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#ContentWritingChat Recap: Using Storytelling & Other Tactics for Successful Personal Branding in Content Marketing with Tara Clapper

by | Mar 24, 2017 | ContentWritingChat

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Using Storytelling & Other Tactics for Successful Personal Branding in Content Marketing with Tara Clapper

In our latest #ContentWritingChat, we talked all about storytelling and personal branding. If you’re ready to take your personal brand to the next level, this is the chat for you. Keep reading for the recap!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Using Storytelling & Other Tactics for Successful Personal Branding in Content Marketing


Our guest host this week was one of our own team members, Tara Clapper. Tara is our talented Content Development Specialist. In this chat, she shared some helpful tips on personal branding that you’ll want to put to use for your own brand.

Q1: What is personal branding and who needs to develop their own personal brand?

To kick off the chat, we wanted to hear how our chat participants defined personal branding. We also wanted to know who they felt needs a personal brand. To find out what some of them said, check out these responses:


Tara said your personal brand is an expression of who you are, both online and off. It should also be genuine. There’s no need to be fake, so keep it real and true to yourself. And as she said, everyone needs one!


Great answer from Julia! She said if you’re in marketing or running a business, you have a brand. You need to develop that brand in order to stand out online.


Kristen agrees that everyone has a personal brand and that it’s all about reflecting that brand to the outside world.


Cristy brought up a great point for those who work as part of another company. If you have a public role within that company, you have to be careful about the image you put forth, as it reflects on the company as a whole.


Chris feels anyone who is serious about career development, digital marketing, or who wants an online presence should be focused on personal branding.

Q2: What are the key steps someone should take when developing their personal brand?

Now that you know why personal branding is so important, you need to know what steps to take in order to develop a brand of your very own. Here’s some advice straight from Tuesday’s chat:


Great response from Tara! When developing your personal branding, you need to define your brand, have clear messaging on social media, consistency within your branding, and you should also make it multi-faceted.


Gabriela shared some helpful steps to ensure you effective craft your own personal branding. She recommends the following: define your purpose, discover the value you can provide, develop your voice, and deliver your message consistently.


Julia’s advice is to start by defining what you want to stand for. You should create a mission statement for your brand so you and your audience know exactly what you represent. You can then develop that into slogans and share it on social media. Don’t forget to have a nice logo and color palette to create a great brand image as well.


Kristen knows you can learn a lot from other brands that are already established. Make a list of the brands you look up to and ask yourself why you love them so much. While you don’t want to copy them exactly, you can implement what you love about those brands into the creation of your own.


This tweet is a very important reminder from Cathy. As she said, you need to be authentic in everything you do. Being fake will hurt your brand because people will see right through you.

Q3: What is storytelling and how can brands use it to their advantage?

You’ve likely heard all about storytelling by now, but what exactly is it? And how can brands use storytelling to their advantage? Check out these great tips from the chat:


Tara feels storytelling is the truth and the why behind your brand.


Gabriela said storytelling is using a narrative to give context to your message. She followed that up by saying storytelling can help make your content memorable and relatable while also helping you build trust with your audience. It’s always a great way to communication your brand’s personalty with others.


Storytelling allows you to connect with your audience and take them on a journey with you.


You can tell an effective story through a variety of ways. Tony suggests using video, photos, and written content to take your audience through your story.


As Breonna said, brands can use storytelling as a way to humanize the brand overall and give emotional context to their content. It’s a powerful way to make a connection with your audience.


Mallie knows that people respond to stories, which is why it’s so important to share your story with your audience.


Keira said storytelling puts your product into context for customers. It’s a great way to encourage your customers to be part of your journey and the story you’re telling.


In a time where people are all about automating everything, storytelling helps to show your brand is human.

Q4: How do personal branding and storytelling work hand-in-hand?

Check out these tips from Tuesday’s chat all about making your personal branding and storytelling efforts work together:


Personal branding and storytelling equal innovation in Tara’s book. She feels your natural story will progress like a good character would throughout a book.


Julia knows you can weave your story into every element of your personal branding. Use it in your slogan, your about page, and more.


You can allow your audience to grow alongside your brand as it develops. The story you tell will take them on that journey and make them become loyal fans.


Michelle said your personal brand shows authenticity while storytelling provides a narrative for your product. Together, they’re powerful for growing your brand and building a fanbase.


Storytelling encourages your audience to engage and connect with your brand.

Q5: How can you improve your personal brand using social media?

Social media is just one way you can improve your personal brand and connect with your audience. But how do you do it? We asked this question during Tuesday’s chat and got some great advice in response. Check it out:


Have conversations with others, start conversations yourself, and find your tribe. Make sure you’re engaging with others so you can grow and develop your brand.


Gabriela’s advice is to focus on building your tribe, sharing and consuming great content, showing thought leadership, sharing your USP, and building trust. Make sure you’re also being consistent!


Mallie’s advice is to keep your voice consistent on all platforms. This is essential when working on your personal brand. Don’t be afraid to make tweaks along the way when you’re still in the early phases.


Jeremy said to be yourself on social media. If you aren’t true to who you are, your audience will see right through you. You should also take the time to listen to others and help them in any way you can.


Julia said to make sure you’re engaging with your followers on social media. Use it as a platform to start real conversations and make connections with others. This is key when it comes to personal branding.


Michelle recommends participating in Twitter chats. She knows it’s a great way to connect with others, but can also provide an opportunity to share your expertise. Make sure you’re listening to what others have to say and help them with the issues they’re facing.


Cathy also agrees that participating in Twitter chats is a good idea for your brand.

Q6: How can you craft a personal brand story that builds trust with your audience?

We all know that building trust with your audience is essential. Having a level of trust is key to ultimately making sales and landing clients for those who are running a business. To build trust, here’s what you need to do:


Tara says to credit when necessary, be personal, apologize when you mess up, and be transparent with growth.


Jeremy knows that people need to get to know you and start liking you before they can build trust. You can encourage trust by chatting with your audience and actually listening to what they have to say.


Be a source of information and engage with your audience.


Be yourself! You shouldn’t try to be something you’re not because it’ll only turn off your audience.


Cathy encourages you to be vulnerable and share the real stories even if they aren’t all that pretty. Those are the stories that people can connect with.


Sarah agrees with taking that open and honest approach. She recommends sharing when things go wrong. It’s relatable because we all make mistakes and your audience will appreciate that you’re sharing things like that with them.


Varun’s advice is to be approachable. When people feel like they can reach out to you, it helps to establish trust within your personal branding.


Engage with your audience! Ask questions, answer the questions they have, and don’t be afraid to have a sense of humor when talking to them. It shows you’re real.

Q7: Which content formats are key for best telling your brand story?

There are all kinds of content formats available to us: blog posts, videos, podcasts, and more. Which one is the best way to go? Here are some responses from the chat:


Tara’s advice is to consider how you best express yourself. For her, that includes blogging, podcasting, webinars, and live events.


Sherri agrees that you have to consider what works best for you. Determine your strengths and embrace that.


Pamela loves Snapchat and Instagram Stories as a way to share behind-the-scenes content.


There’s no denying that video is a great way to go! It gives your audience the opportunity to see you and hear your voice.


For Javier, it’s all about that long-form content. We’re big fans of valuable, longer blog posts here at Express Writers as well.


Whatever format you use, you need to bring your audience along on your journey.

Q8: Which personal brands do an amazing job at storytelling?

Who does an amazing job with their personal branding? You’ll want to check these people out:


Tara is a fan of our own CEO, Julia, as well as the actors behind the Marvel characters.


It’s no secret that Gary Vaynerchuk is pretty impressive! Both Julia and Zachary are fans of his.


Sherri thinks Gala Darling does a great job at sharing and connecting with her audience.
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!

Tags: brand storytelling | personal branding | storytelling