Building a personal brand

WHEN IT COMES TO MARKETING A BUSINESS, NOTHING’S MORE POWERFUL THAN THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BRAND. HERE RETAIL EXPERT WIZZ SELVEY REVEALS HOW INDIES CAN TAP INTO ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST ASSETS

Once spring arrives, most retailers are usually looking back at Q1 and planning for the remainder of the year. This includes thinking about how best to stretch budgets and make the most of what you’ve started with. Of course, marketing, growing and getting your business’ name out there is always a priority for all businesses. So, I’ll let you in on one of the best ways I’ve found to grow your audience - and it’s one of the cheapest, too: growing your own personal audience and brand.

Personal service

Think about it: the most successful founders are also the most visible. Strategic and consistent visibility can only improve your bottom line as well as relationships with stakeholders. People buy into people and stories but every major brand from Charlotte Tilbury and Spanx’s Sarah Blakely to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook started at the beginning. So what’s stopping you? You are your biggest asset!

Human interaction

I often speak about how Digital Fatigue is a growing problem for businesses, particularly when it comes to selling D2C. But people are still craving human interest and interaction, so building your personal handle or account on social media and profile in the press is a great opportunity to literally speak to a larger audience. It will also give you the opportunity to integrate your story and point of view into your business and through customer communications such as emails. It can be a really powerful thing to reach those people who may have come across your photos, videos and stories on social media before, but haven’t actually bought anything from your business.

A really good example of someone who has done this brilliantly is my client Sarah Thomas, co-founder of Clockface Beauty, who set out to grow the audience of her brand. She knew she was already speaking to fashion-conscious women, so she started posting more fashion content and looks on her own personal Instagram page. Through cross-tagging, lots of filming and interaction, she has now grown her Instagram page to over 1 3k followers ( @sarahjthomaslifestyle ) - more than her actual brand ( @clockfacebeauty ).

Building a following

I have also managed to grow my own following over the past few years by speaking at events, inviting people to follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn and join my email list. This has been a fantastic experience, but has also expanded my network hugely as connections in common regularly get in touch for recommendations and to find out how I can help them scale their business.

Speaking and making yourself visible also allows you to take control of your own narrative. So, really think about what feels authentic for you and your brand. You know this best!

First steps

Think about your unique point of view using a topic that’s relevant both to your brand and your customer - it doesn’t have to be all about work.

Start sharing your expertise and develop content themes. Supporting other similar accounts might give you some ideas and help to begin with.

Keep checking back to what feels authentic to you. You don’t need to be something or someone you’re not or share too much - people want to see the real you!

Now move towards creating an emotional connection by ensuring you and your business is memorable. This will unlock more growth and revenue, as well as starting something exciting for you to connect with a bigger audience.

Wizz Selvey is founder of retail and brand strategy consultancy agency Wizz & Co. Follow her for insight and updates on Instagram @wizz.and.co and Facebook @wizzandco.retail, visit wizzandco.com or search for Wizz & Co on LinkedIn.