Monday, March 5, 2012

You Are The Product

Social media is definitely of the things that you need to make use of effectively in order to position yourself as the professional in your niche. Establishing a presence there is not - you need to know how to communicate & engage along with your audience well.

In today's highly competitive world, everyone claims to be the go-to person in their chosen niche. So-called "gurus" are a dime a dozen. This is why it can be tricky to stand out among all the competition. As a personal brand, you need to understand & utilize different platforms well in order to separate yourself from the crowd.

Basically put, it is not to basically be yourself. You need to recognize that you are the product - you need to be able to sell yourself to people, to keep them coming back for more. Otherwise, you are going to be another faceless, anonymous voice in social media, trying to get yourself heard over all the other noise.

So how do you become the product? What are the things you can do to engage your audience & keep them interested?

one. Know your audience

In order to effectively sell yourself, you need to know & understand your audience. You need to find out what they like & what interests them, & then figure out how to build a relationship with them through the things you have discovered.

A simple thing you can do is to ask questions. People in social media enjoy answering questions, when it is relevant to them. The more answers you get, the more you understand your audience & what you can do to engage them. Social media has made things simpler since it lets you communicate along with your audience directly & get inspiration from them.

Two. Get the conversation going

True product engagement means that people are speaking, debating and arguing about you. In social media, the more individuals who are speaking about your brand, the more that they will attract other individuals who are likely to have an interest in following you as well.

How exactly do you do this? Generate polls, host contests, get your audience's opinion, and always keep in mind to reply to comments and mentions of your brand. Fundamentally, you require to pay attention to your audience and communicate with them through social media. Don't let any response to your brand be ignored. Even a mere thank you or show of appreciation can help the conversation start about your brand.

three. Keep in mind to include a "call to action"

Sometimes, your audience needs a tiny nudge to start commenting and participating in your social media discussions, so don't be afraid to ask them to like, re-tweet or comment on your posts in the event that they enjoyed it. Of coursework, keep in mind not to do this on every tiny post of yours, since that can become annoying. But occasionally, it helps to tell people to comment or like what you have written to get things going.

four. "A picture equals a thousand words"

There is a reason why this saying exists, and it is because all of people are more drawn to visual images as compared to written words. Think of Facebook and how individuals who post fascinating, intriguing or even shocking pics get the most number of comments and likes. Of coursework, as a personal brand, it is vital to stay away from posting anything offensive. But the point is, pics usually evoke a sharper reaction from people as against written words.

Since you are the product in social media, posting fascinating pics that represent you and your brand can help you stand out and be noticed. Keep in mind to make sure that they are relevant to your niche - don't basically post things that are intriguing but have nothing to do with you, since this would not help your personal brand.

When it comes to social media & personal branding, it is not you. There has to be something about what you do that makes people connect & relate with you.

It's all about engagement

Think of the well-known personal brands out there. What makes them stand out? What makes them so special? These people know how to sell. They know how to persuade others of their expertise. Their personal brand has become a product that people require.

The key here is engagement. As a personal brand, you are the product - so you require to offer your audience something that makes them require to "buy" you or listen to you.

So make definite you know your audience, get the conversation going about your brand,contribute with value in a significant way, include a call to action, & utilize visual images to engage your audience. By always recalling that you are the product, you can learn how to sell yourself so that people will stand up & listen.

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