As I’ve been writing my new book on industry influence, my team and I have been lucky enough to interview so many great thought leaders around the country—including Amy Balog, an executive coach and facilitator with ConnexionPoint Services in Atlanta.

Recently, Amy took time out of her busy schedule—yep, she’s as busy as ever, identifying new opportunities for people coming out of the COVID-19 crisis—to chat about just why a brand is so important.

I wanted to share some of our conversation with you.

Why it is important to do some searching and establish a personal brand.

Glenn: So we have the big company brands—Nike, Apple, Whole Foods, Walgreens, but we also have our personal identity and then we have our job. But then we might have outside interests such as cooking, needlepoint, running, or driving race cars. So when we look into the future, and social media, because who knows what new version of LinkedIn or Facebook we might be on, why is it important to do some searching and establish that brand for yourself?

Amy: Well, people, your audience, are going to experience whatever it is that you’re bringing to them. Think about anything that you participate in, and have some loyalty to. How do you want to experience it yourself when you interact with either that product or that service person And how do you imagine they will experience it themselves? It’s like, OK, I can trust that every time I go back to that.

For example, I go to a remote workplace called Roam A here in Atlanta. You can get a subscription for beautiful rooms and have gorgeous meetings. It’s incredible. And every time I go to any location, I have this high quality, beautiful experience. I feel like I’m in a warm, safe, attractive place. And I’m still paying my monthly subscription even though they’re shut down by the coronavirus right now. Because I’m very loyal to that brand based on just how I feel and how my clients when we meet there. A brand is very tied to purpose. You don’t know what you are if you don’t have a purpose. Everything is purposeful. I’m going to help people get to a better place themselves. And I’m going to do it in specific ways.

Anyone can increase their influence using social media.

Glenn: It really is all about purpose. So how you engage your audience more, how do you get your name out there and start connecting? For example, someone who’s learned to grow orchids in the midst of the coronavirus and they become really good at it. And they want to, you know, increase their orchid business through social media. How do they start the right way?

Amy: Well, the beautiful thing about social media is that communities and groups share like interests. And it’s not that hard to start establishing a place for yourself. Begin looking at where people or communities are gathering to discuss gardening, and then zone in on the orchids. You can build off your audience in a little bit of a dialog. Personally, I’m on LinkedIn a lot, and I don’t do much on Twitter. Facebook some. But I don’t do anything random. I try not to do thoughtless about any of it. So when I do make connections with people on social media, they’re authentic.

Are you ready to become an industry influencer?

People don’t accidentally become influencers. It takes consistent action and a strategic plan to implement. If you’re ready to step into your full potential and make your greatest impact, I invite you to use the plan I’ve prepared for you to rise up and move forward—the Industry Influencer Masterclass.