|
Featured
Article: New
Year, Brand YOU: 10 Simple Steps
to Creating an Irresistible Personal
Brand
by Liz Pabon
Recently, while thumbing through my
old high school yearbooks it occurred
to me that even as far back as high
school, we were being branded. Class
clown, Most likely to Succeed, Class
Cutey, were all brands we bestowed
on those select few that made a favorable
impression on us. While others, like
Billy Schneider* who was named Most
likely to Repeat Senior Year, was branded
as someone that I know he did not want
to be known as. We all posses a Personal
Brand whether we realize it or not.
In life, like in high school, if you
don’t brand yourself someone
else will.
It is your beliefs, values and your
self-image that drives your personal
brand and allows you to attract interest,
differentiates you from your competition
and promote and market yourself effectively.
Make this the year you introduce that
incredibly unique brand called YOU:
1. Identify your unique values: Like
any good marketing plan, you want to
begin with what makes
your product unique. In this case,
the product is you. What do you stand
for? What are your beliefs? Jot down
several key words or phrases that best
describes your unique values.
2. List your key attributes: Identify
your key strengths/talents in a few
key words or phrases.
3. Develop your personal brand
statement: Compare your
unique values and key attributes
and
from those key words and phrases develop
your personal brand statement in 1-2
sentences. This statement represents
your personal brands unique promise
of value and is distinctive to you
and only you.
4. Integrate your brand statement
into everything that you do: Since
your brand statement is the
essence of you, incorporate it into
all of your printed collateral, your
introduction at networking and other
functions, in the way you conduct business
and in your personal image.
5. Watch your Appearance: Your
personal image is the packaging of
your personal brand and will either
attract or detract from your product. Does
your image reflect your brand?
6. Check your Brand Behavior: Although
it may seem obvious, being forgetful,
stretching yourself so thin that you
don’t deliver on what you promise,
not returning phone calls or email
promptly, can negatively affect the
integrity of your personal brand.
7. Communicate your brand: Studies
show that 93% of influencing power
when meeting someone for the first
time rests on our non-verbals (appearance,
behavior, tone of voice). If
your brand depicts energy and creativity,
for example, then your speaking style
should reflect those key elements as
well.
8. Let your brand take center
stage: One of the most effective
ways to promote your brand is to
speak in public. The more people you
touch with your brand, the more valuable
your brand becomes.
9. Evaluate your brand regularly: Make
an appointment twice a year to re-evaluate
your personal brand statement. If your
unique values and key attributes have
undergone changes compare those changes
with your personal brand statement
and adjust as needed.
10. Delight in your brand: Many
people will make the excuse that they
don’t have enough money, or time,
to invest in themselves (or their brands). Here’s
a brand truth; no brand is successful
without making an investment.
Stay interested in the success of your
brand by paying attention to how your
brand is being received and look for
opportunities to tell others about
your brand. Be patient, Rome
wasn’t built in a day and neither
will your brand. Building brand equity
takes time so take the process a day
at a time and enjoy the journey!
*Name has been changed to protect
the wrongly branded.
Copyright 2005 Liz Pabon. All
Rights Reserved
About the author: Liz
Pabon is inspiring, motivating and
empowering - but most importantly,
she’s effective. A speaker
and author on the topic of personal
branding, Liz delivers insights and
principles that are proven to maximize
personal and professional success. Liz
publishes a monthly eZine, Keys2Success, offering
branding strategies that produce
wild success! Register for your fr*ee subscription
at www.lizpcommunications.com.
To learn more about developing your
unique personal brand, contact Liz
at 916-788-2962 or email her at liz@lizpcommunications.com.
return
to the top...
Thank You for Joining Me!
**IMPORTANT**
You are receiving this ezine because you subscribed
on our website or purchased one of our products
or services. If you've received this ezine from
a friend, don't forget to sign up for this ezine
on our website. We changed ezine delivery company
several months ago, so you may need to sign up
again at http://www.profcs.com/app/join.asp?merchantid=96717
With Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich
Want to share your gratitude? Mosey
on over to the Gratitude
Club and check it out.
|
