Branding and marketing automation immediately bring to mind thoughts of corporate companies that are looking to grow their fan base and sell products. But what a person’s brand? Does marketing automation have any place in that kind of branding? There are several ways that marketing automation tools can help this kind of branding as well.
What is personal branding?
Personal branding usually refers to the efforts that someone makes to sell themselves as an independent service or provider. This is how most motivational speakers, freelance writers, private tax accountants, small-firm lawyers, graphic designers, and plenty of other business people work to grow their audience and introduce themselves to new people in the hope of growing business and gaining new clients.
Improve your personal brand with marketing automation software.
While marketing automation tools are usually associated with big business, they can be helpful in personal branding efforts as well. Here are some ways to consider using marketing automation to build your personal brand.
1. Email newsletter marketing
One of the easiest marketing automation tools is regular email outreach. A website or blog can help you gain an audience and allow you to collect email addresses. With many content platforms, like WordPress, email updates will automatically be sent to readers to increase your brand awareness and audience engagement. You can also create and curate newsletters with special content for subscribers.
2. YouTube updates
If your brand includes informational webinars, tutorials, or other video content, using YouTube as a platform to host your content makes sense. There are already many people using YouTube for other content consumption and you can capitalize on that audience to help grow your personal audience. Plus, YouTube allows people to subscribe to your channel who will automatically get updates when you post new content.
3. Social media marketing tools
Using automated social tools like Hootsuite or SproutSocial helps you manage your social messaging. Like other automation efforts, a commitment of time and effort up front can enable you to reap more benefits on the backend. By loading your messaging into the program early on in the week, you can ensure consistent communication with customers without having to make it a daily concern.
4. Google alerts
Do you know what people are saying about you? Is there industry news you should be aware of? Google alerts can be set up to automatically notify you when your stored terms are mentioned anywhere on the internet. If you want to know that people are saying about your services – and potentially help improve your reputation – you can enter your name or your business’s name to help track mentions. You can also track search terms that are relevant to your market or industry – news about new design trends, for instance, an independent graphic designers or startup design firm help you understand where to focus your energy and effort.
Personal branding requires just as much marketing – if not more – than some bigger corporate brands. Getting your name in front of new potential clients is key to increasing business and revenue. Many traditional pieces of marketing are necessary for that to be really successful, including digital ads, radio commercials, social media placements, and other outlets. But marketing automation shouldn’t be overlooked, even for personal branding.
Marketing automation tools help small businesses or independent consultants get more time back in their day to help build relationships and create valuable content, products, or services instead of having to spend all of their time identifying and communicating with potential audiences. Being able to spend more time creating value for your market, as opposed to trying constantly trying to remind your audience that you exist, can be part of successful and sustainable growth.
