Life has become one big competition. Everyone wants and needs to outperform one another, both online and offline, with products, services, in sports or even in climbing that corporate ladder. It is absolutely about the one who stands out most, who is the best skilled and who markets themselves the best, that will thrive. Personal branding is about showing what you “bring to the table.” It helps you to get noticed as it distinguishes you from others by focussing on your unique persona and skillsets. It’s about how you market yourself to influence other people so that when they make a decision about you, it becomes your intentional “silent salesperson”, persuading and “selling you” in a positive manner to your preferred audience. It is about being authentically you.
5 Steps to Build a Personal Brand
The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is famously quoted as saying, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” So how can you make sure you like what they say?
1. Knowing me, knowing you
No this is not the ABBA song, but the start of building your persona. “Personal branding begins the moment you discover yourself” Bernard Kelvin Clive is quoted. You need to truly know both yourself and your audience. This means knowing your strengths, areas of improvement, opportunities, and what threats there might be from the outside world. Also, to whom you want to market or sell yourself to. For example, if you want to advance in your career, your audience will be management as well as the industry leaders/peers you would like to be seen by. The 2-Step approach to creating your Personal Brandwill help you uncover your personal vision and strengths. This will assist you to understand yourself and your goals and help to uncover what skills you have and which additional skills you need to acquire. It will also form the basis of the message or story of your personal brand.
2. Showcase the Authentically You
Remember, no two people are the same. You bring your own personality, mindset, attitude, flair, and skillset to the party. Focus on developing what makes you, well… you. People love seeing the real person because it makes relating to that person easier. Focus on telling your story and what happened to you for you to learn through your experiences and life journey. Then, always have that 30-second elevator pitch ready for when you need to introduce yourself to others.
3. Continuously Improve Yourself
Continue to assess yourself and your skills, then commit to regularly improving yourself through upskilling and training. Achieve self-growth with inner self-mastery. Stay motivated and develop new skills to add to your personal brand. Be eager to learn and constantly keep up to date with current trends and happenings within your area of expertise.
4. Network and Collaborate
Expand your audience regularly to increase your exposure. The more people you know and showcase your personal brand to, the bigger your target market grows, and the more opportunities will open up. Use tools available to you like social media, networking opportunities, events etc. This helps with staying visible, top of mind and relevant.
5. Pass it on
Become a role model and mentor. Lead through example and guide those who want to follow in your footsteps. This will build trust as well as a follower base who look up to you. Sharing is caring for the next generation which will make you stand out even more as your reputable personal brand will have a lasting effect.
Your brand persona is strengthened through consistently sending the same positive messages about you to other people. It’s about identifying personal qualities that we would like to emphasize to others. If you need help in doing this, The Personal Mastery training course from The Mindspa Institute, focusses on clarifying and deepening our personal vision, focusing our energies, understanding our strengths and potential, and seeing reality objectively. During this training session, delegates will be taken through all the steps to attain Personal Mastery, and then each delegate will build their personal brand and create a personal business plan.