Personal branding is the process of creating and communicating a distinctive and memorable image of yourself to your target audience. It is not just about promoting your products or services, but also about showcasing your values, expertise, personality, and vision. Personal branding can help you stand out from the crowd, attract investors and customers, inspire your team, and build your reputation and credibility. As a startup founder, your personal brand is closely linked to that of your company. Your personal brand can influence how people perceive your company and its products or services. Therefore, it is important to be strategic and intentional about building your personal brand and aligning it with your company's brand. Here are some concrete tips and strategies to help you improve your personal branding as a startup founder:
- Create your branding mission statement. This is a concise and clear statement that summarizes your purpose, values, goals, and unique selling proposition. It should answer questions like: Who are you? What do you do? Why do you do it? How do you do it differently? What value do you offer to your audience? Your branding mission statement will guide your personal branding efforts and help you communicate your message consistently and effectively.
- Develop your social media strategy. Social media is a powerful tool to connect with your audience, share your insights, opinions, stories, and updates, and grow your network and influence. You should choose the social media platforms that best suit your goals, audience, and content type. You should also create a content calendar to plan and schedule your posts in advance, and use analytics tools to measure and improve your performance.
- Showcase your expertise. One of the best ways to build trust and authority in your field is to demonstrate your knowledge and skills through various channels. You can write blog posts, articles, ebooks, white papers, case studies, or newsletters on topics related to your industry or niche. You can also create podcasts, videos, webinars, courses, or workshops to share your insights and tips. You can also speak at events, conferences, panels, or podcasts as a guest or host.
- Be helpful to your audience. Another way to establish yourself as a valuable resource and a thought leader is to provide useful information, advice, feedback, or support to your audience. You can answer questions on platforms like Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn, or Twitter. You can also create guides, tutorials, checklists, templates, or tools that solve common problems or challenges faced by your audience.
- Get your team involved. Your personal brand is not only about you but also about the people who work with you and support you. You should encourage and empower your team members to share their stories, achievements, insights, and opinions on their own platforms or on your company's platforms. You should also acknowledge and appreciate their contributions and achievements publicly. This will help you create a positive and collaborative culture within your company and enhance its reputation.
Some examples for founders with a strong personal brand are:
- Dharmesh Shah, the co-founder and CTO of HubSpot. He is known for his expertise and thought leadership in inbound marketing, entrepreneurship, and company culture, his insightful and actionable blog posts and books, his humble and approachable personality, and his active and engaging presence on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Rand Fishkin, the co-founder and former CEO of Moz and SparkToro. He is known for his transparency and honesty in sharing his successes and failures, his generosity and helpfulness in providing valuable content and advice, his charisma and storytelling skills in presenting new products and ideas, and his active and engaging presence on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Melanie Perkins, the co-founder and CEO of Canva. She is known for her inspiring and empowering story of turning a college project into a billion-dollar business, her creativity and excellence in design, engineering, and marketing, her boldness and perseverance in overcoming challenges and failures, and her active and engaging presence on platforms like Instagram and Medium.
- Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. He is known for his vision and innovation in creating a global community of hosts and guests, his passion for social causes such as diversity, inclusion, and sustainability, his authenticity and vulnerability in sharing his challenges and lessons, and his active and engaging presence on platforms like Twitter and Medium.
- Ijad Madisch, the co-founder and CEO of ResearchGate. He is known for his vision and innovation in creating a platform that connects millions of researchers and enables them to share their publications, data, and expertise, his passion and curiosity for science and discovery, his authenticity and vulnerability in sharing his challenges and successes, and his active and engaging presence on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Philipp Westermeyer, the co-founder and CEO of OMR. He is known for his expertise and thought leadership in digital marketing, media, and entrepreneurship, his generosity and helpfulness in providing valuable content and advice, his charisma and storytelling skills in hosting podcasts and events, and his active and engaging presence on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
