Your social media profiles, also known as your personal brand, are essentially the face of your business in 2021. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you’ve been hit with random messages over Facebook or Instagram, with just one glimpse at the person’s profile causing immediate ignorance of their message. Building a personal brand is more important than ever – particularly with people preferring to talk to people, not just a business.
Communication is incredibly important, both visually and verbally. According to cognitive biases such as The Halo Effect, from the moment someone lays eyes on your profile they’ve already subconsciously made an assumption about you. Making a good first impression is now more important than ever, as we don’t have the same opportunity to save a conversation like we do in face to face interactions.
With that being said, having your social media optimised truly is the key to building trust, rapport and letting the world know how you can serve them. Here is my simple 7-step guide to optimise your social profiles.
1. Get a Great Headshot or Profile Picture
This is really the pinnacle when it comes to your personal brand. Your profile photo can be the “make or break” when it comes to prospecting. More often than not, it’s the first thing people will see on your profile – meaning it is what the first impression will be made upon.
I highly suggest that you invest a hundred bucks into having a few professional photos done. They truly make a massive difference when it comes to making a good first impression, and having a bad headshot can cost you thousands. I would also invest in using canva to make an aesthetically pleasing cover photo for both your Facebook & Instagram accounts
2. Find Your Colours
When it comes to a good personal brand, having clear, defined and consistent colours across all your content, is highly important when it comes to being memorable and standing out. Associating yourself with a particular colour will enable you to be at the top of your consumers mind each time they see a particular colour.
For example, check out my Instagram account. I like to use blue, specifically with a gradient to make the colour pop more. Remember, the goal here is to make your brand stand out and be as memorable as possible. Also putting the ring around your profile photo is another great way to catch attention.
3. Invest in Your Content & Get Creative
Let’s be honest, sometimes photos can get a little boring. And everyone loves creativity. In my opinion, you really need to invest time, money and energy into making your brand stand out. Personally, I use Canva to get creative with my content, to make images and thumbnails that grab people’s attention.
If you want tips and tricks on how to do this, join my free facebook group here for insane value on optimising your personal brand & creating scroll-stopping content.
4. Create Content That is Relative
If you’re a business owner trying to talk to high-level CEO’s and executives, you probably don’t want photos on your profile of you drinking and smoking with your buddies on the weekend (save that for the group chat). Your content should all be relevant to your work, your industry and your target audiences pain points and desires.
Remember to always be authentic with your content, but post things that can actually help people. Study your audience in depth: what topics they talk about, the language they use and what they’re trying to accomplish.
5. Tell People What You Do
Chances are that a complete stranger stumbling across your profile will have no idea what you do, without you telling them. Save time and energy by optimizing your bio to tell people how you can serve them, and more specifically: what you do. Keep it clear, concise and attention grabbing. For example, “I help companies scale ridiculously fast”. If you want some feedback or opinion on your bio, send me a DM on Instagram.
6. Be Consistent
If you’re using multiple channels or social platforms, consistency is a must. Many business owners are bombarded with dozens of messages a day, and you want to be sure to make an impression where they won’t forget you.
For example, if you were to connect with someone on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook in the same week, and your profile picture was different across all 3, they might think that it’s a different person adding them each time. The same thing applies
7. Be Authentic
In true fashion of saving the best for last, authenticity in my opinion, is the key to great content. By being open, honest and sometimes even vulnerable, you create a bond and emotional connection with your audience that is far stronger than you’d be able to achieve otherwise. In a world that’s full of fakes, choose to be real.
In the competitive environment of business and personal branding in 2021, you need to do everything you can to stand out. Follow these tips to optimise your social profiles to position your brand for success.
As one of the best PR agencies, my team at Boost Media Agency can get you everything you need to out-position your competition with your personal brand. If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help you with this, visit our website here to find out more.
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