Personal Brand – What do you stand for?
Over the last few years “Personal Branding” has become something of a buzz word. Often, however, when people discuss personal branding, they focus on external factors – clothing, hair, general appearance. While this is certainly part of your personal brand, this month I wanted to share with you a little about my own take on personal branding.
You see, I believe that this concept goes far beyond the way you dress and present – right down to the core values that you represent as a human being and aligning those with your work so that employers and colleagues understand, even before meeting you, precisely what you stand for.
The key to marketing your true personal brand is discovering what sets you apart and then shamelessly ensuring that the people in your network know it!
I know some of you will recoil from the idea of “marketing” yourselves. However, I remember the words of a former mentor, “If you don’t manage your career then no one else will.”
Taking charge of your career by, amongst other things, focusing on the marketing of your personal brand gives you more control over your life and your ability to not only provide for yourself and your family, but also to build a rich and rewarding career.
People who like your brand will market it for you; however you must make it simple for them to do so by articulating what your brand stands for. For instance, I strive every day for my personal brand to be associated with the words:
Authentic, Passionate, Caring and Responsive. These are words that I relate with wholeheartedly and which form the basis of my personal brand.
Chris and I have made no secret over the years that we are strong advocates of Sir Richard Branson. We have read most of the books and have even actually met him once (well, Chris did anyway!). He is a very impressive entrepreneur and a very unique human being. Sir Richard has built a reputation, in particular, for taking on major corporations. Providing ‘value’ for money products whilst putting the customer back into ‘customer service’.
Sir Richard is highly visible in the media and just about everyone in the world knows what his brand stands for. Why? Because he cleverly tells us every time we hear from him. He lets no opportunity pass to remind us that he’s “fighting for the little guy” that he wants a “fair go” for the average Joe.
This comes across not only in what he says – but also in everything he does.
From my perspective, the secret to obtaining success via your personal brand is:
1. Identify what sets you apart from other people.
2. Articulate what this is in a few words.
3. Let the people within your network know about your brand and what it stands for.
4. Stop networking, and get on with building a trusted network.
5. Share time, energy and efforts before looking to obtain profits.
6. Help others to become as successful as you.
7. Constantly self assess to develop and grow
If you need help implementing these steps, you need to work with an expert in this area to ensure your brand represents who you truly are – give 4Impact a call and we’ll walk you through the process, step by step.
Mark Thomson