Welcome back to Branded, your comprehensive guide to creative branding. In today's episode, we dive deep into the essential journey of building your personal brand through what is known as the "Know, Like, Trust" process. This framework is vital not only for personal branding but also for thought leadership and sales. Join us as we explore how you can guide your audience through these crucial stages to create a brand that resonates. We break down each phase, explain the kind of content you should be putting out, and share real-life examples of how successful brands have nailed this process. From the initial introduction of your brand, through engaging storytelling, to building authenticity and trust, we've got it all covered. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your brand strategy, this episode is a must-listen. Key Insights: 1. The "Know" Phase: Establishing Your Foundation We talk about the importance of making a good first impression. Larry emphasizes that this is where you share your origin stories, highlight key milestones, and introduce what you're all about. This is your audience’s first encounter with you, so make sure it's memorable and informative. 2. The "Like" Phase: Deepening the Connection Sara discusses how this phase is all about showing your personality and letting people get to know the real you. It’s important to move beyond the surface and reveal the struggles, daily life, and your "why." This is where storytelling and emotional connection come into play. 3. The "Trust" Phase: Building Credibility Highlighting testimonials and case studies is crucial here. We discuss how sharing your mistakes and setbacks, along with the lessons you learned, can actually enhance your credibility. Authenticity is key—people trust those who are real and transparent. 4. Consistency in Messaging Larry points out the importance of maintaining consistency in your messaging. Flip-flopping perspectives can confuse your audience and erode trust. Establish clear mission and vision statements and stick to them. 5. Importance of Vulnerability We both agree that showing vulnerability is essential. It makes you relatable and trustworthy. Larry shares how he struggled with showing his real self across different contexts and how consistency in his personal presentation helped build genuine connections. Take a journey with us as we unravel the intricacies of the "Know, Like, Trust" process. We promise you'll walk away with actionable insights to bolster your personal brand and create deeper, more authentic connections with your audience. Key Takeaways: 1. The Role of Personal Stories in the "Know" Phase: Sharing who you are and how you got there helps establish a strong foundation. Initial stories should include origin milestones and key achievements to give the audience a clear picture of your expertise. 2. Creating Emotional Connections in the "Like" Phase: This phase is about letting your personality shine. Go beyond professional achievements and delve into personal anecdotes that show your human side. This helps in creating deeper emotional connections. 3. Building Trust Through Transparency: Real-life testimonials and case studies are crucial. Also, talk about your mistakes and what you’ve learned. This transparency builds credibility and trust, which are essential for long-term relationships with your audience. 4. Consistency in Branding and Messaging: Establish a consistent message that aligns with your mission and vision. Maintain this consistency across all platforms to avoid confusing your audience and to strengthen your brand identity. 5. Embracing and Demonstrating Vulnerability: Showcasing vulnerability helps in making genuine connections. Don’t shy away from sharing your struggles and failures. People appreciate and trust those who are real and sincere. By following these steps, you'll not only build a personal brand that people know, like, and trust but also one that stands out in a crowded marketplace. Hit that subscribe button to stay tuned for more invaluable branding insights. We’ll see you next week! [embed]https://youtu.be/NaBixSUTiTk[/embed]

Larry Roberts [: 00:00:09

What is happening, everybody? I'm Larry Roberts.

Sara Lohse [: 00:00:12

And I'm Sara Lohse, and this is Branded, your comprehensive guide to creative branding.

Larry Roberts [: 00:00:16

And on this episode of the podcast, we're gonna be talking about a process where we go through a journey of Knowing and then getting our potential customers to like us, and then from that point, even trust us. So we're gonna be talking about the know, like, trust journey that each and every one of us takes as we continue to build our personal brands.

Sara Lohse [: 00:00:40

This really is a cornerstone of Personal branding, thought leadership, sales, kind of everything that involves an audience or a target consumer that you're having Any type of conversation with, and how do how do we get them to really understand Who we are, what we do, and why they should trust us and bring us in on whatever it is that they're doing.

Larry Roberts [: 00:01:07

Yeah. And and I think so many times we get caught up in establishing our personal brand. We think that it's people just knowing about us, But, really, that's just the foundation of it all. That's just where it starts. So, yeah, you have to get out there. You have to establish that brand. You have to make that brand known. You, if you are the personal brand, you have to get out there and people have to know you, but once they know you, That doesn't necessarily mean they're going to engage with you or what most of our goals are, buy from you.

Larry Roberts [: 00:01:38

So, You know, what are some of the things, Sarah, that we need to do to even just start that process? I mean, we talk about it episode but what are some of the things we need to know to do just to get known?

Sara Lohse [: 00:01:49

Yeah. So the the no piece of this, that's just our introduction. It really is just letting people into like, this is who we are. So when we're talking from A thought leadership or content creator or podcaster, whatever it is, like, that kind of perspective, it almost comes down to the type of content that we're putting out. So when you're trying to just get people to know you, you're introducing yourself. So this is when you tell those, like, origin stories. How did you get started? What brought you to where you're at now? What milestones have you hit? And kind of Introducing some insights that you might have about whatever your topic is so people can start to realize, like, okay. This is what she's talking about.

Sara Lohse [: 00:02:37

This is what she is known for. This is what she's an expert expert in. So it's really just those basics, six. Those beginning stories just to give them just kind of like a taste of who you are. It's like when you walk into a party and you say, hi. This is who I am. It's the same thing, but it's just with your kind of public persona.

Larry Roberts [: 00:02:58

Yeah. And it's it's one of those situations where you have to really start establishing and sharing who you really are. A lot of times when we're trying to build that brand and we're trying to build that audience, We try to be everything to everyone. And when you're trying to be everything to everyone, what ends up happening?

Sara Lohse [: 00:03:16

You become nobody to anybody.

Larry Roberts [: 00:03:19

Exactly. And so if you're really wanting to get beyond just that know who you are factor, you really have to start Establishing a connection with your audience based on your personal values, based on your personal experiences, and that's where, Sarah, you were talking about sharing anecdotes and stories. That's where that all comes into play. But, eventually, we have to step out beyond just posting every day or sharing every day and advertising essentially every day to get that awareness, but now we have to establish that real relationship. And in order to do that, that's when you have to tap into that we use this word on almost every episode, but you have to tap into that authenticity.

Sara Lohse [: 00:04:04

The no is just that introduction. And one thing, like, I really feel like people don't realize is We're go we're gonna go over all 3 of the steps, but they're not linear. So if you start off creating all this content just for people to know you and then move into like and then trust. People aren't starting at the same spot, so you have to kind of disperse among them and Kind of touch on all these different things as you go, which will make more sense, I guess, when we talk about the rest of them. But before I forgot it, I had to say it. Gotta throw

Larry Roberts [: 00:04:38

it out there. You gotta lay it together in the foundation. Yeah. No. That's fine.

Sara Lohse [: 00:04:41

ADHD is really kicking me today.

Larry Roberts [: 00:04:43

But Well, you know and that kind of talks about one of the things that When it comes into that liking us perspective, we have to have that consistency, and although we didn't necessarily just demonstrate consistency in our messaging here

Sara Lohse [: 00:04:55

Thanks.

Larry Roberts [: 00:04:55

It's something that we have to do. You know? It's it's and we're just on 1 episode, so I think we're fine there, Sarah, but It it that consistency in your messaging, not necessarily in a discussion that you're having about something, but you you can't take one perspective for 1 week and then totally flip the script and go a different direction the next week in hopes of Making a deeper connection. You you have to maintain that consistency. And in order to maintain that consistency, what do we have to do? We have to establish what our messaging is, so we have to kinda step back, and it goes back to our our, like, our mission statements and our vision statements and making sure that that consistency in our messaging, people aren't going to like you if you don't have that consistency because they don't know who you are. So laying that foundation is absolutely critical.

Sara Lohse [: 00:05:50

Yeah. And then once we've really started to Get them to know us. That's when we wanna get them to like us. If you're like me, you need everyone to like you just so much. But this Phase is when we start really showing our personality. So getting to know us is really just like, this is who I am. This is what I do. But getting to like you, it's more personal.

Sara Lohse [: 00:06:14

It's deeper. It's that emotional level. So you have to really put who you are just as a person, not even just, like, as a company.

Larry Roberts [: 00:06:25

Yeah.

Sara Lohse [: 00:06:25

But, like, I I won't go into this phase posting about favorite daughter media. Like, this is Sarah. Like, this is who I am.

Larry Roberts [: 00:06:33

I think that's the most critical stage to to building that that that knowing and liking aspect of it is is being you. And it's kind of interesting because we talked about this before, but who are you? And I I still deal with this on a regular basis of who are you Because depending on sometimes who I'm talking about and the topic, I I speak differently. Now since Sarah called me out on this, About a year ago, I've been working on that, especially over this last year, and being more cognizant of being consistent in my messaging and consistent in my presentation, and not just presentation talking about it from a stage or a podcast perspective, but my presentation on a 1 on 1 personal perspective as well. So look at yourself and and do a little inventory and see how are you engaging with people, how are you sharing You're you, and are you sharing your real you, or are you are you sharing the you that you think your brand needs to represent. The owner of the Savannah Bananas, he does a tremendous job, Jesse Cole, of being him regardless. Savannah bananas, if you don't know about them, they're, I think it's an a league baseball team out of Florida. And the where Is it Georgia? Is that where you're looking for?

Sara Lohse [: 00:07:51

Savannah's in Georgia.

Larry Roberts [: 00:07:51

That makes sense. Thank you. Wow. That's a nice one. That's gonna make a that's gonna make a nice reel. The Savannah Bananas, yes, out of Georgia. He wears a yellow tux everywhere he goes. You never see him without that yellow tux.

Larry Roberts [: 00:08:05

But even when he's not on the field or even when he's not in an interview, he's still the same guy, and he does a tremendous job of personal branding, and that's one of the core reasons for his entire success. The dude pulls down crazy cash, and he made the Savannah Bananas an amazing team Just by maintaining that messaging and maintaining that engagement with his audience on a level that's unparalleled with anybody else Because it's so unique, and it's so different, and it's so Jesse Cole.

Sara Lohse [: 00:08:34

Yeah. Getting people from the like to the no phase, that's, like, really about going beyond surface level. Like, you talk about it a lot too with, like, your red hat. Like, You at the beginning of you creating your brand, people knew the red hat, but they didn't know what that meant. So they just knew you as the red hat guy, eventually, the podcast guy, some eventually the AI guy, but they didn't actually understand, like, who you are, what you did because they knew you, But they hadn't yet moved into that like I mean, they liked you, but you know what I mean, because it was still so surface level. So as, like, thought in, like, the thought leadership content creation journey, This is when you have to start really digging deeper and getting past that surface level. This is when you talk about the struggles in your journey of getting where you are. This is when you let people in on, like, what your day is like, like, the day in the life of you and your brand and your company and what you're doing.

Sara Lohse [: 00:09:36

And talking about things like your why and why you're doing this, what not just what you're talking about and what you're an expert in, but why it matters to you and how it came to the point that it's so important. Because that's all the stuff that's going to get people to see who you are underneath the red hat or underneath the yellow tux and get them past just, okay. I know who he is to Yeah. I I like him. I understand him. I feel like I connect with him.

Larry Roberts [: 00:10:06

Well, and that's the whole point of the book. Right? I wrote the book, Under the Red Hat, how to stand out in a crowded marketplace, and it's

Sara Lohse [: 00:10:12

Shameless plug.

Larry Roberts [: 00:10:13

Yeah. Not not shameless at all. I'm I'm yeah. I'm a throw it out there, but it's gonna drop here in the next couple of weeks, so I'm pretty excited about But that's exactly right. You know, that's how they get to like you. And then from that point, when you start sharing your whys and you start sharing testimonies of the impact that you've had on others, That's when the trust factor comes in. You you have those testimonials and, you know, I I think I'm one of the worst, honestly, at sharing testimonials. I have testimonials, but you very rarely there's a few on my website, but you very rarely see them.

Larry Roberts [: 00:10:48

I mean, I have some amazing testimonials, And I'm like, people don't wanna read that, but, really, they do. They they need. They don't just want to. They need to see That your brand and you as part of that brand extension have made impacts on people's life. They need to understand why you do what you do. They need to understand your experiences in order for them to trust you and eventually engage with you at a customer or even just a loyal follower level. You know, if you if you're building a social media presence, people come and they they they'll be they'll friend with you on I mean, I've got, don't know. Nearly 5,000 friends on Facebook.

Larry Roberts [: 00:11:25

I probably know 200 of those people. But when you build those those 200 are my loyal followers. They're gonna engage with me. They're going to follow me regardless of what platform I'm on. They're going to be my friends for life. They're going to be Really invested in me and my brand, and that's exactly what we have to do if we want that personal brand to make that impact and build that That likability and build that trust factor that we all need so much.

Sara Lohse [: 00:11:50

Kind of going back to, like, the type of content that we put out at this point when we've gotten To trust like you said, this is going to be when you put out things like testimonials and case studies that show real life impacts that you've had. But also, surprisingly enough, you also wanna talk about mistakes. Like, you wanna be transparent. You wanna share Mistakes that you've made, setbacks that you faced, and talk about what you learned from those because sharing your mistakes and what you've learned actually can enhance your credibility. If you try to make it seem like you've done everything perfect every day of your life, you've never messed anything up, That's bullshit, and everyone will see through it.

Larry Roberts [: 00:12:34

Language.

Sara Lohse [: 00:12:35

Am I allowed to say that on this show? It's my show. I'll say whatever you want. But, honestly, like, would you trust someone who makes it seem like everything they've ever done has been roses, or would you wanna hear from people saying, like, When I first started, I struggled as much as you are, and here's how I got past it. That's what makes people actually see you as a real human and trust that you know what you're doing because you've been through the whole learning process. No one comes out of the gate being perfect at anything.

Larry Roberts [: 00:13:09

Yeah. And that vulnerability is is absolutely essential. I used to follow a lot of the influencers out there, a lot of the big time marketers, and They just seem like they could not make a mistake. They couldn't do anything wrong. They have all the answers. They got all the money. They got and then as you dig into their a little bit deeper, and you get to know them more and more, and you're like, oh, this person does the same stuff that I do. Oh, this person's struggling just as hard as I'm struggling.

Larry Roberts [: 00:13:34

Oh, this person may have this many followers, but, oh, turns out they're fake. Oh, wow. What? That's that's insane. So understanding that other people are going through the same thing is absolutely critical, but you also have to share that story in a way that is genuine. That it's not just you're telling it from a from a, an angle of a pity party or a fake story to try to and engage with someone on a different emotional level. They have to be able to believe in that. And to believe in that, first, they have to what? They have to know you. They have to like you.

Larry Roberts [: 00:14:10

And then to believe that story, they have to what?

Sara Lohse [: 00:14:13

Trust you.

Larry Roberts [: 00:14:13

They have to trust you. So, You know, don't come firing out the gate talking about how many mistakes you made because at that stage of the game, they probably don't wanna hear that at that stage of the game. But For them to reach that next level of engagement, you do have to share every step of the process. And as human beings, we all know that one of the biggest steps in every process is failure and then learning from that failure.

Sara Lohse [: 00:14:35

Yeah. And that kinda goes back to what I said a little early in the episode. People are gonna join you at different points in your journey. So as you're putting like, you might be in that trust phase with the followers that have been with you, but there's some people who are just kind of joining. So if all you're putting out at this point are those mistakes, those transparent recounts of, like, mess ups and the testimonials, You still have to pepper in more of the, this is who I am, this is what I do, this is why I do it. Go back to the 1st phases and Still create content from those because you don't know who is the who's actually watching what you're doing. So make sure that you don't get stuck in one of the phases and have it be just something that's a continuous loop.

Larry Roberts [: 00:15:24

Yeah. I mean, as an example, I mean, I was in a podcast not too long ago, and I was talking about Jesse Cole. And I mentioned that he owns the Savannah Bananas. And, I was talking about the Savannah bananas being from Florida, and it turns out they're in Georgia. It's the weirdest thing.

Sara Lohse [: 00:15:38

Oh my goodness. That's crazy.

Larry Roberts [: 00:15:40

It it's crazy, but mistakes Fakes happen, and people need to understand that those mistakes make us human, and that's what makes us vulnerable, that's what makes us likable, and eventually that's what leads to that trust. So, Hopefully, people can learn from that example right there.

Sara Lohse [: 00:15:54

Yeah. You and I have always been very intentional about Not being perfect. I mean, from the beginning, we've put out bloopers in our episodes. We put out just bloopers by themselves, and We'll be the 1st ones to admit when we make a mistake or when we don't know something because why wouldn't we, I guess. I think I get asked a lot about how do you like, isn't it scary to be so public about anything or be on a podcast and be in the public eye. Aren't you afraid people are going to judge you or people are going to, like, bully you? And kind of, but, also, If you're so honest and upfront about the mistakes that you've made, it takes away that ammunition. Like, Like, what are you gonna say about me that I haven't already said about myself?

Larry Roberts [: 00:16:42

Right.

Sara Lohse [: 00:16:42

Like, oh, you're gonna point out that I messed up about that? Go back to the real before it. It's me saying how much I messed up about that. It's so important to be honest about it Yeah. Because it just proves that you know you're not perfect. And if you don't if people know that you don't think you're perfect, they're not going to point out when you're not.

Larry Roberts [: 00:17:01

No. It's like Eminem on 8 Mile. You know? He he won the whole rap battle because he he insulted himself through his entire rap, and he left the other rap guy with no ammunition to fire back, so he won by default. So, anyways, that that might have dated myself a little bit.

Sara Lohse [: 00:17:15

But Oh, no. I know everywhere to that battle. All 3 battles, actually.

Larry Roberts [: 00:17:19

Oh, nice. Alright. Cool. So little I thought there was a generation gap there, but apparently not.

Sara Lohse [: 00:17:23

No. Alright. Cool. That's one of my favorite movies. I know every M and M song ever. Come on now.

Larry Roberts [: 00:17:33

Anyways, hopefully, you guys are listening right now. If you didn't know us, hopefully, now know us a little bit. Eventually, you'll grow to like us. That's the idea. And then even beyond that, hopefully, you'll be able to trust us. So if you got some value out of this episode, Do us a favor. Show us that you like us, and hit that subscribe button so we could continue to bring you these amazing insights each and every week. And with that, I am Larry Roberts.

Sara Lohse [: 00:17:56

I'm Sara Lohse, and I'll talk to you next week.