If you’re active on the internet, then you have a personal brand. Whether you know it or not, we all do. A personal brand is how you present yourself to the world. The way you share your thoughts, interests, skills and talents across our social media platforms all contribute to your personal brand.
But why is personal branding so important?
The narrative you build for yourself online will be the first impression people get of you, and we all know how important first impressions are, especially when it comes to business.
So why wouldn’t you want the world to see the character behind the team that makes your company tick? Encouraging your team to build their personal brand will benefit your recruitment business in the long run.
1. It builds trust
Building a personal brand allows your employees to clearly communicate who they are and what they do, building a reputation. Being an active member of a community will allow them to become easily recognisable and stand out to prospective clients and candidates.
Trust is the foundation of any relationship, and the consultant/candidate or consultant/client dynamic is no different.
Candidates and clients can get a taste of who the consultant is before engaging with them, finding similar interests/goals/world views, making your employee the more attractive option.
2. It improves engagement
Being present and vocal online will build your business's engagement, but imagine that times the number of your employees?
Instead of going at it alone, personal branding will bring traffic to your employees’ pages, and onward to your company page. You will then have the chance to engage and convert audiences to clients and followers to candidates.
3. It empowers your employees
For years people have found the need to muffle their true identity online for fear of it having a negative effect on their employment.
Personal branding can benefit your business by acknowledging your employees, by recognising their value to your company, and by supporting who they are and their attributes, in and outside of work.
Employees that feel their true self is valued and supported are far more inclined to work harder in return.
4. It humanises your offering
The world of recruitment is already full of stereotypes, with the 'typical' recruiter being the butt of many LinkedIn jokes.
By showing the world who you are outside of just the 'consultant' title, you're reminding the world that you are human, making yourself more approachable and less of the classic recruiter trope.
5. It makes your company more attractive
We all need to make internal hires, and there are no better advocates than your current employees. With the freedom to build their personal brand, they can show the world how great it is to work for you.
Who doesn’t love a bit of free marketing, eh?
For any recruitment business to excel, you need to build trust with clients and candidates alike. By providing value through their content, your consultants can engage their followers and build that rapport before initiating the recruitment process, differentiating you from the competition.
Encourage your team to be authentic, honest, and creative online, and you'll soon find yourself reaping the benefits.