Personal brands have it extra tough these days. It feels like the expectations and demands on our time are more extraordinary than ever! Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Youtube. And then on top of all that, you have to actually run a business and serve your clients.
That’s why you can’t afford to waste time and energy on chasing tricks and tactics that won’t truly benefit you.
After 5 years of working in social media, with over 60 personal brands, I’m going to share some basic truths that you need to know for your personal brand.
1. You have to understand the difference between targeting an educational crowd and an elevating crowd.
Potential customers generally fall into two categories. The ones who are new and in need of information and guidance, and the ones who have the basics but are ready for next-level solutions. This is true whether you’re coaching entrepreneurs or selling skincare. Lower-ticket offers that are for a wide range of people are going to need an audience that is looking for education. That’s where people see success from Reels, where it’s easy to break down simple concepts. These kind of offers need audience growth above all else, and should focus on creating wide reaching content.
On the other hand, high ticket offers for people who are ready for the next level, need to focus more on wooing their current audience. Leveraging connections is how they grow, and their audience needs more time in their social presence to covert. Go deep, not wide, and you’ll have the customers you need.
2. It’s time to redefine what bringing “value” means.
You hear it all the time. Value content, bringing value, giving value, value value value. But what does it actually MEAN?
It used to be about sharing long form content, full of information. But it’s time to think differently about what value you can bring, because Facebook groups are full of long posts bringing “value” and being ignored. Value isn’t just in how you post, it’s in how you engage. Are you connecting with people, replying with their needs in mind instead of your own? Are you responding to Stories? People value attention, not just knowledge.
3. The people who interact with you the most aren’t necessarily your next clients.
This one took me a while to learn, if I’m being completely honest! We tend to look at the people interacting the most with our content and think that these are the people who will throw down their credit cards when we roll out an offer. But a busy business owner doesn’t typically spend their time on social interacting with people they’re thinking of hiring! They’re more likely to view your social and go for the offer when the moment is right. Many of my Your Social CMO clients had never reacted to a single post! If your offers are high ticket, the people actually interacting with you most are likely either still in the education phase (and your offers are aspirational for them) or they fall more in the collaboration/referral range. Remember that cultivating relationships with referral partners can often be more beneficial than individual clients, so that isn’t necessarily a bad thing! But it can require a different approach.
If you understand these things, you can create a social media strategy that truly works in your favor as a personal brand. So go out there and be truly social!
