How Social Media Benefits Personal Branding

When pursuing a personal branding strategy, one of the most powerful tools to consider is an active social media presence. Social media has many benefits for personal branding, and if you take advantage of these benefits, your personal brand will be even better. Here are six ways social media benefits online personal branding:

#1: Social media showcases your expertise

As you establish your personal brand, you also want to establish yourself as an expert in your field. If people consider you to be an expert, they will want to hire you. That’s where the power of social media comes in. Use your social media channels to elevate your status as a trusted expert in your industry by sharing relevant articles, answering questions, offering tidbits and broadcasting industry news. The more you share, the more expertise you’re showing, and the more people will turn to you for information about your industry.

#2: Help others through social media

Hand in hand with showcasing your expertise, social media also gives you a unique position to help others who are seeking information. When someone poses a question about your industry and you know the answer, you become a trusted resource. People buy and hire from those they trust, so the more you help others through social media, the better your opportunities will be for future projects and jobs.

#3: Use social media for informal market research

Do you need ideas for blog posts? Are you wondering what type of data people are looking for in your industry? Would a video series about a certain topic be well received by your audience? Social media is a great way to get answers to your questions. Ask your social media fans and followers, and you’ll get a wealth of information, which can help guide your content marketing efforts.

#4: Social media can help with content curation

Yes, you want to share your own content among your social networks, but it is equally important to share other people’s content too. Social media is great place to find high-quality content authored by others. When you share other people’s content, not only are you being a good social media neighbor, you are helping build your personal brand because you’re sharing information with your audience (which, in turn, reinforces your role as a trusted resource).

#5: Make valuable connections through social media

It’s important to pick the right social media networks because you want to be present on the channels where your audience is. Then, as you build your social media presence, you can begin making valuable connections with others. Social media can help you connect with potential customers and employers, colleagues and peers, and thought leaders and influencers. Make sure you have a strategy to connect with all of these groups so you can maximize the networking power of social media.

#6: Social media lets you show your personality

Personal branding is about the “person” – and there’s no better way to show your personality than through social media. Talk about your favorite recipes, snap a picture of your morning walk, or share a vacation photo or two. People want to connect with a person, not an entity. You don’t have to reveal your entire life, but share some personal tidbits to reveal the “human side” of your brand. That’s where you’ll make the deepest connections with others.

Social media is a powerful tool in your personal branding arsenal. When you leverage social media to build your online authority, show your expertise and humanize your brand, you will emerge as an approachable and trusted resource that people will want to know more about it. There are many fish in the sea, especially when it comes to entrepreneurs and professionals. Use social media to boost your online personal brand so you can rise to the top, and get those opportunities and offers you deserve.

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