“Takes a licking and keeps on ticking”
What makes you special? What makes you different? What is it about YOU that can successfully be communicated to others to make you stand out from the competition? Just as a product or organization promotes their brand so too must executives, professionals, consultants and entrepreneurs establish their own unique promise of value.
Your personal attributes are only one facet of a brand but certainly the basics for establishing a memorable and visible personal brand. Clearly defining these attributes will require an internal as well as external assessment to ensure accuracy, clarity and consistency. You will not be able to successfully move forward if what you believe you project is not the same as what is perceived such as intelligence misread as arrogance or confidence as aloofness. Candid responses from external sources are often more readily acquired by using surveys which may be submitted anonymously.
Values, passions and goals also need to be clearly defined at which point it is recommended that a personal SWOT analysis be performed. Internally, what are your Strengths that will help you to reach your goal and what are your Weaknesses that could prevent your success? External factors including Opportunities that are available to you which could positively impact or influence your success and the Threats you face that could prevent you from reaching this goal will all have a direct impact on how you establish your brand.
Evaluating your target audience and your competitors are further exercises necessary to complete personal branding basics and your brand is not complete without a brand statement encompassing your vision, purpose, target audience and your differentiating traits from your competition.
It is easy to find those who have successfully established their personal brand; “The human spirit drives everything that I do” ~ Oprah, or a corporate brand, “good to the last drop” ~ Maxwell House. A successful brand is evident when a few simple words, a name or an image that have been communicated with clarity, consistency and constancy generate an immediate acknowledgement and vision of the individual or product.
Contact Martin Buckland to speak with a Certified Professional Branding Strategist.
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