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Building your personal brand - Element No 3 : Communication

Differentiate yourself from the competition

[Continued from last week]

Over the past three weeks we talked about the principles of personal branding under which the first two elements were 'Product You' and 'Packaging'. Today it’s about Communication.

The first step is to define yourself as a person and what you want to be known for in and out of the workplace. Develop a strategy to acquire and further strengthen your value mix and then determine the communication strategy.

Developing a personal brand is only half the task. How you market and communicate your unique and compelling brand to an audience that will find you relevant, can make or break the best intentions. If you don’t communicate then how can people get to know about you and have a positive perception about you?

With the market place becoming more competitive, you have to continuously seek new ways of differentiating yourself from your competition through communication. To have a positive brand you have to communicate your strengths and values.

People have a natural tendency to expect known personalities to be superior to personalities not known or less known. It’s like any product or service brand you regularly buy.

In a world where everything is going digital, it’s important that you portray yourself well online.

Employers will most likely Google your name before they even meet you to determine if you get an interview.

Get engaged

Whether you are a recent college graduate, entrepreneur, social worker or looking to advance in your professional career, your personal brand will determine your success.

Your personal brand won’t grow by only going to work and home every day. You need to get involved in every activity you can make a contribution to strengthen your brand and maintain a high share of voice.

Every single person is good at more than one thing. Identify the portfolio of knowledge, talent and skills you have and make bridges to reach a variety of audiences. Be sure that organisations and events you attend work towards your goals and mission that you have established in your strategy. Every such engagement should align well with your desired image.

Image

Great personal brands tap into emotions.

Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience lasts longer. It’s an emotional connecting point that transcends the product 'you'. 'If you’re not appearing, you’re disappearing - if you are not heard you are out of mind'.

When you are out of touch with who you are and what you represent as a leader, it makes you vulnerable and more susceptible that your brand with be defined by others. This is why so many people in the workplace feel stuck between what others want them to be and how they see themselves.

They fall into the trap of allowing others to represent their brand, on their behalf. This ultimately makes it more difficult for people to communicate their personal brand if they have never been in a position to manage it themselves.

Keep in mind that communication about you is not self–bragging. If you haven’t communicated your performance you haven’t performed in the eyes of others. Brand is 'an awareness factor'. Look for opportunities to make the right people aware of your brand.

Get on the radar screen. The best brand in the world is useless unless people are aware of it. Initiate an orchestrated campaign to 'brand' your product through communication.

You can get your name out there through multiple engagements using the mix of ability, talent and skills you have.

It's important for anyone who wants to build a brand to go beyond primary target audience to make bridges.

Get closer and appeal to as many people as possible in a meaningful way. Networking, socialising, attending every relevant forum, media presence, community development work – basically get as much exposure as possible to get into the hearts and minds of others as a person who creates value. Enjoy creating and communicating a clear and compelling brand.

Next week I will talk about ‘Positioning your brand' to create real competitive advantage.

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