Between Art and Trap of Personal Branding
How to market yourself by creating a successful personal brand?
Not a secret anymore
It all begins with creating a "professional" character in the business world and gradually sets off in search of private profit; that’s what we seek for it! and when self-marketing is applied instead of consuming yourself, you will be impressed with the results. As soon as you begin to know that the opportunities for development in your life will be much greater than what is available and even more influential and rooted in importance than expected, then you will realise that people will become more accessible to you; All of this will happen as soon as you start marketing yourself properly and thoughtfully, without falling into the trap of only consuming and receiving, but instead, you will be a dynamic participant in your life and profession, to create this unique identity... YOU!
You are a brand
A personal brand is a widely recognised and largely standardised perception or impression of an individual based on his or her experience, expertise, competencies, actions and/or accomplishments within a community, industry, or market as a whole. The term "personal brand" was first coined by Tom Peters in 1997 in Fast Company article titled "The Brand Called You". Peters asks in his article: "What makes you different?" And he answers in a direct, motivational way: “Start right now: as of this moment, you’re going to think of yourself differently! You’re not an “employee” of General Motors, you’re not a “staffer” at General Mills, you’re not a “worker” at General Electric or a “human resource” at General Dynamics (ooops, it’s gone!). Forget the Generals! You don’t “belong to” any company for life, and your chief affiliation isn’t to any particular “function.” You’re not defined by your job title and you’re not confined by your job description.”
Peters' call was simple: You are a brand, and you are responsible for your brand. Start creating it today, and in the process, focus on developing your capabilities, connections and sense of authenticity towards where your "ideas" belong.
4 Main Pillars on HOW
There are only four things you need to focus on to achieve a successful outcome from creating your personal brand
PILLAR 1: THE ENGINE
It’s important to spend the time, energy, and resources up front, to build the suitable business model on a solid foundation. The specification of the 'engine' can vary depending on your goals and vision. At the end of the day, your personal brand should have some type of job that is a source of income that is directly related to your personality and expertise.
PILLAR 2: INFLUENCE
Most people think that being an influencer is just about getting a bunch of followers on social media. While building a community of followers for you and your business is undoubtedly a cornerstone of building an influential and successful business, follower size may not directly translate to showing your actual level of influence. Here comes the definition of influence as the convergence of experience, credibility and persuasion for one goal, achieving the desired effect.
PILLAR 3: CONTENT
Here is a quantum leap created by the information age "content". Everyone can access the content, but the audience wants to know that the company, product or service they buy will achieve the result they want by following the relevant content and being able to express their ideas and perspective in a practical, easy-to-understand manner and of course helpful to others. Therefore, sharing your thoughts is the basis for creating this interaction around the content.
PILLAR 4: EXPOSURE
There are 100 different tactical ways to get in front of people, but the main channels are social media, paid advertising, strategic partnerships, events, direct mail, and traditional media. Strategic partnerships may be the fastest way to accelerate your impact and income, but not everyone may be able to achieve them, so study the channels that best fit your budget and goals, identify potential people who may serve your idea and your ideal customers, and find creative ways to collaborate with them in a mutually beneficial business.
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