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Personal branding is a hot topic at the moment, and with good reason. The rise of blogging and social networking has totally changed the way that we live and work, and veteran public speakers have witnessed the landscape change so drastically that it’s almost like living in a different world.
Of course, personal branding has always been important for public speakers, but these changes mean that it’s more important than ever before. If we want to stand out from the competition, we need to spend some time working on our personal brand so that we can differentiate ourselves from them.
But why is personal branding so important? And what can we do to put it to work for us? Let’s dive in and take a closer look.
Personal branding is important because public speakers need to differentiate themselves from their competitors if they want to win work. Companies and conference organisers are on the lookout for public speakers with powerful personal brands because they can then benefit from the name recognition and marketing channels that those speakers bring to the table.
We need to remember that the landscape for public speakers is becoming increasingly crowded, and so it can be difficult for people to get their voices heard. Some people are able to make a name for themselves by specialising in a niche, while others are able to write articles for leading publications or even to release books.
Used well, personal branding can give speakers that point of difference and help them to secure more speaking gigs. Better still, it can enable you to charge more for your services, and it can lead to other opportunities, such as press coverage or sponsorship deals.
The statistics don’t lie, and there are countless research studies out there that help to illustrate the power of personal branding. Here are a few of our favorites:
Using a signature color can increase brand recognition by 80%. (Source)
Consistent presentation of a brand has been seen to increase revenue by 33%. (Source)
64% of consumers would buy from a brand or boycott it solely because of its position on a social or political issue. (Source)
85% of US recruiters and HR professionals say that an employee’s online reputation influences their hiring decisions. (Source)
89% of customers stay loyal to a brand that shares their values. (Source)
Consistent branding can boost revenue by up to 33%. (Source)
89% of marketers say that brand awareness is their top goal. (Source)
77% of marketing leaders say that a strong brand is critical to their growth plans. (Source)
60% of millennial consumers expect a consistent brand across all channels. (Source)
91% of consumers would rather buy from an authentic brand. (Source)
82% of investors want the companies they invest in to have a strong brand. (Source)
Only 55% of marketers think that their internal and external brands are aligned. (Source)
Brand loyalty is worth 10x more than a single purchase. (Source)
Less than 10% of B2B companies say their branding is very consistent. (Source)
95% of companies have formal brand guidelines, but only 25% of them actually stick to them. (Source)
Of course, there’s plenty more where this came from, and a quick Google search will provide you with more evidence on the value of personal branding than you’re ever likely to need. Still, we think we’ve made our point.
Personal branding is one of those interesting areas where it’s easy to get started but difficult to become a master. This is especially true for public speakers, who need to become subject matter experts and to wrap their heads around communication at the same time.
One of the easiest ways to get started is to use social networking sites to get your message out. LinkedIn is an obvious choice as it’s the world’s leading business social networking site, but you should also consider using Twitter and Instagram at the very least.
You’ll need a decent website too, and you’ll need to commit to regularly updating it, even if that’s just once a month. This will help you to showcase your expertise and will also enable you to bring in more visitors through search engines.
If you can, consider building an email list. One easy way to do this is to offer up an ebook or a whitepaper as a free download in exchange for people providing you with their email address. This can be particularly useful if you do a lot of consultancy work.
And of course, you need to get your name out there however you can. Keep an eye on some of the events that you’d like to speak at, and interact with their social media posts or leave comments on their blog articles. Proactively pitch to them instead of waiting for them to contact you, so if you have an idea for a talk that you could give at their next big event, reach out to them.
Finally, and most importantly, you need to commit to your personal brand and to continue to work at it over time. Signing up to LinkedIn will only get you so far if you just post one update and then never go back. The same is true for your website. You need to keep it updated so that it’s always relevant when people pay it a visit.
Now that you know a little bit more about personal branding and why public speakers can benefit from putting it to use, it’s over to you to keep the discussion going. Let us know in the comments how personal branding has helped you so that we can keep the discussion going. We look forward to hearing from you.
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