You already know that social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are valuable tools for curating a network of followers and help build your personal brand.
But are there other platforms that you should use to amplify the reach of your message?
Yes, but don’t give up on the trifecta of social influence just yet.
We’re about to tell you why the big three are critical to helping you build your personal brand, and offer eight more platforms that you can use to help you take your brand from six to seven figures in less than a year.
The Best Platforms for Building a Personal Brand:
- YouTube
- Snapchat
- Medium
- Podcasting
- Your Personal Brand Blog
Disclaimer: If you’re seeing birds that look oddly like the Twitter logo fluttering around your head, know that we’re not here to tell you that you need to start using all eleven of these platforms. We are here to share the impact each can have so that you can find the ideal marketing mix that is right for you and your audience. For guidance on choosing the right network for your personal brand, read this.
The Big Three
Facebook.
Love it or hate it; you can’t disregard Facebook’s reach.
With over 2.32 billion monthly active users, 66 percent of which check the site daily, with the average user spending almost an hour a day on the site, Facebook is a social goliath.
It is also an affordable way to grow your network, share news and events, engage with prospective customers, share interactive content such as photos and live and recorded videos, and build brand awareness.
If you already have a Facebook page for your personal brand, learn how to optimize it. If you want to allocate some budget toward Facebook advertising, learn about the three types of Facebook ads, all entrepreneurs must use to build their personal brands.
Twitter.
Twitter may be losing the competition for social media market share (it’s predicted for less than one percent of U.S. user growth), but it still offers a powerful way to share news and opinions among influencers. Twitter boasts 330 million active users, 500 daily tweets, and 42 daily users. The most cited reason that people give for using Twitter is to “discover something new and interesting.” Twitter is also a viable way to reach affluent millennials who make up 80 percent of its userbase.
Twitter can become a valuable tool as you work to grow your personal brand if you use it to share articles and educational content that you’ve created about your brand and sphere of influence. Throw in some hashtags, and you can draw the attention of prospects who are looking for your type of content. If you’re one of the millions of people who have a Twitter account, but doesn’t know what to do with it, we’ve got ten easy steps for improving your Twitter game.
Instagram.
Not just loaded with pictures from Millennials of sunset heart hands and kale salads, Instagram is a powerful tool to capture the attention of prospective customers using emotive photography and impactful videos.
Instagram’s position as a visual-only platform makes it the best way to connect with people on a personal and emotional level, making it ideal for entrepreneurs offering lifestyle guidance and aspirational services.
Instagram maintains a billion followers, and with 71 percent under the age of 35, it’s a valuable tool for reaching Millennials and Gen Y, particularly among the 22 percent of daily users, 38 percent of which check the gram multiple times per day. Just like with Twitter, you can reach new followers and amplify the reach of your personal brand if you leverage a strategic hashtag strategy. These three hashtags alone could help you to reach millions of followers for free.
The Best of The Rest
LinkedIn.
The social media platform dedicated to professional business networking is a valuable place to grow your credibility through the sharing of curated educational content and participation in relevant groups and discussions. LinkedIn is comprised of more than 610 million members, 303 million of which are active monthly, 40 percent of which visit the site daily.
When it comes to sales prospecting, particularly if you are attempting to contract with businesses, a LinkedIn presence is vital.
Ninety million senior-level influencers and 63 million decision-makers use LinkedIn, including 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
The first step toward leveraging LinkedIn to build your personal brand is to optimize your profile—your digital calling card. Here’s how to get it done in six easy steps.
YouTube.
YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world, and not just because Google owns it. YouTube viewers consume more than 60 billion (yep, that’s “billion” with a “b”) hours of video content on the site every month. People of all ages go to YouTube to learn a new skill, get inspired, and follow their favorite influencers.
YouTube also has the power to enable engaging content to go viral and launch brands and influencers into the stratosphere.
The music video Gangnam Style, for example, went so big so fast that it broke YouTube’s view counter (and got stuck in everyone’s head for weeks). YouTube can also help brands and entrepreneurs earn money. Social star and feline favorite Grumpy Cat made more money via YouTube in 2014 than the Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
If you’re comfortable in front of the camera, you can leverage YouTube to connect with your audience in genuine and relevant ways.
Share tutorials, education and tips, podcasts, video case studies, and even videos of you living your best life. Do it well, and you could rack up millions of followers looking to stay up-to-date with your latest news and offerings. Learn more about the power of live video here.
Snapchat.
Just like Instagram, Snapchat is often misunderstood as being the messaging tool of preference among teens and tweens attempting not to have their social posts monitored by their parents.
In reality, if you are looking to target Gen Z and Gen Y, and even Millennials, you can successfully use Snapchat to build brand awareness and encourage participation and attendance at your events.
Snapchat is designed to offer real, immediate, and engaging live content. That means you can target prospective followers and fans using Snapchat in a way that showcases the value you and your personal brand bring to your followers. Use Snapchat to share a clip of a recent speaking engagement, tell geo-targeted followers you are signing books at a bookstore nearby, or share videos and photos that you find inspiring.
When done correctly, not only can Snapchat help you to you engage people IRL (that’s cyberspeak for “In Real Life”), but it can help your followers share their engagements with your brand with their followers—and with a network of 188 million account holders, that’s a powerful prospect.
Pinterest.
Pinterest is a social platform that allows you to connect with prospects and gain a network of followers through the power of emotive images and photos. While brands selling tangible products can hugely benefit from posting their items on Pinterest, even motivational speakers, life coaches, business leaders, and entrepreneurs can gain attention on Pinterest through the use of custom graphics that speak to peoples’ interests.
Two hundred fifty million people use Pinterest every month, and unlike Instagram, its demographics include a larger band than Insta, with 34 percent of Americans ages 18 to 49 pinning on the regular. It also tends to attract higher-income households.
Possibly the most significant value that Pinterest offers is as a tool for people planning life moments.
Eighty-five percent of women have used Pinterest to plan a life moment, such as a wedding, major home renovation, new baby nursery, or bridal shower.
If your business model aims to target people during such life transitions, you may be able to reach them with strategic pins.
Medium.
Now here’s an impactful social platform with which you may not be familiar.
Medium is a blogging platform that allows influencers to share their ideas, stories, blogs, and longer-form written content with a growing network of followers looking for advice, inspiration, and guidance from influencers.
Medium is designed to put you in contact with individuals who are searching for your content.
Self-described as the place where “everyone has a story to share, and the best ones are delivered right to you,” Medium uses an algorithmic timeline that provides users recommended stories that may be of interest to them—thus leading prospects right to your words.
For individuals looking to boost their credibility by getting their thought leader content in front of as many eyeballs as possible, publishing content on Medium will help, even if you’ve already posted it on your website’s blog or shared it on social media.
Podcasting.
Podcasting may not be a social platform, but it is a platform for your personal brand nonetheless that can help you to build an audience of raving fans using the power of the spoken word.
For everything you need to know about leveraging interview marketing both as a guest and a host, read our two-part series by Tom Schwab, podcasting expert, author, speaker, teacher, and the founder of the interview marketing agency Interview Valet.
Your Personal Brand Blog.
Yes, the blog you maintain on your website is a valuable tool for helping you to grow your personal brand. Just like with Medium, producing longer-form content in your words in which you share your expertise with those looking for top insights and guidance can help position you as a thought leader.
Regular blogging can also boost your search engine optimization.
That means it will help prospects find your blog (and ultimately, your website—the same place your services page and contact form live).
WhatsApp.
WhatsApp maintains a daily active user base of 300 million people in over 180 countries and is a valuable platform for those looking to build their personal brands by attracting an international audience. At once designed only to help people communicate with friends and family, today, brands of all sizes can leverage the WhatsApp network as a customer service tool. Brands can create profiles on WhatsApp, provide customer support, and share brand updates.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that more is not always better. Sometimes it’s just more. You do not need to leverage all eleven of these platforms to build your personal brand. You need to leverage the ones that reach your target audience and align with your brand’s aesthetic so that you can expand your reach organically.
Targeting millennials for your life coaching business? Start with Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
Looking to network with CEOs for your voice coaching services? Join groups on LinkedIn, publish educational content on Medium, and start a podcast. The point is to make strategic choices about the social network that will help you reach your goals, and use our best practices to master every one of them.
Take It One Step Further
A personal brand is the best way to increase your impact, influence and income. Start building your personal brand today, we’re here to help!
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