Gone are the days when personal branding was the exclusive domain of celebrities, sportspeople and politicians. Thanks to the Internet and social networking, everyone now has the tools at their disposal to build a personal brand. Enter your own name into Google’s search box and the evidence is all there – ‘Brand You’ already exists!

 

Bravo.

Your personal branding journey has begun.

The good news is that implementation and amplification are relatively simple. What’s a little trickier is the process of identifying our personal brand proposition; the strong, differentiated, valued perception we wish to show the world.  So let’s turn our attention to how we define our personal brand, and what we should be doing to manage it in a way that allows us to derive real value from our efforts.

 

We experience the value of branding in our lives each and every day. It’s in our ability to make a snap decision about where we prefer to pick up quality groceries, and it’s there when we select a drink at the bar to signal to everyone around us that we are rich/smart/witty/desirable. If we analyse our lived experience, it’s clear that some brands are stronger than others. Scrutinise the examples and you’ll find that the stronger brands are those that are both (i) clear and (ii) consistent.

 

You’re probably wondering: What does this mean for my personal brand?

 

Your personal brand is the point of overlap between how you see yourself and how others see you. We can choose how much of ourselves to reveal, and we can also direct our narrative to ensure that we highlight only the specific aspects we wish to reinforce (and play down those traits we prefer to keep hidden). 

 

Take the time to define your personal brand. And I don’t mean by one or other of your many roles. Women are too-often defined by the roles we play, to the extent that its tricky to unearth who we really are; our inner essence.  

Ask questions like:

• “What would my pay-off line be?”, and

• “How do other people describe me?”

 

What is the unique combination of your skills, experience and personality that you want to show the world? And how does this unfold through your speech, behaviour and attitude?

 

Whether you are a freelancer or business owner or working on a job, your personal brand leads your clients, colleagues and superiors to form their own beliefs about you. Ditto for all the job-seekers out there. And think about the dating game, or when you’re introduced to new people in a social setting: how are you going to sell yourself? Being clear about your personal brand makes these situations easier to navigate.

 

Being consistent should come easy when your personal brand is founded in truth. And through presenting ourselves consistently, we reinforce the beliefs we want people to hold about us.

 

Tom Peters, the American business writer, suggested that “We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You."

  

Many shy away from personal branding because of the anticipated formality, and the suspicion that it may require exceptional effort. No!  In fact, the stories of greater success come from those who simply introspected and put their natural best foot forward. 

 

All of us who present a slice of ourselves to the world can derive value from approaching ‘Brand Me’ with greater intent.

While Jack Be Nimble doesn’t typically work on personal brands, we believe in the value of applying the same principles used by product and services brands. Join one of our monthly #marketingopenmic sessions if you’d like the opportunity to get some tips.

Image credit: Mathew Krizmanich on Unsplash