3 Reasons to Actively Manage Your Brand In A Social Media Era

If you are not actively managing your brand, your sales could be impacted because current and potential customers are seeking ways to engage with your brand. In the era of Social Media, opportunities to connect with your customers are more abundant and properly managing your brand is critical to your success.

1. Your Community

Customers—past, current and potential- want to form authentic relationships beyond transactional interactions. Leverage your community by providing advice, recommendations, tips and any relevant knowledge that can add value and position you as an expert. Understand why giving more value is providing the best customer service, the right thing to do and establishes essential characteristics of your brand.

Social media is an amazing platform to share content that engages your community and keeps your brand top of mind. Your content should be centered around the customer, not your products and services. Striking a balance of service, sales and promotion should be understood and fundamental for your brand.

2. Establish Your Online Presence

Determine what you want for your brand online. Do you want to drive traffic to your website or to your physical property? Do you want to use social media for your brand? Are you interested in driving brand awareness to let your customers know you exist or are you interested in generating leads, managing customers, or having an online presence because everyone else does?

If you have an online presence, your brand should be on the first page of Google if someone searches for your business. Your brand’s presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn or whatever social media platforms you should be part of your search results. Creating and managing your social media profiles using your brand name allows you to take more ownership of how your brand is managed online, control conversations about your brand, interact with your audience online and respond to customer inquires and feedback.

If you don’t have an online presence, you are missing an opportunity to engage with your audience.

3. Be Human

Customers expect brands to be responsive and transparent. Customers buy into you before they buy into your brand. Your brand’s personality should be felt in all customer interactions. Ensure you are brand message is consistent in all interactions. Also, responding to customers has always been important and is even more critical in a social media era. Customers don’t expect brands to be perfect; however, they do expect brands to have compassion which means developing and nurturing relationships is essential for survival.

Three Goals Essential to Growing Your Business

After my first layoff in corporate America, I envisioned starting my own business. Fourteen years later, I said, “I’m out” and put the wheels in motion to become “Boss Free.”  While it was an exciting time, there were many things that I thought would be easy became overwhelming because I operated from ego and intellectualism instead of passion, commitment and empowerment.

While developing my logo, my website, my business cards, my tagline and business strategies, I also spent hours wishing the business success others experienced were mine instead of focusing on establishing my business which was an epic failure. I wasted hours trying to convince others I was credible, knew what I was doing and could be successful as a business owner. I drove around, hosted meetings and networked instead of following my game plan.

My first year lacked direction and was rough. I am a firm believer there are no coincidences; however, there are three mistakes I pray every business owner avoids.

Don’t jump and say YES to every opportunity.

Remain true to your core principles. I had nothing when I started my business. After paying for the essentials, I was severely underfunded. I was crystal clear on my mission and vision; however, I didn’t have the confidence to make things happen. Since I needed money immediately, I began consulting again and neglected building my business for nine months. I became comfortable consulting in corporate because I was making money. I started resenting my corporate client because I had a “job” and did none of the things that were critical to building my business.

I decided to recommit to my business and parted ways with my corporate client. I reconnected to my passion of helping businesses.  My fears were exacerbated because I was not working my business plan and focused on what others were doing. When business opportunities began to materialize, I operated with ease and felt I no longer had to say YES to opportunities that did not serve my business or my clients.

Focus only one income producing activities.

As entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, we are responsible for all aspects of our business. While it is critical to stay organized, look and sound good to our customers, spend 90% of your time on income producing activities.

It is essential that you build relationships with your customers. You must also grow your email list. Network with purpose. Develop and stay committed to your brand. Build credibility and master the art of selling. If you don’t focus on income producing activities, you’re going to delay achieving your ultimate business goals.

Turn Your Prospects and Fans into Customers

I realized quickly that products and services are commodities. Your customers chose your business because of three things: Your Brand, Your Content and Your Mastery of Selling.  

Your Brand: Knowing what your brand represents, why it exists, and what customers you seek to serve will differentiate your brand. Clearly defining and consistently messaging your brand’s promise is essential to your business’ success.  Consistent branding activity and engagement must become second nature to you.

Your Content: Developing a content strategy and determining what content to create will take some time. To build authority and keep your audience coming back, your content must provide significant value. Once you have solidified, tested and refined your content strategy, your prospects and email list will grow and other opportunities such as blogging, speaking engagements and interviews may come to you.

Your Mastery of Selling: I abhor selling. I use to avoid every opportunity that it presented itself. When it came time for me to close a sale, I would feel nauseous and would discount all my products and services to make myself feel better. With some help from my mentors and business coaches, I soon realized that if I believed in my programs and knew I offered a solution my customers required, my work would make my customers’ businesses grow and thrive.

Three Ways to Stay Engaged with Your Brand

We all know that our brand and our business are separate but equal and one in the same. Without our business, there would be no brand and vice versa. When we focus exclusively on one and neglect the other, both could and usually suffer. The good news is that we can always re-engage, reignite and stay recommit to our brand.

As a business owner, you must commit to branding with ease which requires you to engage in a way that is purposeful, responsible and remain passionate to ensure your long-term success.  Remember why you started your business and created your brand. Remember that your brand promise and how you strive to exceed your customers’ expectation is essential to your growth and making more money. Never forget your business and your brand is the conduit for what you offer to your customers. Finally, your brand is a part of you that you have birthed and you’re nurturing it to see its growth.

Don’t forget that your brand is the reason you wake up everyday and dedicate the time, focus and attention to your business deserves. Your clients come to your for your expertise; however, most importantly, because of the connection they share with you.

Remember the following:

Stay passionate about your brand.

• Your commitment to your core values and beliefs.
• What is your brand promise.
• What is your why for your business.
• Be of service to your customers.

Enjoy the ride.

• Always remain energized and excited about your brand.
• Challenge yourself at each customer interaction to get better to grow and evolve your brand.
• Have fun with your brand, stay focused on your business, but don’t become consumed with that you cannot control. Remember that your biggest competitor is the person in the mirror.

Commitment to customers.

• In the beauty industry, your job is one of transformation, reinvention and refinement.
• You are often a therapist, counselor, confidante and friend to your clients.
• Stay positive and remain committed to serving your clients every need.

Why Branding?

When I ask many small business owners, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and anyone establishing and building a brand, what their brand represents, I am often told what products or services the business provides. It often takes several probing questions to begin to understand what a specific brand represents.

2. How do you want your customers and competitors to perceive your brand?

3. What should customers expect from your brand?

4. What is your brand’s personality?

5. How will your customers identify your brand?