Freelancers need to know these branding techniques
Every day there is more and more competition in the freelance world, no matter which sector you work in. The best way to make yourself stand out from the crowd is to build your brand and make it stand out. Great, how do you do that?
Establish a social media presence
In the 21st century, this is a must, however much you may hate it. This is where your potential market will be active. The Online Marketing Institute https://www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org/blog/2017/07/build-a-social-media-presence-from-scratch/ says you don’t need to be on every social networking platform, you just need to find the one that works for you. Do your homework first, to find out where your prospective clients hang out, and get rid of old, unused accounts. It won’t do your business any good for people to find those.
Make sure your profile accurately reflects your desired image
Whatever your business, you need a good quality image – anything else will make you look slovenly and careless, and that is not what you want to portray. Use your logo consistently in all your social media and in any other online interactions. You need to ensure that your biographies adequately identify you. If you are struggling with this – and many of us do – consider using a branding agency who can help you get it right. Remember that social media affects your search engine rankings too, so put keywords as near to your name as possible.
Be aware of what people are saying about you
We’ve all heard the mantra that says there is no such thing as bad publicity. While that may be true, it’s not a great joy to hear people saying bad things about us, especially if there might be an element of truth in it. The only way to know what people are saying is to find out. Ask your clients for feedback, even if it’s not good, it’s useful because it tells you how you can improve. You can also use a branding agency to help you repair the damage and there are plenty out there, such as Really Helpful Marketing.
Authentic and positive
People will see through the whole thing if you are not authentic. Remember that you are, largely, your brand. Make a list of your positive characteristics and think how you can build them into your branding.