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What makes businesses successful is that they are always clear about their brand and where they are positioned in their marketplace.

The idea of a brand is simple. It is the thing for which you are most recognized. For example, London has Big Ben, Paris the Eiffel Tower, Nepal is known for Mount Everest. Think about a business like Virgin. Richard Branson, the owner, cleverly created a brand around himself and his business, creating a memorable name and image.

You don’t need to own a multi-million-pound business to have a great brand. Some of the best brands on the web are one-person brands. Even teenagers, posting comments and producing videos from their bedrooms, are creating valuable brands on social media. A brand is an interpretation of yourself and you can show off that interpretation across Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus or any platform you choose.

“Setting up an account is not a strategy” Businessweek

Think about what is at the core of your brand and how you want to show that to your social media audience.

▪ What do I do for a living? Do I want my brand to be around me, the person, or around the business I am involved in?

▪ What is my Mount Everest? What am I most known for? What is the core of my business?

▪ What is unique about my business? What makes me stand out from my competitors or other people like me?

▪ Why would people be interested in listening to what I have to tell them? When I meet people at a party, what do they ask me about?

If you don’t have all the answers immediately, that’s fine. It’s better to take your time than rush into social media and change your brand. That will just confuse people.

case study Zoella is a hugely successful vlogger on YouTube and has created a strong brand from small beginnings. She films short videos of interest to her audience and has a big teenage following. Her brand has been so successful that it went offline. She makes appearances off screen and was even asked to write a book which sold in large numbers to her fans. Her brand was helped by the fact that she dated another successful YouTube star and they have made videos together, creating an even-better-known joint brand.

Think about what you stand for and how to differentiate yourself from your competition.