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Why You Should Promote YOU - Not Your Company

The rise of individuals as brands has taken over.

This is why Elon Musk can outperform Mercedes-Benz by selling three times as many cars.

Tesla can even have pre-orders of their product even before the 1st car comes off the line! 🤯

Elon Musk engages with audiences and creates memorable experiences.

  • Launches a car into space
  • Plays with flame throwers
  • Takes on legacy companies

Take on the role of chief evangelist and be a brand.

  1. 2

    I really like this and reflecting on a number of personal brands I follow, you feel more connected with the person and therefore the brand.

    However, I feel this works in the consumer space, but what are your thoughts on B2B?

    Also, there is something to be said for the feeling of being comfortable almost hiding behind an entity (business brand), instead of being out in the open with a personal brand.

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      Great thoughts, @morgaknight.
      I think becoming your brand can work on both, B2B and B2C. Keep Human-2-Human in mind during the buyers decision making journey.

      People will tend to eliminate risk quicker if they know who they are buying from - or who will help them solve the problem.

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        Thanks @elpramirez. Totally agree, any time I'm making a buying decision and it's for a personal brand, I feel compelled to support them and what they're doing. Inevitably resulting in a sale.

        Out of interest, do you have any examples of personal brands in the B2B space?

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          Thanks @morgaknight, check out Sangram Vajre. He is the textbook example of B2B personal brand. He is the authority on Account-based marketing and is a co-founder for a SaaS company, Terminus. He writes books, hosts an award winning podcast, and creates spaces where marketers can grow.
          https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangramvajre/

  2. 1

    Solid advice. We create stronger and deeper connections with people vs. brands, so makes complete sense to lean into the personal brand building.

    BTW -- i've just done my first post here on IH. 120+ categorised resources for learning sales. https://www.indiehackers.com/post/a-collection-of-120-incredible-resources-to-learn-sales-83d0d2b601

    Would love your feedback!

  3. 1

    I think about this a lot when I look at how many interactions a brand gets on somewhere like twitter, as opposed to how many the CEO or Founder often gets.

    Do you think, as an early stage business, it can be better to invest time in doing your personal social media over your brand's?

    1. 2

      Definitely starting out sooner than later will help propel you as an expert.
      If your buyers are on Insta, focus a strategy on that platform. If you see them hanging out on Linkedin, put forth energy there.

      Be where your buyers are.

  4. 1

    Agree! I love how our founder, Mike (twitter.com/mikedotsaas) is sharing content not specifically for our brand. He does it to build relationships and when he launches new stuff, he already has build the audience.

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      Mike does a great job at this, @zoedillian. Chief evangelist, without the hard pitch or salesy approach.

      1. 1

        Thanks for the kind words, sure to let him know ☺️

  5. 1

    That's true, I see that it works with digital entreupreneurs too.

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    Yes, personal brand is important. I was not active in social media, while building the product. That was mistake, now trying to catch up.

    People are social beings. That's so simple.

    1. 2

      Human to Human is how buyers purchase. Great thought, @vmakhaev

    2. 2

      Hey there, same thing here. How is the process going?

      I've never been active on social media, except for Facebook with people I knew IRL and Reddit which is basically anonymous (in the sense no one saw my face or really knew who I am)

      I've been making an app for 2 years without telling the world about it. Now I'm trying to start being more social and present on the web.

      I feel weird because I have no followers so just putting my thoughts out there without anyone to see them at the beginning seems kinda pointless...

      Although I know it's not and everybody starts small.

      Hope I can catch up as well!

      1. 1

        I know that feeling, bro. Small things everyday, just to get some audience.

        I'm just exploring ways I can be interesting and helpful to somebody, so no real results at the moment. Good luck, anyway. Hope we will be able to solve this.

        I have not found your product on Indie Hackers profile, btw

        1. 1

          Yeah I haven't uploaded it here yet xD would like to improve the landing page first but will be doing it very shortly.

          How's the progress with your product?

          1. 1

            Got good feedback on landing, but not any on product itself 😀

  7. 1

    Are there any possible downsides to over self promotion?

    It is really hard for many people like me who have grown with the mindsets like "Let your work do the talk" and "Always be Humble".

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      who have grown with the mindsets like "Let your work do the talk" and "Always be Humble".

      Me too.

      In my opinion it depends greatly on the product.

      Elon Musk can sell Teslas, because it's marketed as a "cool" car. That's why most people you see driving a Tesla are actually quite young.

      Something "boring" like SAP-Software will probably not benefit from personal branding.

      1. 1

        it depends greatly on the product.

        That's so true.

    2. 3

      There is, If the CEO steps down, the company will not survive.

    3. 2

      Be yourself to avoid an over promotion vibe.

      I would prefer to engage with an expert who is genuine than an expert who is trying to be fake.

      There is a comfort level to that for buyers and for you.

  8. 1

    Food for thought !

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