Being true to yourself means being true to your audience with Ding Zheng

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Episode Summary

Building a personal brand is undoubtedly critical for anyone paving their path in the B2B space. In fact, most companies today encourage their employees to build one because nothing represents your business better than employees eager to grow as professionals while advocating for your company, its vision, and goals.

But what does it take to build a personal brand? It may surprise you or sound like a cliche, but being yourself is the key. Of course, you can’t neglect algorithms and trends, but you should never follow them at the cost of your authenticity. Remember, quality content always finds its way to the audience.

In this episode of Rep Your Brand, Ding Zheng joins our host Nick Bennett to discuss the importance of building a personal brand, what inspired him to become a salesperson, and what it is like to be a rapper in the B2B space.

Guest Profile

Ding-Zheng-bio-pic

Key Insights

“To have a personal brand in a community…it helps a lot.”

Ding Zheng

Marketing

Dooly

Episode Highlights

Ding’s Take on a Personal Brand

”I look at a personal brand a little differently than most B2B marketers because of my background in music and coming up through the industry. […] People will tell you, ‘Hey, work on your brand, work on your brand.’

For the longest time, I didn’t know what that meant. I thought it was just posting on social media. […] I think it’s more than that. Ultimately, a personal brand is an online reflection of how third parties perceive us.”

Can You Have a Personal Brand Without Community?

”You can have a brand without community. But to have a personal brand in a community helps a lot, because I think a personal brand goes beyond, ‘Hey, who’s the Sales Rapper, or who’s the director of ABM field marketing at Alyce?’ It’s who’s Ding and who’s Nick, and I think that’s the power of the personal brand.”

From a Devoted Social Media Consumer to Successful Content Creator

”I consume a lot of social media. I watch a ton of YouTube videos; I’m always on TikTok, on Instagram, looking to see what’s working with different audiences. Which formats are popular right now, and then extrapolating from those different sources, and I’ve found that what helps me create the most is just consuming.”