Assemble a group of people online.

The moment arrives at which a brand has achieved its maximum growth potential with just having one person working on it at a given time.

Hiring your first online team member might be intimidating, but think about how much exponential growth can occur as a result of outsourcing certain jobs.

The addition of an additional set of hands (or more) to your established brand can be the difference between achieving success and stagnating.

Whether you hire a team member who has expertise in tasks you struggle with or outsource tasks you dread and procrastinate on a regular basis, adding another set of hands (or more) can be the difference between achieving success and stagnating.

Additionally, due to the expansion of remote work opportunities, the availability of skilled and experienced candidates has increased considerably this year as well.

2. Work as a team with other people.

Brands that collaborate might significantly increase their respective reach.

Finding a brand in your same sector with whom to collaborate, or collaborating in a unique way with a brand that is out of the ordinary, may have the impact of boosting the performance of both companies.

Look for opportunities to collaborate with companies all over the world in a secure environment in person or investigate alternatives for virtual collaborations with businesses all over the world.

The less overlap between your target groups, the greater the likelihood that both brands will expand swiftly.

3. Reevaluate business development strategy.

When it comes to building a successful business, there comes the point when it is necessary to evaluate techniques that are both effective and ineffective for your individual brand.

As a result, you should consider how you may offer a boost to the techniques shown to be effective.

Hosting Twitter conversations for your company is a successful marketing strategy. Similarly, perhaps you should host them on a more frequent basis.

Also, remember that it may be necessary to abandon techniques that aren’t functioning as effectively as they once did and re-evaluate. Likewise, never be so attached to a concept that it becomes a liability for your company.

4. Make plans for a more prosperous future.

However, despite the fact that it is easy to overlook, the problems of the current planetary environment will not remain indefinitely.

If the present pandemic crisis does not end soon, established businesses should begin preparing their strategy for when it does.

Not only will it provide a morale boost to your employees, but your online brand will be competitively positioned to develop swiftly when the market shifts and changes once again as well.

5. Return the attention to the mentors.

Finish the way you started…with your valued mentors. Continue to communicate with the individuals and companies that inspire you throughout your development.

Not only will they continue to have valuable insights into your brand’s work, but it will also make them feel respected and valued. This is a critical component of any mentor-mentee connection, as well.

Remember to appreciate individuals that supported your company from the beginning, as they will continue to serve as your finest advocates and ambassadors.

You should take advantage of this moment to develop and expand the work you wish to be doing. Likewise, since others are doing so, you do not want to be left behind the curve.

Even today, it is feasible to deploy in-person methods safely while still using internet strategies efficiently.

Remember Dorian Gray?

Your personal brand. What is it, really? How does it impact your life and the lives of others?

For example, is it just a marketing tool? On the other hand, is there a real person behind it all?

Answers to these questions are crucial. Above all, these must be honest answers. Similarly, short ones are best. Making the effort takes courage. Determination. Chutzpah.

We all face the challenge of double standards. When we are marketing ourselves to others whether at the office, online, or to our friends and family.

Here’s a tough question. Do you have two faces?

Many have one face they show the world as a brand. They have something entirely different for strictly private consumption.

Find a way to meld the two together because hypocrisy eats you up (and devastates your brand) from the inside out. Just like the The Picture of Dorian Gray, a horror story by Oscar Wilde. In it, Dorian is an innocent fair young man. His public portrait is painted and put on display. Therefore, Dorian feels he can “go from online brand to offline reality.”

With loathsome results. Remember, behind every public brand is a private person. Do they mesh?