Personal Branding: A Brand Called You
In a brilliant and often referenced article titled “A Brand Called You,” management guru Tom Peters argued the case for personal branding: “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. 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. It’s that simple—and that hard. And that inescapable.”
In his book, Me 2.0, personal branding guru, Dan Schwabel defines personal branding as “. . . the process by which individuals differentiate themselves and stand out from the crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence.”
The simple definition of branding is the act of distinguishing one commodity, service, or product from another in order to create differentiation in the mind of the purchaser: Nike vs. Adidas, Coke vs. Pepsi, Apple vs. Samsung.
Following this definition, personal branding is the act of distinguishing one’s self from others in the same industry or field by creating differentiation in the mind of the customer, prospect, peer, or manager. As Tom Peters articulates in his article, the concept is simple, but implementing it is not. It requires constant focus, self-discipline, and self-awareness. Your personal brand is the perception of others based on how they perceive you on the surface and their actual experience with you.
Your personal brand is a promise of the value customers, prospects, peers, employees, and managers will receive when investing their time with you. In her book, Get Back to Work Faster, bestselling author and sales guru, Jill Konrath, makes the case for this, writing that we each must have a value proposition that others perceive as tangible value to their business. Your personal brand is powerful when dealing with others because it replaces concerns about logical issues (price, terms and conditions, delivery times, quality, or experience) with the emotional decision to do business with you based on the belief that you, and only you, can truly solve their problems. This
emotional connection to your brand will propel you to the upper echelons of your industry.
Building a Personal Brand
There is the misnomer that to build a personal brand you have to sell others on why you should be valued. People love to buy, but they hate to be sold. Building a strong personal brand is achieved primarily through actions. It is what you do versus what you say. Over time, this shapes the perceptions of those with whom you do business and most importantly generates brand loyalty. Inevery interaction with others, you are provided with an opportunity to differentiate yourself. This shapes and reinforces the perception that there is unique value in doing business with you. Everything you do and everything left undone, big and small, good or bad, is judged and the accumulated impact of those actions affects how others perceive the brand called You.
Action alone is not enough, though. Personal branding also requires you to invest in the ongoing process of managing your reputation and credibility. This enables those who have no direct experience with you to have a positive perception prior to actually meeting you, and those who have had an experience with you receive consistent messaging (positive emotional experiences) that reinforces their belief that you bring value as a problem solver. Not unlike branding a product or service, you must develop consistent messaging, positioning, and packaging that allow you to manage how others perceive you. In today’s world, this means investing in both your online and
offline presence.
This article is designed to provide you with the basic tools you need to build and manage the brand called You. As always, my goal is to keep things simple and easy to execute.
Interpersonal Relationships
The quality of your interpersonal relationships will always have the greatest impact on your personal brand. Imagine a real estate agent who spends so much money on advertising. He puts his face on billboards, on bus-stop benches, and in real estate magazines. He may build his brand awareness up to the point that his phone starts ringing; but, if he is an unlikable, self-centered person who is unable to emotionally connect with people, it will not take much time for his reputation to suffer. Word of mouth is far more powerful than billboards.
Answering the following five questions will help you identify the most powerful tools you need in your branding toolbox. Be honest with yourself. Consider your relationships and recent interactions with other people. Think about it. How are you perceived?
1. Is Brand You Likable?
Are you consistently smiling, cheerful, and polite? How about manners? Do people perceive you as enthusiastic, optimistic, confident, and authentic?
2. Do You Connect?
Do people like being around you because you make them feel important? Do you take a genuine interest in others? Do you give others your complete attention and listen deeply? Do people feel that you listen to them?
3. Are You a Problem Solver?
Do you deliver value first by consistently focusing on and solving others’ problems? Do you solve problems even if there is nothing in it for you? Are your customers loyal to you because you consistently solve their problems? Do people feel that you genuinely want to help them get what they want, not because it is in your best interest, but because it is in their best interest?
4. Are You Trustworthy?
Do you do what you say you will do? Can people count on you? Do you freely admit when you are wrong or have made mistakes, and do you apologize? Do others feel that you keep your promises?
5. Do You Create Positive Emotional Experiences?
Do you make the time and take the effort to make others feel good? Do you constantly think about how you can bring joy to the lives of your clients, prospects, managers, and peers? Do people look forward to seeing you? Do others feel anchored to you?
I realize that pondering this is difficult. If you and those who know you could answer yes, unequivocally, to these questions, you would be unstoppable. However, the reality is that you are not perfect. You will never be able to answer yes to all these questions all the time. It is more important that you clearly understand and internalize that, in each interaction with another person, you have the opportunity to increase the value of your personal brand or to hurt it. When you think about it in this context, these questions will help you self-correct when you find yourself in situations that may damage your brand. That, by itself, will give you a competitive edge few will
match.
Manage Labels
Assigning labels to people and things is one of the ways our brains make sense of the world around us. With people, labels help us give meaning to intangible behaviours we observe. Labels can be good or bad. Labels also stick and have the ability to influence others who may have had no direct observation of those same behaviours. Mary is late for work a few days in a row, and the boss labels her lazy. He tells other managers she is lazy in a staff meeting. A manager who was considering promoting Mary into her department is there, and decides it is no longer a good idea. Mary was late not because she was lazy, but because her 4-year-old son had chicken pox and she had to find someone to take care of him before she could come to work. This label, right or wrong, accurate or not, has affected Mary’s personal brand. Think this sounds absurd? Think again. It happens all of the time.
You label people and people label you. The words that people use to describe you impact how you are perceived. Are you aware of how people describe you? Do they say you are a hard worker, honest, intelligent? Do they label you smart, a good leader, loyal? Or, do people say you are lazy, arrogant, or talk too much? In some cases, no matter what you do, people will label you in a negative way. It is also unlikely that you will ever know all the labels people have given you. Protecting your brand means controlling the things that are in your control. This means managing the behaviours you allow others to observe. In business, you are on stage. Every move you make is being watched and judged by others. It is up to you to develop the self-discipline to manage the behaviours that help you build your brand. For instance, if you want to be perceived as a team player, then volunteer for projects and extra work that benefits the team and the boss. If you want your brand to say “He has a commitment to excellence,” go the extra mile in everything you do. If you want to be known as someone people can trust, then never make commitments you cannot keep, and deliver on promises.
Sometimes you will be given a negative label unfairly. If this happens, make every effort to speak with the person who is negatively labelling you directly. In a non confrontational manner, ask for the opportunity to change his or her opinion. This is best done with obvious humility in a neutral place like a coffee shop.
This tactic often works because you come across as an authentic human being, and most people are willing to give you a second chance. Sometimes you will let your guard down and behave in a way that is uncharacteristic of how you want to be perceived. When this happens, make a sincere apology. Then, do not let it happen again. If you have been consistent in your behaviour, most people will forget a single slip. If you repeat the behaviour, though, you may do irreparable harm to your brand.
Manage Your Professional Image
In addition to managing the interpersonal and behavioural perceptions others have of you, it is essential to control how they view you as a business professional. This includes obvious things like your physical appearance. How you dress, the kind of car you drive, the organization of your office, the clubs and organizations you belong to, your educational background, and the people
you associate with all contribute to the perception. Since I did not intend for this article to delve into things like how to dress for business, I recommend that you buy and read current articles and books on professional dress and etiquette. Even if you think you know it all, I believe you will find a review an eye opener.
Beyond outward appearance, the two most frequently overlooked opportunities to bolster professional image are positioning yourself as an expert and actively building to maintain a pristine online presence.
Become an Expert
One of the key characteristics of the most successful people is that they strive to become experts in their fields. When you become an expert in your company’s products, services, and processes, other people in your organization will seek you out for help. This further strengthens your brand.When you become an expert in your industry, trade associations and industry groups will seek you out.
When you become an expert in your field, you will be a better problem solver, and your clients will look to you as a consultant. In all cases, as an expert, you will be given opportunity after opportunity to help others get what they want (solve problems), which in turn will help you build a powerful personal brand.
Becoming an expert is much easier than you think. First, you have to study and absorb your subject matter. Second, you have to get others to present you as an expert to others.
Learn
Everything you need to know to be an expert in your field or industry, or your company’s products or services has already been written, recorded, or is in a training manual. All you need is the commitment to learn. When you make the commitment to learn, a little bit every day, you will be shocked at how much you are able to absorb in a short period of time.
Read for 15 Minutes a Day
Top executives regularly consume more than 20 books a year. These super successful people clearly understand the power of reading books. So consider this: The average business book takes the average reader about three hours to complete. When you set aside just 15 minutes each day for professional reading, you will easily read more than 20 books each year. With e-Book readers you have the ability to carry dozens of books with you in your smartphone, making it convenient to catch up on your professional reading at any time. Everything you ever need to know about anything is contained in a book. If you want to learn something or become an expert at something,
all you have to do is read and study.
Take Advantage of Free Training
Most companies today offer copious amounts of free training. A great deal of this training is available online and on demand. This free training is an incredible benefit because it gives you the opportunity to get out of the field and learn new concepts and practice new skills. Over the course of a year, these programs can add up to lots of money in free training.
Stay Current in Your Field and Attend Seminars
To be seen as an expert in your industry, you must stay current. Subscribe to and read your industry’s trade magazines, and go to industry events and seminars. There are experts on sales, business, and leadership who conduct seminars and who speak in virtually every city and town. Many people find it impossible to take time out of their busy schedules to attend these events. The truth is, you can’t afford not to go. Some of the brightest minds in business are speaking in your town today. They are speaking to civic groups, chamber groups, or conducting stand-alone seminars.
Turn Your Car Radio Off
Most business professionals spend many hours in a car. At a minimum, they have at least 30 minutes to an hour a day of commute time. Instead of wasting driving time listening to talk radio and music, listen to audio books and podcasts designed to improve your business skills. The great Zig Ziglar calls this “Automobile University.” Zig maintains that by just listening to audio
programs in your car, you can gain the equivalent of a university education.
Leverage Technology
The sheer amount of free content available on the Internet for business professionals is unprecedented. Just a few years ago, you would have had to spend a lot of money to access a small portion of the information that can now be yours for free. With just the click of a button, you have immediate access to an incredible list of top experts and thought leaders online. From Podcasts, to YouTube videos, to blogs, to e-zines, it is all at your fingertips.
Build Your Reputation as an Expert
How do experts become perceived as experts? They demonstrate that they are experts in their subject matter by writing, speaking, teaching, and coaching. Over time, as their bodies of work grow, so do their reputations as experts. It is important to understand that it is not about knowing the most or being the best. Instead, it is about having the courage to learn and then to demonstrate what you know in the service of others. When you volunteer to speak at business meetings or other events, to lead trainings, to coach, and to write articles, you are building your body of work.
Teach and Coach
If you think about it, the people we admire the most and consider experts are teachers, trainers, and coaches. These individuals use what they have learned to help others gain a leg up. There are endless opportunities to teach and coach others in informal and structured environments. The best place to start is by volunteering to lead a training session at your next business or staff meeting or to offer your services as a trainer in your company’s training courses. Likewise, you can find opportunities to teach at trade-association events. If you become a technical subject-matter expert, it can lead to training opportunities at customer events. One of the very best ways to build your reputation as an expert is by volunteering to mentor new hires, college recruits, and less experienced people. These people will not only feel loyalty to you for the help, they will tell others that you know your stuff.
Speak
Public speaking, besides being an excellent means of generating leads, is a powerful method for building your body of work as an expert. When you speak in public and do it well, the people in your audience instantly label you an expert. Speaking allows you to showcase your knowledge. It also gives you tremendous visibility and credibility. It creates the perception that you are an expertand authority in your field, and it creates an endless stream of qualified leads that come to you almost effortlessly. Because so few of your competitors do it, it will set you apart. It is really easy to get speaking gigs. Start within your own company. Volunteer to speak at team meetings or training events. You will also find that organizations such as your industry’s trade association and other business and civic groups are always in need of guest speakers. All you really have to do is call and volunteer, and they will happily put you on the schedule. If you attend trade shows and association meetings, just call the meeting planners and tell them you would like to be
speaker or put on a seminar. Meeting planners are always on the lookout for subject-matter experts to add value to their programs.
Write
Experts write. They write articles, blogs, and opinions. (People who make their living as experts write books.) Although writing a book may be a bit over the top for the average business professional, you should be writing articles and blogs regularly. Again, the opportunities abound. Virtually every written publication needs content. Begin with your company’s newsletters. Call the editor and volunteer to write an article. Reach out to your industry trade organizations and volunteer to write for the association’s trade publication, newsletter, or website. They will welcome you.
Beyond a doubt, one of the very best ways to showcase your professional knowledge is with a blog. What makes a blog ideal is that you are in control. You are not at the mercy of editors, so you can write when, where, and what you want. Blogs are easy and inexpensive to set up.
What should you write about? Write about subjects that are relevant and timely to people in your industry and your customers’ industries. Write about the things you know. Write about things you are passionate about. The more you write, the better you will get. In time, your body of work will expand, and others will cite and reference your articles. Your reputation as an expert will be cemented.
Manage Your Online Presence
We live in the Age of Transparency. Anyone, anywhere, anytime can get a snapshot of you with a simple web search. Your managers, peers, prospects, and people you meet are checking you out online. Savvy prospects and customers are doing research on you before meetings. What are they finding when they Google you?
Your online presence plays a crucial role in building Brand You. If you ignore it, it will be at your own peril. You must control what people find when they search for you on the web. Yes, there are some things you cannot control. You have friends, family, and old college friends who do not consider the consequences when they post pictures of you doing stupid things. The beauty of search engines, though, is that you can bury those harmful images under the pages you want people to see. All you really need to do is control the first two or three pages on Google. There is very low probability that anyone will search farther than page two. Recent studies have shown that fewer
than eight percent of people go past the third page. But, what if you don’t have an online presence? Over the years you’ve managed to avoid writing anything online, joining social networks, or having your name mentioned on anything by anyone. You are a blank slate. That’s good, right? Wrong. When people are unable to find anything about you, the opportunity to build your personal brand is lost.
Managing Your Brand Online Is Not Difficult but It Does Take Vigilance
Set Up a Personal Website or Blog
Every professional should set up a personal website, blog, or both. When possible, make your name (or a derivative of your name) the domain name. Include a bio, accomplishments, education, certificates, a professional photo and articles you have written. You may also wish to include links to other professional websites and experts in your industry and/or learning resources you recommend. My suggestion is to go with a blog instead of a standalone website. Blogs are easier to work with and more flexible. Whatever you choose, make sure it is professional and puts Brand You in the best light.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is an important business networking tool. As a search engine for professionals, LinkedIn is one of the first places other professionals will look for you. It is a valuable tool with multiple uses for business professionals. For the purposes of building Brand You, focus on your profile page. If you do not have an account on LinkedIn, I recommend you get one now. Once you have your account set up, build your profile. It should include a short bio, your work history, education, and your photo. Ensure that your profile reflects the professional image you wish to portray. Be sure to indicate that you want your profile to be visible to search engines. This way, when people use search engines to find information on you, your LinkedIn profile will be among the first things they find.
Social Media Platforms
Other social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X provide you with the opportunity to set up a professional profile that can easily be found via online search. The same process applies. Ensure your new profiles and existing profiles are professional and reflective of the brand you wish to build.
Article Marketing
Because writing is foundational to being perceived as an expert, you will want to publish your articles online. Once published, your articles will also be the first items found when people search for you online. Where should you publish? Look for industry blogs that accept guest bloggers, your trade association web site, and content aggregators that allow you to create a professional profile and post articles. There are several hundred article sites on the Internet that accept articles. These sites are always hungry for new content.
Google Analytics
Google has a wonderful application called Google Analytics. It is a web analytics service designed to provide numerous analytical tools useful for insights on website performance and marketing campaigns. It provides statistics and basic analytical tools for search engine optimization and
marketing purposes. It is free and easy to install.
In managing your online presence, you won’t build Rome in a day. It will take months and even years to build a body of work online. It is absolutely vital that you start. Don’t let the prospect overwhelm you. Do a little bit every day, and over time, your online presence will become a cornerstone of Brand You.