Marketing promotion: 13 tips for building your personal IP

Especially with the popularity of text, short videos, live broadcasts and other fields, the creation of IP has become a magical thing on the Internet.

Based on the village chief’s personal experience over the past year, I feel that building a personal IP is actually quite simple if you work hard at it.

1. Accurate personal IP positioning

No matter what project you do, you cannot escape the topic of positioning.

The village chief believes that the main purpose of positioning is to establish a symbol in the minds of users. The deeper the imprint of the symbol, the more successful the IP shaping is.

You can also understand IP positioning as how you want users to see you.

In fact, the IP positioning method is similar to what I have shared before. You can do it from five dimensions: personal advantages, hobbies, prospects, verticals, and blanks.

By the way, I would like to emphasize again that personal IP location is not unchangeable, but it should not be changed frequently.

Because the initial positioning is just an exploration, the greater significance lies in taking this step and making an attempt.

However, you still need to make corrections in practice to determine what you are suitable for and eventually find the best position.

2. Choose a platform

Establishing an IP requires external dissemination, so it is important to choose a suitable platform.

In fact, our company is also a platform, but it’s a bit small.

We should look outward for the right channel, even if it’s just an external group.

There are two types of external platforms: one is your own main battlefield, and the other is someone else's stage.

Your own main battlefields such as Bilibili, Toutiao, Weibo, Kuaishou, and official accounts are the foundation and need to be maintained continuously and carefully.

Other people’s stages, such as industry associations and external communities, are highly fluid, but frequently appearing on these platforms is of great help to individuals in expanding their external influence.

When choosing a platform, the village chief suggested choosing a platform first. No matter whether the platform is big or small, the core is still the content and audience.

But the village chief personally still thinks that the official account is the first choice.

3. A memorable name

Although we can see various unique names on Kuaishou/TikTok, they are very few in general.

It is difficult for an ordinary person to come up with such a name without spending a lot of money.

A name that is easy to remember can spread better.

In addition to the name, a personal IP must have some distinct personal characteristics.

No matter your behavior, opinions, image, or expertise, you should be able to let some of your fans know you. Otherwise, there are so many similar IPs and you will be immersed in the vast crowd.

4. Continuous output of content

Why did I change the continuous output of valuable content to continuous output of content? Because many people always make various assumptions before creating IP, and also put various pressures on themselves.

Worrying that this is not written well or that is written incorrectly.

In the end, we are always assuming but never taking action.

In fact, the village chief feels that it is impossible for any IP to output high-quality content every day.

The village chief believes that sustainability is more important than high quality, and it is better to have a long-term success than a short-lived one.

Therefore, if you want to create a good IP, what is more important is action and persistence. All high-value outputs come from accumulation over time.

In addition, another reason for continuous output is to enhance exposure and thus strengthen the sense of presence. It is definitely not okay to fish for three days and dry the net for two days at any time.

As a fan of a successful IP, you should also be tolerant of the shortcomings of this IP.

5. Show yourself

Continuous output can also be considered a form of show, but the content of the show can be multifaceted.

We need to build a diversified, flesh-and-blood, and emotional IP in the minds of fans.

So what we show is not only the IP’s honors and opinions, but also the IP’s personal life.

This is also why, when we provide WeChat business owners and distributors with WeChat Moments marketing training, we will make various plans for what content they should post on WeChat Moments.

An IP that is loved and followed by others should be diverse and focused.

6. Focus on a field

The topic of focus has been mentioned many times before. The core is still the same sentence: the more focused you are, the more successful you will be.

By the way, when you choose an extremely niche IP, don’t pursue the number of fans and reading volume too much.

Let me give you an example of sharing in the paid community of Shili Village. A friend’s account is dedicated to high-end cruise ships, and the number of readings/playbacks of each push is pitifully small.

But think about it, when you write this kind of content and there are about 100 people reading it on the platform every day, it is such a happy thing.

Because few people can afford a cruise, and the fact is that although a friend's content seems to be rarely read, it does not affect his income at all.

What's more, those who can add him to chat on WeChat are all invisible rich people.

7. Have your own representative work

The village chief is well known to some people because he wrote the article "Top Ten Scams of 2019".

Some people came here because the village chief had written Taoke content on a concentrated basis, while others came here because the village chief had written several practical articles on e-commerce marketing.

After a year of writing, I have written more than 100 articles, several of which have been reprinted more than 100 times and have been read more than 100,000 times.

Therefore, when the village chief publicizes himself to the outside world, he will write that he is an author with over 100,000 followers.

Including the village chief’s more than 100 live broadcasts before, these representative works help strengthen the labels and symbols of personal IP.

The vast majority of IPs start with a representative work or a landmark event.

8. Organize activities appropriately

The village chief has been planning his own annual brand meeting, even though there are only a dozen people available for the first session.

This includes recent one-on-one offline communication and exchanges with some villagers, and the village chief is also planning offline meeting activities in Hangzhou.

As the saying goes, a thousand online interactions are not as good as a sincere face-to-face meeting.

Properly holding offline activities not only enhances the relationship with users, but also promotes yourself.

It also provides an opportunity for fans to connect and communicate with each other.

So for fans, the event still creates value for them.

9. Help others gain something

Although there are too many stories about the farmer and the snake in the market, and there are also people who take it for granted that they get something for free.

But after the village chief's experience over the past year, he believes that the idea of ​​altruism should still be retained.

Taking the initiative to think about others, or helping others to get better results, is also helping yourself to succeed.

Whether you share for free or create a group to connect resources, you will become more valuable if more people can benefit from the resources you have.

10. Be bold in cashing out

Although we need to help our fans/customers gain something, we still have to reject those who take advantage of us for free. Even if it is really free, there must be conditions.

Another point is that if you want the IP to be valuable, you must boldly and directly monetize it.

Ask yourself, don’t more than 99% of people create IP just to make more money?

I have also emphasized to the paying villagers in Shili Village that they should dare to set their own prices and charge others fees, and this should start from the first day of creating IP.

Boldly cash out:

First, it can help you filter out some freeloaders.

The second is to strengthen your business awareness in the minds of users

The third is to evaluate how much you are worth and whether you have the ability to monetize it.

Don't be afraid of not being able to charge fees, but think about why you can't make money.

For any IP, successfully receiving the first payment is the real beginning of exploring the IP commercialization path.

11. Benefits in the long run

There is no conflict between immediate cashing out and looking at profits in the long term.

Looking at returns in the long term has three meanings:

The first is not to be frustrated by making small amounts of money. Everyone starts by making small amounts of money.

The second is not to think about quick profits; the real big money comes from sincere service and equal value contribution.

The third is to encourage yourself, overcome the current difficulties, and be patient in the long run.

For example, when it comes to increasing followers on WeChat, many people who create IPs will have various headaches. They feel that after working hard for a year, they have too few fans. This situation will occur even if you write very well.

But if you take a longer-term view and think that you only need to accumulate 20,000 followers a year, then in 10 years you will be a public account blogger with 200,000 followers.

You have to have a deep understanding that when a public account with real and vertical fans has 200,000 or 300,000 fans, its commercial value is enormous.

But are you really willing to work hard to write until then?

Many successes are not about being better than others, but about being more persistent than others, and you have outlasted others.

The more anxious society and the industry are, the more we need to stay calm and look at the long term.

But one thing that needs to be emphasized here is that looking at profits in the long term does not mean doing nothing about profits at the moment.

IP monetization is an ongoing process and also an optimization process.

12. Write a book

There are many publishing house editors who have approached the village chief through various channels to ask him to write a book, but he has not started writing yet. The main reason is that he is afraid and not confident enough.

But from what the village chief knows, all the truly successful IPs around him have written books.

So this is also the direction that the village chief is working towards. When you can really write a book, a book that can be published by a publishing house, it will create a strong contrast between you and other IPs.

13. You must build a community

The community is a form of IP implementation and a good test of IP's influence, appeal and cohesion.

At the same time, the community is also the best performance scenario for offline IP delivery. In the process of building a community with your personal IP, it will help you better understand the needs of your fans, their evaluation of your products and services, and even their constructive opinions.

A good community will continue and amplify the value of the IP, and will attract more loyal fans with a common vision to participate in the construction and promotion of the IP.

Author: Shili Village

Source: Shili Village (shilipxl)