When you think about female entrepreneurs such as Janine Allis and Naomi Simson, do you think about the women first, or the brands Boost Juice and Red Balloon?
I would be fairly confident in saying you thought first about the inspirational woman and second about the brand they built. The reason you put the name before the business is personal branding. Both these women have worked very hard on their personal PR efforts to ensure their names are synonymous with the idea of successful business women.
So now think about your personal PR efforts. Is it all about your business or do you promote yourself as the woman behind the name? If the latter is true (and that is likely as women are brilliant at putting themselves last), start by spreading the word about you, the entrepreneur.
Here are some suggestions to get you thinking about how you can step out from behind your brand and show your customers or clients who is running the show:
- Blog about your area of expertise – make sure your blog covers the same ideas as your USP (unique selling proposition), but use it to cement you as the expert on that topic. Once you are considered the expert, the media will approach you to comment on issues in your industry.
- Networking – get yourself known offline in person at business events, but also online via social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and communities like the ABN.
- Become a speaker – extending from the expert and networking themes, you can use these platforms to organise speaking opportunities at business events, on webinars or in podcasts where you can share your expertise with a wider audience.
Start close to home by sending media releases to the outlets in your area with a local take on a national issue (for example, show how your boutique can help women dress for Melbourne Cup with some fashion tips timed just before the November event), or offer yourself as a speaker at the Chamber of Commerce and go from there.
People buy from people, not brands (unless your brand is Apple), so make it about you for a change.
