It goes without saying that the more technology evolves, the more potential exposure we have for our brand-spankin’ new businesses.
However, it also means we as individuals – our personal lives – are more exposed too. If you do have a business idea, you need to start pondering how you present yourself not only online (although definitely online), but in real life, too.
So, how exactly should you sell yourself, your brand and your idea to the masses in 2019?
People would argue that there’s no clearcut way to get your brand out there and I would wholeheartedly agree, however, there are definitely steps you can take to ensure the primo chance of success.
Success doesn’t mean you have to make it ‘uge, rake in millions and become a CEO who dwells in the penthouse, only venturing down to yell at faceless interns who got you a flat white instead of a long black. (Oi interns, just remember the colour of the CEO’s soul and you’ll never get an order wrong in your life.)
Success can also be the smaller accomplishments – putting your name out there, getting recognition, and slowly accruing more connections are huge milestones. If we can’t celebrate the little things, why do we celebrate birthdays every goddamn year? Congrats on not dying, literally everyone on their birthday.
So if you need a bit of a push, here are a few tricks of the trade that could help you and your bizniz show up, glow up and blow up. SGB – memorise it.
1. INCREASE IRL & URL NETWORKING
Connections are now your currency. Well, that and money if you have it but let’s just take it one step at a time.
Mingling with the right people both online and IRL is crucial for you to start forming your business persona. What do you want people to see you and your business as? Why are they interested? What can you do to make them interested?
Obviously you don’t want to force your ideas onto people and scare them off, but just by speaking to people and putting your ideas out there, you’ll be able to get a good read of what’s working, what might need tweaking and what your next steps are.
Plus, who knows who you’ll meet along the way. It only takes one chance meeting for everything to change.
2. BE UNAVOIDABLE
If you know what you’re about, it’s time to work on plastering yourself everywhere.
Create a thoughtfully curated brand which can be easily digested online. Your social media presence will also play a massive role, so you’d be wise to use platforms like Mailchimp to manage all of your social media activity from the same space. The internet loves consistency, I’m told.
This also means not missing out on anything: if something new’s happening in your area of interest/expertise, you should know about it and, if you have the chance, give your own thoughts on the newest trend.
If you write/sound off on a topic and put it out there, you also increase the chance of people quoting you or taking notice of what you have to say which is always good for biz.
Exposure people, we want exposure.
3. SHOWCASE YOUR STRONG POINTS
I mean, I’m hoping it’s common knowledge that no one out there is marketing themselves as ‘just okay at Microsoft Excel and organisation skills’ but if you are doing that, time to change your tune.
Know what you and your business does best and lead with it. Talk to people about the wins and what you plan on achieving rather than what your idea is currently lacking.
This isn’t a job interview (well…), there’s no point outlining your strengths and weaknesses if no one asks.
4. HAVE A PLAN OF ATTACK
Research your target audience.
You’ll most likely have a demographic in mind that you want to cater to, so you can run tests to see what will work best. Mailchimp has specific services that allow you to do all of this and help you adjust your target audience accordingly.
If you’re marketing yourself, you may as well market yourself to people who care. There’s no point wasting your genius ideas or your brand on deaf ears/eyes(?)/nose(?).
A little research at the start of your business venture will also save you a lot of wasted hours so even if it seems like extra work, it’ll mean less work in the long run and frankly, I’m all about doing the bare minimum for maximum results.
5. BE HUMAN (BUT NOT *TOO* HUMAN, YA KNOW?)
Nobody would go out of their way to support a business or a person they know nothing about.
It’s important to maintain the professionalism of course, but who’s to say you can’t inject a lil bit of yourself in there too?
You’d be surprised at how well people receive you and your ideas if they know you’re passionate and genuinely invested in your own brainchildren.
They might not even particularly like what you’re putting down, but at least they’ll appreciate it.
