Clinching more deals. Getting more clients walking into your door. More people recognizing your brand. Achieving that 20K + following on social media. Creating an email list that clicks and reads. Getting your website to rank higher.
These might be a few of your agendas in the 'grow-my-brand' strategy.
You can fuel up this growth journey & make it more fun with the help of a relevant pack of professionals. Collaborating with them can boost your brand’s customer base and increase your brand recognition.
And how does one find the right pack? The answer to your problem is effective networking.
Here are 7 ways to grow your brand through networking & collaboration.
1. Build successful relations through networking events
Is there a place where collaborative and growth-oriented conversations are welcomed? Of course, you can't simply hope to stumble into a potential networker while walking down the road. So, watch out for networking events.
Find the kind of networking events that meet your brand interests and goals. For example, industry-specific meetups, trade shows, luncheons with colleagues, etc.
You can harness these relations to grow your brand and get access to business opportunities, better visibility, funding, and even recruiting talent.
2. Host a joint webinar to increase brand reach
Co-hosting a webinar with someone from your network can help you gain access to his/her audience. Your existing contacts or audience can benefit two-fold from this association. For example, if you're a brand into wellness, co-hosting a webinar with a nutritionist or doctor can be an excellent way to collaborate.
A joint association attracts larger audiences and gives the audience more value.
Before you read further, take the word 'joint' home. You can co-author an e-book, plan a co-branded career fair, and so much more.
3. Takeover Instagram stories to attract new audiences
Takeovers are another way to introduce your brand to a new audience set. You can connect with people in your industry (who aren't direct competitors) and take over their Instagram stories for a day.
This collaboration will help you to connect with new people and grow your network manifold. And since the audience will be new to your brand, it is crucial to give a good sense of your brand and what it stands for.
4. Onboard experts to build brand trust
When an expert associates with you and your brand, it helps audiences build trust and authority with your name.
Let's say, you have a SaaS product. And at a networking event, you happened to meet a bunch of business analysts and consultants in the Saas space. Invite them to collaborate and review your SaaS product and then share their genuine testimonials with you.
Expert involvement will not only add great value to your brand but also help you improve your product.
5. Cross-promote to get a head start
With the numerous social media platforms around, gathering an audience on each platform takes time. Get an edge by smartly cross-promoting.
Having a good network gives you an upper hand as you share a rapport with different connections. Reach out to them with cross-promotion requests. They could share your social media posts and increase brand visibility.
Try this form of collaboration and give your brand a head start on a new networking platform.
6. Roll out an interview series for 2 gains
Collaborating with influential people and popular brands for podcasts and interview series is an excellent way of growing your visibility. It can help your network grow and connect you with a larger audience.
Guest interviews can help you network and build rapport with the guest. For many, it's a start to a successful business relationship.
Once there are a good number of guests on your roster, audiences will begin to form an affinity with your brand.
Plan out a way in which your brand could interview different guests every fortnight or at least once a month.
Collaboration through networking provides the perfect opportunity to build relationships that can support your brand's growth. You might not always have the comfort of a massive marketing budget for your brand.
And even if you do, there's no harm in getting your brand before more prospective customers. After all, the more, the merrier. So, use these ways to scale up your brand and get ahead in the networking game. Write to us about your experiences and share collaboration strategies that have worked for you.