I have been developing my own ideas about personal branding and making the most of your opportunities to market yourself and your business online for a number of years now. I worked in the US in 2009 and got myself a Twitter account, then began to follow the likes of Chris Brogan, David Meerman Scott and Gary Vaynerchuk as they paved the way for many digital marketing experts to emerge into a market that had no idea what the internet was capable of and how it would change everything we do. I then began video blogging about my running training and grew a small but loyal band of followers and then used my knowledge in my other entrepreneurial activities in recruitment, careers and coaching ever since.

Fast-forward seven years to today and the internet rules when it comes to marketing. Print media is dying a slow death and the traditional marketing budgets of the big players have moved online many years ago, catching our attention at every opportunity and creeping into our favourite tv shows, our news feeds on Facebook, our Twitter timeline and so on.

The early adopters are reaping the benefits of this captive audience – once you’ve liked a page, you’ll be seeing that brand’s every move and the offer you’ve been waiting for is surely not all that far behind. But it’s the small businesses and solo entrepreneurs who may be struggling to keep up with this runaway train – time is best spent on actually shipping and selling your product or providing your expert services and any time not spent doing this simply doesn’t pay the bills.

So I’m launching IMOFO Digital this week, with the sole aim of helping small businesses and those who work for themselves or in small teams to build their personal brand online to increase awareness and sales using the platforms we all use to connect and communicate every day. The power of the internet is there for us all to see but the ability to harness that power is sometimes a tricky task for those building their businesses and that’s where I can help.

You need compelling content to tempt new customers, leading to them pay attention to your message over the long term and get results.

You need to engage with your audience and show them that you’re listening and are there to help them.

You also need to stay aware of how and where your clients and customers are spending time online to be a part of their conversation and be at the front of their mind when it’s time to buy.

There will be a lot more on this topic coming as time goes by but I’m very excited to share my knowledge with some new clients and help them develop some spectacular results. If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch via +61 (0)477 841 630 or mountford.ian@gmail.com.