Personal Brand has become one of the latest buzzwords. Mostly because brands are all around us. We often think of logos like the Nike Swoosh or Apple’s apple. However, with the past several years – brands have gone far beyond just a logo. There are lots of different ways to define a brand, but in my research, my favorite was from Seth Godin.
A brand is a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter, or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection, or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.
Seth Godin, Marketing Guru
The brand is the total experience people feel with a product, service, or even an individual – what they know and can expect from that entity.
Photo by Kristian Egelund on Unsplash
Benefits of a Brand
Brands have benefits for not only the entity but to society as a whole.
1. Branding set expectations
It is estimated that people make 35,000 choices every single day. Decision fatigue exists and each distinct decision makes people tired. When a brand is understood – it saves people from having to decide what the company is about.
For instance, if you are looking for hotels, you know Best Western will give you an affordable room. While the Four Seasons gives you a luxury experience. Depending on what you are looking for, branding helped make the decision easier.
2. Branding Sets You Apart
With the above example, Best Westerns have sparse but comfortable rooms, decent locations, and affordable says. The Four Seasons has better locations, luxury rooms, and an expensive price-tag.
These known characteristics help set them apart from each other and make it easier for their target audience to find which one they are looking for.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
3. Branding Saves Time
Taken as a whole, people have less time. 75% of people responding to a survey from the Sociological Review reported that they felt at least somewhat pressed for time each day. Mostly citing work and technology as the main stressors.
This survey was conducted in 2005, yet people were already starting to feel overwhelmed with flip phones and AOL emails. It only increased with time.
By having a known brand, it saves people from having to figure out what the company is about.
The Problems with a Negative Brand
Brands like Apple, Nike, Best Western, and Four Seasons are mostly positive. If you need to see what a bad brand can do, Yahoo polled and found some of the most hated companies in America. Monsanto is one of them.
Monsanto is an agricultural company that has been around for 50 years and has accumulated controversy and hatred the entire time. To just list a few: their herbicides erode the environment, they manufactured Agent Orange (which killed over 400,000 people in Vietnam), they made RoundUp which has given people cancer, and lastly, they take-over small family farms by dragging the families through lengthy civil cases.
Companies have to watch their actions and perceptions. Or else the public will turn on them and try to find alternatives to drive the company out of business.
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
What is a Personal Brand?
Just as companies and public entities have a brand, so do you. Everyone has a personal brand.
A personal brand is a widely recognized and largely uniform perception or impression of an individual based on their experience, expertise, competencies, actions, and/or achievements within a community, industry, or the marketplace at large.
Simply put, everyone has a personal brand. Whether you can articulate it or not is a different point. Being intentional about your personal brand prepares you to talk to people about your abilities – about what makes you stand out from the crowd.
The Benefits of Your Personal Brand
Creating a personal brand helps you in the same way it helps companies. It makes it easier for people to set expectations about you, helps them make decisions, and saves them time in needing to figure you out.
Furthermore, the University of Pennsylvania found those who take an active part in shaping their brand are more likely to achieve their career aspirations, have larger social networks, report higher levels of happiness, and make more money.
There is often the quote, “it isn’t what you know, it’s who you know.” A better quote I have heard is, “it is not who you know, but who knows you.”
Having a cultivated and powerful personal brand helps you get where you want to go.
Don’t know where you want to go? Check out the below guides to help set your aspirations.
Photo by Saulo Mohana on Unsplash
What is Your Personal Brand Value?
Before we get into crafting your brand, it is critical to realize what makes up a brand’s value. The value of a brand is comprised of three parts.
- The ability to influence others by leveraging your experience, expertise, and reputation.
- The relationships you have built
- The tangible value and skills you bring to others
Your brand value is a result of your skills, your relationships, and how you can influence others. When people see you can mobilize a team, know what you are doing, and have strong connections – you are in a powerful personal branding position.
What do You want your Personal Brand to Be?
The brands for an accountant, entrepreneur, and influencer are all different. Your brand has to align with a life that is authentically you. What makes a brand strong is everything about YOU. Your skills, your connections, and your influence. Everyone does tasks and manages teams differently. No two leaders are the same. By figuring out what you want your personal brand to be, you can better work on making it authentic to yourself.
To help figure out your brand, try the below exercise. Write out 2-3 sentences for each of the questions.
How to Figure Out Your Brand
- I want to be known for…
- I am the go-to person for…
- I excel at…
- I leverage…
- My key relationships are…
- I lead by…
- What I want people to say behind my back is…
- The skills I want to develop are…
- People say I am…
Doing this exercise will help you see where you are currently and where you want your personal brand to go.
Need help pushing yourself? Check out this guide on how to expand your comfort zone.
How to Manage Your Personal Brand
The Journal of Global Business Recommends the following steps to manage your personal brand.
1. Developing a personal brand identity involves investing in cultural capital and social capital within established organizational fields.
2. Managing a brand’s position by actively seeking to manage impressions through artifactual, nonverbal behaviors, and verbal strategies.
3. Assessing a personal brand requires engaging in a reflexivity-in-action and reflexivity-on-action.
To manage your brand – you have to walk the walk of what you are saying. Display the skills you have, manage your reputation through how you talk with others, and reflect on if you are living the personal brand you want.
How to Cultivate Your Personal Brand Each Day
1. Reflect on Your Days
At the end of each day, take two minutes to assess the considerable impacts of the day. Did you develop skills, maintain/foster relationships, and work on your cultural influence? You don’t have to do each item every day, but at least one can be accomplished each day. Reflect on where you did well and where you fell short. By taking the time, you can quickly reassess and tackle the next day with further improvements.
2. Make a list of the skills you need to develop
What do you want to be known for getting done? Leading collaborative meetings, making insightful reports, or closing every sale? Figure out what you want your skills to be. Assess where you are doing well, and where you need a little more work. Make a big list of your skills and focus on making a conscious effort to work on at least one for twenty minutes each day.
With the compound effect you will be surprised how much your skills improve even with just a little daily practice.
3. Assess your Network
Who do you know and who knows you? Make a vast map of all the key relationships you have and identify where there are gaps. For instance, do you want to work on selling products at work but you don’t know a sales manager? Look at your key relationships. Does anyone know a sales manager at your organization? Ask that key relationship for an introduction explaining you want to expand your skillset.
Studies show that having someone introduce you is a much more authentic, genuine, and successful way to build your network and meet new people.
4. Be Genuine
Networking doesn’t have to be like interacting with an overly aggressive used car salesman. Look at networking about genuinely taking an interest in others, their career, and their lives. By approaching conversations with a genuine attitude of interest, you might find that your network expands, you are happier, and feel more connected.
5. Bring Value to Others
The reason networking can feel a little sleazy is because most people think about, “what can I get out of this”. Instead, approach networking by focusing on the other person. Focus on how you can help them. By shifting the focus towards their needs, you will feel more genuine, and the person will be more receptive because they realize you are volunteering to help make their life a little easier.
Main Take-Aways
- A personal brand requires you to take ownership of your skills, connections, and influence.
- By taking an active role in shaping your personal brand, you can shape your career and determine where you will go.
Action item
Assess your personal brand. Where are you performing well and where are you falling behind. Use the above strategies to move closer to where you want to be!
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