Personal Brand: You

First off, I love this topic, and I would like to point out that all of us at times are either building or tearing down our own personal brand, all the time. But what we need to learn is, not how to tear or destroy it, but how to continue building it and creating more equity and trust in ourselves, from other people's point of view, which will create a stronger brand, "YOU." I also like to encourage people to build their personal brands as well. But before I get into it, I need to explain what our personal brand is?


Your brand is your reputation, as seen through the eyes of your 'clients', etc. A personal brand is a promise of the value your clients will receive. (Clients can be your friends, family, business related, or just about anyone you meet) In an amazingly complex and competing world--where it's increasingly hard to know what's real and what's not--having your customers not only acknowledge but support the promise of your brand is the key to building a thriving business or personal brand.

Who cares? Why do we build a personal brand anyways, what is it good for? Well these are good questions or questions that people may ask or want help with answering the 'why question'. Below is a list of why we try to build a brand:

Brands have a number of strategic functions, enabling you to:
  • - Differentiate yourself from your competition, it creates a unique YOU.
  • - Position your focused message in the hearts and minds of your audience, friends, etc. Let them know what they are getting when they are friends with you.
  • - The way you act and react to people should reflect your personal brand.
  • - Deliver your message clearly and quickly, it shouldn't be 'murky' as to who you are.
  • - Create strong loyalty with your friends and family, they know what to expect from you every time no matter what.

If you establish a place of trust and relevance in others' minds, you're already in the door. The more people that believe in your brand (believe in you), the more it will spread throughout your network, etc. without your pushing. If your brand is clear, distinctive, and easily understood, and expresses a unique, compelling benefit that people believe in, it will bring you many people towards you, business related or personal related.

To summarize what I mentioned above, I want to say that building your own personal is something we do everyday anyways. We constantly 'give off' who we are and what we are about. This in and of itself is good, but are we doing it in the best way? Most probably not.. There is probably a few things that you could change, also that you want to change, that would make appear and be seen the way you should be as well as want to be seen. You want to be seen as trustworthy, honest, caring and efficient. So show yourself that way. Make sure you are always punctual and on time, courteous to others and always give 110% regardless of what it is that you are doing in your life. Take every task as an opportunity to showcase who you are and what your made of. Build the brand "you" will only help you in the future and make others see you the way you should be seen.

So go ahead and build the "new YOU!"

Posted in: , , , , , , , , , on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at at 11:25 AM  

5 comments:

  1. Nicki Sunshine On June 17, 2009 at 3:49 PM Wrote

    I agree with this post, Bamer! People don't realize, your brand can follow you when you try to go out and get a job (just ask those kids who missed that internship due to facebook and myspace pics)!

     
  2. Unknown On June 17, 2009 at 4:11 PM Wrote

    This is an interesting topic, Bamer.

    We all have a large hand in the way we are perceived in the world, whether that is in a meeting room in your professional life, or on the patio with your mates. It is always important to project yourself in a way that is conducive to who you 'think' you are and to what you want to achieve.

    I think something worthy of note here is that many people are not aware of exactly how their 'Personal Brand' appears to others. It's a good idea to try to be self-aware and cultivate a presence that you are proud of.

    This is the hard part - not always the 'cultivation' part, but often the 'knowing' what it is you want your Brand to look like. It is tied in to who you are and who you are striving to be. And others' perceptions of this will either help or hinder you.

    So, find your direction and live it. Be honest, friendly, and straight-forward as a base to add to no matter what you want to do in life, and use that trust to build your Brand. If you do it right, a good brand might even precede you to the next place and open many doors. A very useful concept!

     
  3. The Gust On June 17, 2009 at 4:52 PM Wrote

    Perceptions shape reality.

     
  4. xxxray On June 17, 2009 at 5:07 PM Wrote

    its true, you have to do it right, because sometimes it takes 10 years to built your brand, and 5 minutes to ruin it.

     
  5. Bamer On June 18, 2009 at 8:12 AM Wrote

    @ nicki: No kidding, It's kind of sad though that some guys don't get a job because their 'would-be' future boss checked them out first on facebook.

    @ steph: I think if you are hoenst with yourself and anything that you do, as well as try your hardest and always deliver your best effort on time. Then your brand will blossom and build itself.

    @ gust: Agreed.

    @ xxxray: You can ruin your brand in an instant, but hopefully when that day does come that you do something 'bad' towards your own brand that you will have enough equity built up already to make the people you let down see through it and give you another chance.

    @ all: Good thoughts!

     

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