Bringing the “you” into your business brand
Co-authored by Sam McFarlane, Sam Says and Kim MacDonald, Spindrift Marketing
Have you noticed that more and more businesses are starting to interject their owners and/or c-suite executives’ personal identities, values and stories into their business brands? As a business owner do you sometimes feel confused about whether this is the right approach for you and your business?
Sam McFarlane from Sam Says and Kim MacDonald from Spindrift Marketing have joined forces in this article to explore the sometimes-murky waters businesses and business owners face when the boundaries between personal and professional identities and business brands blur. Kim looks at this trend overall and Sam dives into using social media and the blurring of boundaries between personal vs professional accounts.
There is a growing trend among larger corporations and small to medium-sized businesses to personalise their businesses in an attempt to bring a human face to the business brand. Often the reason for this is the belief it will enhance the business’s ability to connect, engage and ultimately appeal to their target audience. By utilising the “personal” stories, struggles, wins and losses of business owners or key people within the business they introduce a personal element to their brand that their target audience can relate to, helping to build brand trust.
While attributing a human face to a business brand isn’t new, think of French fashion designer and businesswoman, Coco Channel. What is new, is the emergence of social media and the ease in sharing and accessing this type of content.
As a business owner should I add a human face to my business brand?
There is no “one size fits all” answer to this question. It depends on many factors:
Are the business owners or key businesspeople personal brands and/or values aligned to the business brand values?
Are the business owners or key businesspeople comfortable to share their experiences and values? If they aren’t and are forced to do so they won’t appear authentic and this will do more damage than good.
Are the business owners or key businesspeople a good representation and fit with what the business brand stands for?
There is no denying it is easier for smaller businesses or solo business owners to find the right balance between successfully integrating personal brands and business brands. Particularly if the business owner/s and their business are similar in outlook and they are open to sharing their personal lives to help build the business brand. For instance, consider Michelle Bridges, her business brand is interwoven with her personal brand and this has helped to forger her successful business. For Michelle Bridges her personal brand is a key component for her “12 Week Body Transformation” and associated businesses.
It can be more difficult for businesses who need to portray a more professional image, like lawyers, accountants and medical professionals. It can also be more difficult for business owners who just don’t feel comfortable with sharing their personal lives, beliefs and values to those outside their immediate friends and family.
Is there a happy medium?
One way to build your business brand and introduce a human face to the brand is to establish a personal authority within the business around a topic, rather than using the personality, values or sharing of information of a person.
The key businessperson/owner can write guest posts, articles, whitepapers, appear in interviews, speak, appear in podcasts, videos to personally spread the word about your business brand. As they answer questions and convey information, their personal authority of the topic grows along with the awareness of the business brand. The focus is on the person’s knowledge of the topic rather than their personal positions, stories or values.
This approach works well for professional services or business owners who like to keep a clear boundary (and not blur the lines) between their personal life and their business life. It can be a win-win, helping business brands to gain awareness and it can provide a perfect blend of authority, personality, and engagement.
What about social media?
When you’re working in what is traditionally viewed as a ‘highly-professional and polished’ career, it can be hard to determine what you should be posting on social media. As a result, many people tend to shy away from social media altogether.
And that’s a shame!
Especially in today’s world, where staying social online is one of the easiest ways we remain in contact with our family and friends.
It’s often hard to determine what will blur the boundaries of what is considered work vs after-hours behaviour. And it’s this blurring that raises the question of whether the behaviour you portray online, reflects your employment and/or employer.
Start by having separate business and personal accounts
If you’re going to uphold the reputation of your business brand, set up a business account for your social media channels. Every time you post something business-related, make sure you’re using this account.
And keep a personal account for the one you share ‘non-business’ type things with your friends and family. If you work in a career where you don’t want people finding you online (in a personal sense), you could consider using a nickname that can’t be traced by others.
Just be careful to make sure you’re posting from the right account when you’re online.
If you’re working alone, you will likely become your business brand
And that’s a good thing! People relate to humans, not big corporations. And when it comes to working with you, they need to trust you. Being the person behind the brand shows your clients who you are. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and let them into your world.
But only share what you’re comfortable with. I’d suggest keeping it professional by sharing insights into your working world and showing your personality.
For example, if you’re working from home, share a story and a photo of how the dog has eaten your headset so you can’t correctly record the webinar you’re about to present (true story from a client!).
Never shy away from being yourself in your own business.
Bigger companies benefit from having a social media policy
If you’re running a bigger company, or you’re an employee of one, it’s still essential that you have a ‘voice’ on social media. This is where having a social media policy helps.
A social media policy will help you communicate with your employees what is and what isn’t acceptable behaviour for your business online. This works well for business such as those in the legal profession, where you may be operating under the same umbrella, but building your online reputation and practice too.
For example, if you’re working for a major company but writing articles and sharing posts on a platform such as LI to build your profile, you’ll need to make sure your company deems them suitable as you’re representing them.
How do you balance your personal vs professional social media accounts & how do you feel about the blurring of personal and business brands?
We’d love to hear how you’re balancing your personal vs professional social media accounts, mainly if you belong to a bigger company. Are there rules set in place? Or have you had any funny (or horror) stories of people sharing the wrong thing?
Do you have example in your business where your growing your personal has helped your business grow? Are you more drawn to brands that share a human side?
Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts.
About the Authors
Kim MacDonald, Spindrift Marketing
Kim MacDonald, Founder & Principal of Spindrift Marketing, a Sydney based Marketing Consultancy. Spindrift Marketing helps established and start-up businesses to get from A to B and beyond. Not only do we work hard to understand your business priorities, we take a holistic approach to develop and deliver the right marketing plan, making your business vision a reality.
Sam McFarlane, Sam Says
Sam McFarlane, Owner of Sam Says, a Melbourne based social media management consultancy. Sam Says works with businesses to provide social media management services that increase their authority, visibility and brand recognition to drive their business growth.