How to get personal in your brand

It’s common knowledge that we need to show up in our brands- we need to be the faces and help to build the likability factor which leads to trust. But it can be hard to know how personal to get. So I thought I’d give three ways on how to get more personal in your business.

Choose your content pillars

You might think the only thing you can talk about is your business and indirectly or directly selling what you offer. But actually that kind of content gets really boring even if you are offering something great. So you need to mix it up a little and choose a variety of content topics that work with your brand to showcase what you do and your personality. I am a photographer, and I predominately work with women. Either female entrepreneurs or women looking to regain their confidence and learning to love themselves. I know how important it is for potential clients to see me as Donna and not just a generic photographer. They need to get an idea over my personality. I can be funny and light hearted and so I do like posts that show that side of me. Silly mistakes that I make and having the ability to laugh at myself. I think it helps them to see that I don’t look at myself through rose tinted glasses even though I’m an advocate for self love. We all have insecurities and that’s ok. I like to empower women too, and a lot of content I share is about female empowerment or how I like to empower myself and about learning how to do that. Or calling out the injustices that women face. It’s about starting those conversations. I’m a big fan of the local area as well, and will often share places and other businesses in the area that I like to use because it helps build a picture over who I am, where I hang out, my lifestyle and my hobbies. I’m a mum and I know many of my clients can relate, so I will post up bits about my children and my home life. Your content pillars really will depend upon your brand. My aim is always to make people feel comfortable and to feel like I’m a friend because that way if they come in for a photoshoot they know enough about me to be relaxed in my presence because being in front of my camera can be a vulnerable position for many. At the end of the day if your personality shines through, people will want to work with you because you ignite excitement, laughter and joy in them.

Blogs

Your website should include a blog. It’s such an important part of how you can be found online. Don’t underestimate the importance of blogging. Being personal on blogs is a way to connect to your audience. Using your platform to speak your truth and get personal in a professional way is a great chance to capture an audience that want to learn more about you and more about what you’re skilled at. I love photography but my clients want to learn about business and building their brands or about how to learn to love themselves and take better care of their mental wellbeing (coincidentally my some of my content pillars). I find that you can cross promote information from socials into blogs or vice versa. With a blog though you have more room to get deeper with your clients and form stronger connections.

Create your social media presence

Being on social media really does rely upon being social. It’s not about posting something and waiting for clients to come in and just watching your like count go up. The reality is it makes no difference if you have 6000 views on a reel if you’re not connecting with the people reaching out to you. In fact big numbers on socials doesn’t necessarily equate to a busy business. You need to really look deeper into the connections that can be made on socials in an organic way with the people that follow you and the individuals that could be your ideal client. You need to be replying professionally and as your brand dictates to comments left on your posts. You need to be getting your name out there by connecting with other local brands or individuals. You really just need to have that presence without being spam like. If you consistently show up and you’re of service and value to your followers, your hard work will pay off.