A guide to building your founder brand as a B2B founder

Social media is the most effective B2B channel for driving revenue, according to the 2023 State of B2B Digital Marketing report, with a whopping 60% of Digital marketers agreeing to it. Email comes third, immediately below content marketing. Think about that, you can take all the time you need.

Everything changes for you the moment you stop seeing social media as just a place to keep up with the fun and start seeing it as an opportunity to put your Business/Product in front of lots of prospective customers/businesses.

As a startup founder, your personal extends into your company, creating what I would call a “Founder Brand.”

No two founder brands are alike, a founder brand is not only about your product, neither is it about your ideals alone, a founder brand is where both person and product merge, it is a direct extension of both your ideals and your business. It provides a platform to convey your company's vision, mission, and purpose while remaining authentic to yourself.

Two founders are doing this very well are Danjuma Mohammed and Victor Fatanmi.

Your Founder brand gets people to go “This guy knows his stuff.” It establishes your credibility and authority within your industry, setting you apart from your competitors and making you a trusted voice. Plus, your passion for the solution your product provides is contagious —If you follow guys like Danjuma Mohammed on Twitter, it will only take you 24½ hrs to quickly search what his product (Vervear) is all about.

I've seen founders go “I don't want to talk about those business stuff, I want my personal brand to talk about other things I'm interested in like sports and family and maybe throw a little bit of philosophy into the mix." You could do that, but you will probably be missing out on a lot of prospects

Here are 5 reasons why building a founder brand will provide more advantages than focusing solely on a business page:

1. Human Connection: This is a no-brainer, People connect with people. A founder brand allows you to show your personality, values, and expertise while still giving your products some extra free awareness. This builds trust and creates a sense of familiarity with potential customers, who are more likely to do business with someone they feel they know. (Not to mention that due to this fact, a founder brand is 3x easier to build than a business brand page).

2. Authentic Voice: We can all agree that business pages are usually very corporate and rigid. A founder brand founders use their voice to showcase their business. This authenticity resonates with your target audience and naturally makes your brand more memorable.

3. Thought Leadership: By sharing your knowledge and insights through your founder brand on social media, you establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. This really sets you apart as an authority and attracts potential clients seeking service and expertise.

4. Crisis Management: Call it damage control if you will, but if a startup encounters negative publicity, a well-established founder brand can help control the damage. By having a public face associated with the company, you can address issues openly (and empathetically), building trust and potentially minimizing reputational harm.

5. Network Building: Building a founder brand allows you to connect with potential investors, partners, and collaborators on a more personal level. This can open doors to valuable opportunities and resources that might not be readily available through a traditional business page.

How do you build your brand on social media and share content that will get you noticed and attract prospects?

On building your Founder brand, here are critical things to have in mind.

Do not chase trends! Sure, trending topics might offer reach, but they might not mean well for your brand, even when you do, make sure to refrain from joining in on every trend.

As a founder (especially B2B,) Prioritise LinkedIn, LinkedIn is focused on professionals. Then add Twitter, at the early stages you will need these 2 platforms the most, let go of the rest.

Offer Value, Not Just Sales Pitches: You already have a good idea of your Ideal Customer Profile, create content that resonates with their interests, every post should not be a pitch.

You're best-performing post won't be the best-designed

Posts with pictures perform better on LinkedIn than posts without - Do with this info what you want.

Before the launch of a new product/feature, there must be a buzz around it, every, member of the team should be talking about it, especially in the early stages. The marketing team should work on making this possible.

Talk with people! You're on social media, the bare minimum is that you BE SOCIAL! Being a founder doesn't mean you're banned from engaging with content that interests you

Don't get into public arguments with competitors, there might be a few exceptions, but generally, just let it slide.

99% of the time, Likes ain't cash. 1127 potential customers are more valuable than 50,000 uninterested followers. You need money to get the business running, not likes –PRIORITY!

Your content should be valuable even months down the line. (That's why the first tip suggested not to be too focused on trends)

Stay consistent, social media growth is slow (uneven sometimes) but keep creating high-quality, binge-worthy content consistently.

Put yourself on videos more often, the benefits are infinite.

If you can't keep up anymore; delegate your socials and hire the right person(s) to handle it, keeping it idle won't help.

Content is king! Not tools, not some new software, BUT CONTENT!

That "well thought" content piece won't get you the likes or sales, it's usually the one you spend the least time on.

Everyone loves AI content - that was last year. Do NOT write content with AI, it'll hurt your startup.

Write by people for people, get a ghostwriter if necessary.

Building a strong founder brand on social media is no longer optional—it's critical. By consistently putting yourself and your startup out there, you can set yourself apart from the competition, attract more prospects, and build a sustainable and impactful business. So, start today—your future self will thank you.