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
- Name: Ding Zheng
- What he does: Marketing consultant & The Sales Rapper
- Company: Dooly
- Noteworthy: Ding is a sales professional/songwriter/rapper — a one-of-a-kind content creator in the B2B space.
Key Insights
- Being true to yourself means being true to your audience. Trends play a significant role in any creative field, whether food, fashion, interior design, or social media. While the digital era we live in has provided plenty of opportunities to those interested in presenting their work, it has also made standing out more challenging. While it may be hard to be original, you can still be authentic. So, if you want to work on your personal brand, don't be afraid to show your "true colors”. The audience loves creators with different perspectives. In addition, creators who have succeeded thanks to their authenticity will also support you. Our guest today is proof. "I think that if I'm able to do what I do right now, [I can] inject more creativity into the tech space and B2B, hopefully blazing a path for more people like us who are creators and creatives to express ourselves more freely," says Ding.
- Find a niche. It is okay to be ambitious, aiming for a large community and broader audience, but there's so much power in being patient. First, determine your target audience, who you want to make connections with, and what you can offer them. Remember, nothing happens overnight, and there is no universal key to success. However, experience has shown that finding a niche you can focus on leads to long-term success. "I think niching is obviously very important, especially when you're starting out. I've tried the Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none approach in the past, and it's a bit tough to do that without traction."
- You can create a perfect post; just keep trying. There's probably nothing more intimidating for a young creator than writing a post and sharing it. But, if you think about it, any reputable creator was once a beginner. It takes a lot of low-quality writing and far from perfect posts to get where you want to be. ''Start and set; go out, execute, fail, iterate, give feedback, and try again. Continue to improve. I don't feel ready most days; I second-guess myself all the time, but I hit the share button. Sometimes, I'm uncomfortable. I'll walk away for a little bit, and I deal with it. But, I'll come back. People liked it. Awesome! It is something that works, people, no worries.''
“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.”