Level Up Your Personal Brand with Strategic SOPs & Tools

Imagine this. You’re at an exclusive VIP dinner party with Gary Vaynerchuk, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Oprah and other top entrepreneurs. As you’re conversing over a sizzling entree of peppercorn filet mignon paired with a chilled glass of Chardonnay, they start dishing out all their branding secrets.

As if you weren’t salivating enough, this moment launches you to the edge of your seat. You’re all ears! This is everyone’s dream – an insider look into not just the forward-facing creative component of these brands, but also the strategy that supports them.

While I haven’t (yet) hosted a dinner party with these incredible minds or reached the status of Oprah, I have been fortunate enough to find extraordinary personal branding success in just four short years. And I’m ecstatic to share everything I’ve learned with you! Why? Because I don’t believe in gatekeeping. I see so many people out there fearful of giving away their secrets. Don’t be. No one can cook up your secret sauce quite like you can!

I’m passionate about this topic because I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of personal brands, both personally and professionally. Mine has allowed me to break away from my former position as a VP of marketing and start my own agency. It has opened doors to major media features including Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and so on. It has put me in touch with an expansive LinkedIn™ community that grew from zero to over 180k. Most rewarding, my personal brand has allowed me to take control of my future!

I want all this and more for you. That’s why this article is dedicated to the details behind the exact systems my clients and I use to scale our presence — SOPs, toolkits, and measurables that are sure to launch your next level branding efforts!

What’s the difference between SOPs and Guidelines?

While often used interchangeably they do, in fact, differ. The biggest difference is that an SOP leaves little room for interpretation. Better said, there are no gray areas. SOPs are detailed frameworks that provide step-by-step instructions for executing a specific task.

Here are a few ways SOPs can support your brand growth:

• Establishes a standardized approach for measuring KPIs, including engagement rates, follower count, post reach, and conversions.
• Provides tangible targets and uniformity for performance metrics.
• Structures efficient data analysis for quick reassessments and revisions.
• Maintains a consistent format for measuring which strategies are working and which need improvements.
• Aligns social media efforts with overall brand objectives.

Guidelines, on the other hand, provide best practices but lack the detail of an SOP. Guidelines are great for building the foundation of a strong brand and generating consistency. Therefore, it’s recommended to use Guidelines as the overarching structure to shape your SOPs.

Here are a few ways Guidelines can support your brand growth:

• Ensures all branding elements are used consistently across channels.
• Defines the key tone, style, and message of your brand.
• Improves client experiences by providing clear expectations and interactions.
• Allows scalability without losing integral components.
• Differentiates you in a crowded marketplace by ensuring a consistent output of your brand’s visual identity and voice.

Integrating both Guidelines and SOPs in this way will safeguard your brand’s reputation, keep output consistent, and avoid unnecessary mistakes as you continue to grow.

Guidelines for Measurable Success

As the famous quote says: “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Guidelines are crucial for keeping your branding goals on track and accounted for, while also providing the base of your systems and SOPs. Without them, you can easily slip into the “throwing spaghetti at the wall” approach, where nothing works and nothing sticks.

Below you’ll find general Guidelines for writing and social media to jumpstart your own branding strategy!

1. Writers Guideline

• Understand your brand mission, values, unique value proposition, and target audience.
• Define the unique tone of voice (TOV) of your brand personality, including word choice, communication style, and emotional tone.
• Make a reference list of TOV dimensions and characteristics that can be applied to various emotions and situations.
• Tailor content for each written platform (website, social media, email, etc.)
• Ensure consistency in brand voice across all channels.
• Coordinate brand messaging with visual assets like colors, fonts, logos, and images.
• Create a list of SEO keywords for your brand to integrate when appropriate.
• Proofread all work before publishing to maintain proper grammar, punctuation, sources, and readability.
• Adapt your writing style based on feedback and evolving brand strategies.

2. Social Media Guideline

• Align all content with your brand’s tone and personality.
• Reflect core values in every post and interaction.
• Customize posts for each platform’s unique audience and features.
• Use hashtags, stories, and other available tools effectively.
• Ensure messages and visual elements are consistent (colors, fonts, logos, etc.)
• Reinforce brand identity across all channels.
• Promptly respond to comments, messages, and mentions.
• Encourage dialogue and interactions with your audience through continuous engagement.
• Share an equal mix of educational, personal, promotional, and user-generated content.
• Use high-quality images, videos, and graphics.
• Maintain a cohesive visual identity to enhance brand recognition.
• Track engagement metrics and analyze performance (adjust strategies as needed)
• Have a crisis communication plan available to promptly address any negative feedback or issues that arise.
• Continuously experiment with new formats and features to enhance engagement.

My Favorite Tools!

I’m all in if there’s a way to leverage available resources to save hours and enhance efficiency! Here are some of the tools that my team and I incorporate regularly into our processes.

• Agorapulse: A social media management tool that provides a range of features including scheduling and publishing posts, social media monitoring, analytics, and team collaboration.
• Answer the Public: A keyword search tool that helps users generate content ideas by providing insights into the questions and phrases people are searching for on search engines like Google.
• Canva: A popular online design platform that enables users to create a wide range of visual content, including social media graphics, banners, logos, and more. Adaptable to various levels of design experience.
• ChatGPT: The conversational AI model that is trained on a diverse range of internet text and designed to generate human-like responses to text inputs.
• Character Counter: A free online character and word count calculator that’s simple to use.
• Grammarly: A writing assistant and grammar checker that helps users improve the quality and correctness of their writing.
• Google Sheets: A cloud-based spreadsheet software developed by Google as part of the Google Workspace productivity suite. It’s a free alternative to Microsoft Excel and allows users to create, edit, and collaborate.

Closing Thoughts 

Joining the ranks of the world’s top entrepreneurs and branding experts starts here — your systems and strategies. By implementing these proven-to-work Guidelines, SOPs, and tools you’ll be well on your way to establishing your brand and scaling to new levels of impact! 

Want to learn more about this topic? Make sure to follow Melanie Borden and The Borden Group on LinkedIn™. 

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