What is Personal Branding – exactly?

Celebrities have one, businesses have one, sports stars have one. No we are not talking about the latest mobile phone or scandal, we are talking brand.

Think Apple, Nike, Google, think of your walking talking brand.

So how do we apply these concepts to ourselves? Our age, role position or business we are in does not matter, all of us need to be aware of the importance of personal branding. This is often referred to as being the CEO or GM of ‘Me’ Pty.

The key message here is being able to stand out from the crowd, putting your best foot forward, all of the time and being consistent. Each and everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up our skills. All of us have a chance to be a brand worthy of being remembered and talked about in a positive way.

To make this more digestible, think about the company you work for. Consider the brand they put out there. No doubt they have a mission statement and corporate values that should be aligned to their people. If your company has a product then this will also form an opinion of the company brand. Marketing teams spend hours deliberating on what message their branding communicates, how things are received. Consider how much time you think about these things?

In a recruitment process you are hired, you join a team. You immediately start figuring out how to deliver value to the customer which can be internal or external. As you progress you continue to develop your skills, demonstrate your strengths and move from task to task with ease. If you are really in it to win, you will figure out how to distinguish yourself from other very smart people walking around in your office, on your floor, in your team. You will soon work out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself – you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called you.

What is it that makes me stand out?

Start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors or your colleagues. What two words would your colleagues use to describe you or your greatest strengths? What about your boss or previous bosses? Finally people who work for you – how would they describe you if asked?

When you’ve done that, sit back and ask yourself one more question to define your brand: what do I want to be famous for? That’s right – famous for! It’s time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand.

So how do I market myself?

The sky is the limit when it comes to marketing yourself and your profile – your brand. Get involved in projects in the business, introduce yourself to new colleagues, showcase your skills or work on new ones. Start identifying your business champions, the people that will champion your career on your behalf.

Imagine a meeting being held with the senior management team and a new project being discussed and the question is asked: “Who should manage this?” You want your name to be said, over and over.

The second important thing to remember about your personal visibility campaign is: it all matters. When you’re promoting brand, everything you do and everything you choose not to do communicates the value and character of the brand. Everything from the way you handle phone conversations to the email messages you send to the way you conduct business in a meeting is part of the larger message you’re sending about your brand.

The key to any personal branding campaign is “word-of-mouth marketing.” Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing tool you’ve got. What they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand. So the big trick to building your brand is to find ways to nurture your network of colleagues.

How do I know if I am doing it?

Put together your own “support squad”. Ask colleagues, friends, peers, managers, and recruiters for honest, helpful feedback on your performance, development, and your value. It’s the only way to know what you would be worth on the open market. It’s the only way to make sure that, when you decide to move up or on, you’ll be in a strong bargaining position.

So welcome to brand you…and a world of opportunity.