This week, I was reminded of the reluctance for some, myself included, to embrace and leverage the power of their role as the individual best placed to get their business into the marketplace, by introducing the person behind the business.

I’m currently working with eleven entrepreneurs helping them grow their business and taking them to the next level.

As a business leader, your personal profile can make the quickest and biggest impact when it comes to growth. It gives you an opportunity to make a difference and expand your ability to influence and connect with your audience.

You are your biggest asset. Laying your passion, purpose, business, brand and profile down for all to see, will ensure what truly can be achieved, becomes reality.

Creating killer content

One of the most important jobs as a business owner is to create compelling content.

Back in the days when I started my own business, there were no online tools or communication platforms to make you immediately accessible and get you noticed. They just didn’t exist.

Businesses were mostly built on the brand and the name. Quite often nobody knew who owned them.

Now, it’s personal and people are more likely to buy if they know the face behind the business. The personality that connects with people to share their strong message about what they stand for is more interesting and powerful than just the business name.

Elon Musk, is a case in point. He has ten times more influence, profile and engagement than his own business brand Tesla does.

Put yourself out there

So, how do we get the confidence, self-belief and conviction not only to create content, but share it?

Whether it’s uploading that video, writing that blog, starting that podcast or posting that status, how do you find the confidence to put yourself out there?

It’s a mindset shift for sure. So, if you’re resisting building your own profile, driven by the notion that if you just do good work, then that will speak for itself.

Here are seven ways that can help catapult your business forward through branding you.

1. Overcome your fear of judgement

Yes, it’s real, valid and will happen. you’re going to be judged, so you need to get over it.

Start small, focusing on the audience you have. The 100 friends on your Facebook page (where you already get good engagement), is already interested in what you have to say, what you think and post.

You’re not Meghan Markle, there’s not enough volume for most people to behave badly. The trolls will probably show up when you’ve built thousands of followers, but by then you’ll have the confidence to shake them off.

2. Stop feeling like a self-promoting attention seeker

The most overused word I hear is ‘authentic’.

Be yourself, don’t be so perfectly polished. Be natural, say what you think, just let it flow. It’s ok to be passionate and honest about what you know and do. Showing a little vulnerability is being real.

It’s about showing up, adding value and being there consistently. It won’t happen overnight, remain steadfast and believe your audience want to hear what you have to say. If they don’t, they will simply unfollow.

3. Bigger isn’t always better

It’s not the size of your following that matters, it’s the levels of engagement.

Unless your goal is to be a major social media influencer, it’s not about quantity. There are many people out there who have massive followings but don’t make any money.

We’re obsessed about having more likes and followers, but your profile is of more use if you have the right audience. The conversion rate from your audience is what you look at. They are there because of the rich, quality content you post and the connection that makes them feel like they belong and identify with what you believe and can offer.

4. Keep the message niche

There’s a huge downside in thinking to have a profile you need to be famous. Don’t judge yourself against someone who has a thousand hours of mastery.

Adopt a ‘practice makes progress’ mindset, take the learning and go again. Don’t wait to be perfect.

It’s about thinking how do I add value to the people I want to serve? Nobody else, just them. Bring it back to asking what’s your brand message and who are you trying to communicate with?

5. Have a plan and get organised

A key role for any leader is to be the content creator.

Creating content and planning your messages for the year ahead, down to each month, week and day.

It sounds like a lot but if you plan it, schedule in all the blogs, quotes, podcast interviews, speaking slots, client workshops, etc. then it can be turned into a whole eco system of collateral. It takes practice, but you can be smart, working out where you can re-purpose this rich content.

6. Keep it simple

A call to action is essential in any activity.

Absolutely, the follow up is important when you do this work, but don’t push your funnel too fast, make it too long or too dramatic.

Plain text, simple, short and to the point can actually be more effective than a fancy Mailchimp email. Communicate with your prospect list and audience, ensuring you create value for them.

Don’t sell offers, scream discounts and send big, scary, dramatic, email headlines. People don’t want to feel like they’re being sold to.

Just communicate with them regularly and simply. When they’re ready they will buy.

7. Enter awards

I’m a huge fan of awards, they feed into everything. Again, it’s about having a plan and knowing what you want to put yourself forward for because it raises yours and your business’ profile, locally, regionally and nationally.

Awards add credibility and confidence to your brand, they’re also a huge boost for your team if you win and who doesn’t want to be part of a winning team?

Be strategic about it. Start by entering the local business awards and move to regional and national. Look at all the free awards to enter, there’s no need to pay.

Don’t be put off it you don’t win, use the entries and interviews to perfect your application, once you have a winning one, use the application to re-submit again and again, tweaking it where necessary.

Be your best business asset

The word ‘Profile’ to many, often means being a social media butterfly. This notion couldn’t be further from the truth.

Raising your profile is about positioning yourself next to your audience, adding value to best serve them.

As a business owner, it’s about being strategic, having a content plan and using the resources you have to share in priority order. Measure success and ensure you don’t spend your time doing anything that has no commercial return.

Every business owner puts so much heart, soul and sacrifice into running and building their dream. You are your very best asset. Know that to be true, get comfortable with it and let you and your business grow together.

Need a plan to start building your personal brand? Talk to me about building the confidence to make a start, stop procrastinating and just do it!

7 ways to build your business by building “Brand You”