Looking for a way to differentiate yourself from others in your industry?  Consider your personal branding online.  Social media can be a great way to develop your reputation.  

Start by doing a Google search on your name, you can get specific and put your country down for a more accurate result.  Like the results?

Ideally you will see a list of your social profiles; LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, as well as your website, blog, and any images. All of these are core elements of your online presence and personal branding.

Objectives
Consider what you want people to see when they search for you and what your business objectives are.  If you want to appear different to your competitors, work on making your personal brand appealing; if you want more blog followers and to showcase your knowledge, write compelling articles; if you are wanting different employment opportunities, build your LinkedIn profile.

Profiles
Have a list of all your social profiles and set aside time for each of these; depending on your objectives this could be daily, weekly, or monthly.  Include quick links to all of these in your bookmarks for easy access when you have content to share.

Make sure you review your privacy settings, you may not want the world to see all of your Facebook posts, but you may want some key items visible.

Position yourself
Who are you, what do you do, and what do you stand for?  You may have already done this for your business, now it is time to consider a positioning statement for yourself.  This is what will help you stand out from your competitors, it will answer the "why me" when people are considering using your services, connecting with you, or buying products from you. 

Secure your name online
Though you may not consider Instagram, Snapchat or LinkedIn for you, you never know what the future will bring.  Secure your own, and your business name on each social media platform - just in case.  You do not need to be using them all, or even promoting them if they are not of use to your business right now.  Knowem? has a great database of social networks and online platforms that you can quickly search to see what is available for your name.

Get yourself out there
For those social media platforms that you do use, the key, once you have a profile, is to engage your audience, make an impact, and grow your personal brand within the communities.  Being active gives your profile more exposure and in some cases, helps boost search rankings, both within the platforms and on Google.  

If you would like assistance with setting up your social profiles, or training in how to use these, get in touch with Kite today.

By Kathleen Boyd

As part of your overall marketing strategy knowing your target audience is key, as this will help shape your message.  A target audience is not just 'men and women between 18 and 35', you need to get specific.  

Consider what your target audience likes, narrow down the age gap and the gender, think about where you are servicing; local, national, or global.  Online and offline are equally important, find out where your next customer is coming from.

One of the most efficient ways to determine your audience is to ask your clients and receive first hand information.  Ask new clients one important question:

How did you find us?

Some businesses have a new client form.  If you haven't already, include this question on it and provide a range of options for selection, eg. Yellow Pages, Yellow Online, Google Search, social media promotion, newspaper or radio advertisement, referral.  

Another option is to compile a short (three to five question) survey that you can share with both new and existing clients.  Ensure you have a purpose in mind when you are preparing this.  It may be to determine your most effective marketing channels, or find out how your business was found, or why someone chose to work with you.

Over time you will you have compiled a list of valuable data that can the be analysed and put to use to refine your business marketing.

If you would like guidance on refining your target audience to better ensure your marketing efforts are received by the right people, get in touch with Kite today.

By Kathleen Boyd