1. What advice would you give to freelancers and SMEs looking to develop their online presence and strengthen their personal brand?

First and foremost, focus on authenticity. From there, gain a deep understanding of your audience. Who is your target? Similar to how you would approach a digital marketing plan for a company, but in this case, we're focusing on individuals and their personal brand. Once you've identified your audience, determine where to find them and establish a presence on those relevant social media platforms. From there, create consistent content. While consistency over time is crucial, it doesn't mean you have to be active all day, as I often say. However, with even minimal visibility, people will remember us, especially what we do and how we can help them.

2. What is the impact of developing a digital personal brand on the growth and success of a small business?

I believe it's currently one of the primary drivers of success for a SME. Why? Because people have stopped believing in brands; we believe in individuals, in our role models, and in influential figures within their respective sectors. So, who better to be brand ambassadors than the people within the company? From sales representatives to those in engineering, R&D, even customer service. We all want to know how things are done and, most importantly, why they're being done, what purpose the company serves, and all of this is reflected in the power of each individual's personal brand within the team. Therefore, the impact it has on SMEs is that it instills more confidence through people's knowledge, more credibility, and get more customer loyalty because connections are established not with a logo, but with people. Hence, it's important to encourage our team to explore their personal brands and ensure they align logically with our company's values to enhance visibility in the most cohesive manner possible.

3. What steps are necessary when designing a personal branding plan within a digital strategy?

Designing a personal branding plan is like creating a business plan for your life. Just as with a business plan, there are several phases involved. First, there's the situational analysis, which in this case translates to self-awareness. It's crucial to understand our strengths and what we can bring to the table. This goes beyond our curriculum, encompassing our experiences, professions, studies, milestones, values, personality, and even our passions.

From there, it's essential to understand what our competition is doing. I emphasize, not just the logos of our competitors or their companies, but how the professionals working for those companies are conducting themselves. The goal is not to copy what they're doing but to identify our points of differentiation.

Once we've analyzed the situation and the market, the next step is to develop a visibility strategy. This involves creating content and also encouraging our team to participate in the company's digital communication and marketing strategy.

4. What opportunities does LinkedIn offer in terms of business generation and market visibility?

The opportunities LinkedIn offers are boundless. Whenever I speak with a company that's unsure about LinkedIn, I ask them, "Have you ever been to a trade fair, either as an attendee or, especially, by renting a stand?" You can't reach everyone who attends the fair, you can't talk to everyone, and you can't even know everyone who will be there.

In contrast, through LinkedIn, you can extensively network and connect with people from all over the world. The key is to expand your network coherently, with contacts that are of quality and relevant to your sector. The more contacts you have, the more people you can reach. What does that mean? It means it's a way to work commercially 24/7.

Therefore, we can obtain high-quality leads and establish strong connections, thereby fostering loyalty among existing clients. We can also share content continuously, leaving a lasting impression on our audience, whether it's to make a purchase, repeat a purchase, or even recommend us when the magic happens and someone, a client, or someone who enjoys our content, shares or comments on it.

Furthermore, LinkedIn offers analytical tools to gauge the effectiveness of our efforts. So, it's not just about visibility and making connections; we can also measure whether our strategies are working or if we need to refine them.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Social Selling Index (SSI). If you search "SSI LinkedIn" on Google, you'll find a metric that measures your level of engagement on LinkedIn across various areas. It assesses how well-developed your profile is, how effectively you're building relationships, and whether you're connecting with the right people.