For those of you that either know me or work with me in the area of social media, there is no doubt you will relate to this post. An area I am very passionate about is helping executive bloggers to be more effective and connected with their audiences.
One of the ways I suggest is to “tell your story” and let people know who you are and how this connects to your business. Building a “Persona” is what this is all about. It isn’t a strictly “personal story” or strictly a “business story” – it is a story that helps your audience understand your Persona. Your Persona is the linkage of the two – what you are like as an individual (your passions, beliefs, activities, etc.) blended with what you do for a living (your role, passions, beliefs, functions, etc.). This blend is what your audience wants to “learn” about you to determine if they want to follow you and have a relationship with you – even if it is just through the “stories” you tell in your blog.
There was a great article written by Joan Hitchins titled, “Unleash Your Inner (Business) Storyteller” posted on BizNik the other day. Joan was spot on in her description of what I am trying to say – tell your story – build some connection with your audience about who you are and what got you where you are today – good or bad, it’s a great story. This is what your audience wants to know and this is what builds connections, followings and relationships – and that is what social media is all about – helping us build relationships that help us personally and in business.
So as you go about blogging, just ask yourself two questions when you finish posting. First, “Do I think this posting “helped” anyone today?” Second, “Did this posting help to bring my audience closer to knowing more about my “Persona” and who I really am?” If you can’t answer yes to these two questions, save it as a draft posting and edit it later so you can answer yes to both these questions. Thoughts, challenges, comments? All are welcome.
Blaine
twitter: @BlaineMillet
Thank you Blaine for sharing my article post Unleash Your Inner (Business) Storyteller. I love the “persona” concept. I, too, have been thinking about not only the business persona, but also my client persona. Often, we have more than one type of client. Sometimes it is the client we have, but there is also the client we want! Either way, when we write to someone specifically, then chances are that our authentic business voice will emerge. Happy writing to you all!
Blaine,
And I didn’t even read your post about telling your story and developing your persona before I posted my first blog. So,I guess I started off the right way on my blog at http://stuvanderhoekceo.blogpost.com. Looking forward to developing my strategy.
Yours,
Stu