Social personality - your competitive edge
Timothy "Tim" Hughes 提姆·休斯 L.ISP
Should have Played Quidditch for England
I’m currently reading “Social First Brands – How Modern Brands Create Community, Loyalty and Growth” by Tom Miner (Kogan Page)
In chapter 5, Tom explores the concept of “social personality – your competitive edge.”
Tom makes a crucial point: the buyer’s journey today often begins with a prompt in ChatGPT
What people learn about your brand and your story increasingly comes from AI, not Google searches, SEO spend, or your carefully designed website
But it doesn’t stop there
Alongside the AI journey, there’s also a buyer’s journey on social media
Whenever we’re about to buy something, we turn to our networks, the people we know and trust
(If you’re nodding along so far, I’ll assume you’ve already shifted budget away from websites and SEO and started investing in empowering your salespeople and employees on social)
Here’s why that’s critical: You need to exist in your buyers’ networks and be trusted for this second part of the journey to work for you
If your salespeople look and sound just like “salespeople” and aren’t trusted, buyers will scroll right past them
And you've left money on the table
As Tom puts it:
“Following an individual versus following a logo are two very different things.”
"Buyers can sniff out “corporate speak” from a mile away
There’s skepticism baked into how people consume content from brands"
That’s why you need to empower your salespeople to speak with an authentic voice
I know a salesperson who’s set her sights on becoming an influencer (small “i”) in her territory
She wants to be the person her buyers naturally turn to for insights
She’s already building trust and relationships in her network
When her buyers are ready to purchase, she’ll be the obvious choice
In the battle for attention, you've lost and this salesperson has won
And what about brands? The same logic applies
A Vox Media and Digitas report found that 75% of social users say brands that shed their corporate image on social media are the ones that grab their attention.
The takeaway?
Your brand isn’t what you say it is anymore, it’s what your network says it is
In an AI-powered world and a socially connected buyer journey, people trust people
Empower your sales team
Give them the tools, confidence, and permission to show up authentically on social
Because when trust is the currency, relationships, not logos, will win
Transforming healthcare through the power of data and digital.
1wBe authentic. Be you (everyone else is taken).
Author of Social First Brands | Ex Crocs Head of Social | Managing Partner at Gold Miner Media
2wPersonality before logos 👏
Chaos Coordinator at The Social Buzz Lab: A Strategy First Digital Marketing Team helping brands, companies and individuals build Buzz on social media for over 15 years. Fueled by coffee and a love of marketing.
2wThere has been such a shift in how we search, interact and make buying decisions that many people fail to realize how much they rely on tools, like social media, to make those decisions. For personal brands or business brands, failing to realize how much their presence and social personality impacts their business is a fatal flaw in their thinking. Good article, Timothy "Tim" Hughes 提姆·休斯 L.ISP
Ideal Client Acquisition & Exit Planning Expert | 2024 EPI Member of the Year | Guiding CEPA Advisors & Firm Owners to Grow Enterprise Value| Bestselling Author | Advocate for Special Needs Families
2wTimothy "Tim" Hughes 提姆·休斯 L.ISP everything changed for me on social media when you and Adam Gray encouraged and inspired me to share some of my personal journey with my profoundly autistic son and how it affected my business life. Those posts still drive engagement and spark conversations years later. In my niche of owners of successful financial services practices it is so rewarding to share that they no longer have to share product focused content and can instead focus on what matters the most: them. After all, in financial services the reality is that clients are buying the relationship because they want to have a human being involved.
Engineer. Retail Sales. Software Sales
2wThanks for sharing this, Timothy. The shift from traditional branding to focusing on authentic social presence is huge. Have you seen any specific examples of companies nailing this transition and boosting their buyer journey through sales teams with strong online personalities?