When you promote someone’s services or sell someone’s image, you are doing personal marketing. Unlike, for example, launching a new sports car model on the market, when you want to advertise a person, marketing strategies and message configuration may vary a bit. But don’t panic: it’s something you’ve probably done before, even if you weren’t aware of it.
Want to know what personal marketing is all about and how to do it? In this article, we’ll tell you about it and add details that will help you elevate your image as an entrepreneur or professional service provider. Here we go!
What is personal marketing?
Personal marketing can be summed up in four words: selling yourself. It is the set of tools and strategies that help you to promote yourself and what you do: whether it is tutoring in mathematics, personalized training, motivational coaching, consulting in a certain area, etc. That is to say, everything that is within the service area.
It doesn’t matter if you advertise an object or someone’s service; marketing, in general, highlights the best qualities for people to buy what you are selling them. That’s why personal marketing happens in such natural moments as when you tell your family what your new venture is all about; or when a colleague asks you what you are working on at the moment.
What makes up personal marketing?
Now that you know personal marketing, you need to consider the elements that make up a good strategy. It is likely that, if you have been working in marketing for some time, you already know them, but we will briefly describe each.
Value proposition: That which differentiates you from others and makes you unique. The benefit that customers will perceive if they choose you.
Target audience: The people who will consume your services, those you are addressing, and for whose problems you should present yourself as the solution. We recommend extensive research on this group: their likes, dislikes, information channels, what they say, what they think, how they act, etc.
Recognition elements: This is about branding, what people will recognize your brand from your logo, colors, typography, images, etc. You should already have these basics in place before launching your personal marketing strategy, and they should last over time.
Voice and tone: Just as the visual part is important, so is the message. You need to establish your brand’s voice and tone to craft a consistent message that people will recognize you. What do you want to say, and how? After that, you can configure the message through their favorite channels, depending on your objective.
Slogan: A short, punchy, but catchy phrase that encompasses your business and your essence. It is not mandatory, but it does provide that differentiating element.
Personal marketing strategies
You must have a defined strategy to promote yourself as a figure for your products and services. If you don’t, you will wander around the Internet without a fixed direction, and it is possible that visualizing the next step will be complicated. Here are some examples of personal marketing strategies.
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT matrix means to make a review of your strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. It helps you to know the strengths you could exploit in your personal marketing strategy and the ones you need to work on or enhance. For example, for the nutritionist we were talking about earlier, let’s say:
• Is a great communicator (Strength)
• Has specialized in an area that few people look at: nutrition for patients with kidney problems (Opportunity)
• Not very organized, may have trouble scheduling appointments (Weakness)
• One of your colleagues is considering setting up a comprehensive nutrition center that includes this area.
Condition your networks
Social networks are great allies for making yourself known and reaching more people. In fact, a paper help.org reviews that 54% of social network users are potential clients for entrepreneurs or new businesses. However, to reach the full capacity of social networks, it is necessary to optimize them.
Choose an appropriate profile picture: it can be your logo or an image that distinguishes you and is related to your line of business.
Describe what you do in your biography: don’t give people a chance to get lost. Also, use hashtags.
Show your value proposition: what is the reason why people should prefer you over your competitors.
Interact with other accounts: follow, like, comment and share content from other authors about your line of business.
Generate valuable content: What does your target audience need to know? This is the core of your personal marketing strategy.
Networking
Regarding one of the last points mentioned above, connecting with others (networking) is fundamental to expanding your messages. You never know if you might find your new client in the next person you greet or a new partner in the next person you tell about your business. Remember to be professional but also relaxed.
Tips for establishing a personal marketing strategy
You have almost everything you need to set up your personal marketing strategy. Now we will only give you some tips that will complement the strategies and help you save some problems when it comes to working.
Establish your value proposition. It must be crystal clear, and you need to believe in it.
Be transparent with your customers. Tell them what is happening, what you are doing, and who is behind the brand. People today want to buy and connect with you, which can only be achieved by making yourself known.
Watch what you say. The reputation of your service and yourself is important. What you do and what you say must be congruent to avoid problems in the future. In addition, this will offer reliability to your clients.
Undoubtedly, both entrepreneurs and any service professional need personal marketing to grow. Always be clear about your value proposition and what you want to convey, so it will be easier to know what to say and plan the strategy.
