How to use social media to become the face of your business
Virgin Group. Apple. Formula One. What do these businesses have in common? They all have someone as the face of their business. With almost 10 million Twitter followers – more than all of the Virgin Group’s Twitter accounts combined – it’s fair to say that Richard Branson is a model face of a business.
People buy from people, not corporate organisations. And, with the increasing popularity and influence of social media, there’s never been an easier way to develop the face of your business. Take a look at Donald Trump, and how he used the power of social media to win the U.S. presidential election. As the face of his business, this has had a huge knock on effect with the success of Trump Organization – moving from the 62nd largest private company in the world up to 48th.
But, it’s not just global corporations that can have a successful face of their business. If you’re a regular on the Yorkshire networking scene, then you will have heard of Chris Allen, from Blacks Solicitors. He has grown his business through putting his face out there on social media, at networking events and seminars, on the Blacks website and through a host of others ways.
In this blog, we look at some of the different ways you can use social media to become the face of your business:
Position yourself as a thought leader
If you want to successfully become the face of your business, you need to position yourself as a thought leader – the go-to person in your industry. Answer questions, on your social profiles and your blog, and give tips, advice and insights into your field of expertise. Don’t forget to ask questions too, as this can be a great way of engaging with your fans – once you’ve had some responses you could then voice your opinion on the subject matter as well, and develop a conversation.
LinkedIn can be an ideal platform to become a thought leader, especially through the use of LinkedIn Pulse. Post blogs that answer the hottest questions in your industry, and you could eventually become a LinkedIn Influencer. Bringing in your own personal experiences can be very effective – telling people your story can make them feel like they know you personally, and can be a great way to emotionally connect people with your brand.
Network, network, network
We can’t stress enough how important this is. Putting your face out there is an essential factor in the success of you becoming the face of your business.
Engage with your followers by replying, liking and sharing any mentions and comments that you and your brand receive. Encourage people to engage with you by asking questions, answering questions, and generally voicing your opinion. Why not try using LinkedIn groups for this?
You essentially need to do everything that you can to get your face known, and to eventually get people to associate your face with your business, without being too intrusive. It’s the same as normal networking, just online.
Link back to your business
How are you meant to become the face of your brand if you never mention your business? Find the perfect balance between promoting yourself and promoting your brand. Listing the brand on your social profiles, and casually mentioning your brand in your posts and blogs can be a great way to do this, without forcing it on to people.
As Entrepreneur advises, “Your goal here isn’t to advertise your company, but to make the association clear – remember, people trust you, and they’ll naturally trust whatever you’re associated with as long as you don’t try to jam it down their throats.”
Create a new face for your business
Don’t see yourself as the right fit for the face of your business? Why not create a new face for your business?
A great example of a business that have successfully done this is Fox’s Biscuits, with Vinnie The Panda – their ‘Chief Biscuit Officer’. They’ve managed to position him as the face of their brand through social media campaigns and featuring him on the homepage of their website, as well as through TV ads and a variety of other online and offline campaigns. Over the last eight years or so, they’ve built up his reputation from scratch, and have managed to gain over 500,000 Facebook likes!
Be careful
At the end of the day, you can’t expect to be successful as the face of your business if people don’t like you. Be careful with what you say, as one wrong thing can destroy your personal reputation – simultaneously destroying the reputation of your business.
As Warren Buffett famously said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Just like anything else, there are risks. But it’s important to remember that the benefits outweigh these risks by far. Even negatives can be turned into positives through swift and careful handling. Showing that you can take feedback and criticism on board, then taking action to make improvements, can work really well on social media. If you’d feel more comfortable with someone else managing your online reputation, feel free to get in touch with us to find out how we can help.
As experts in social media, and having first hand experience in developing the face of jrc.agency – Jonny – we’re perfectly positioned to help you become the face of your business. Why not call us today on 01133 20 21 21?
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