Apple asked the world to think differently. Nike motivated people of different age and gender to just do it.
These slogans have influenced a large number of people over the years and are used by the above mentioned companies as a tool to position themselves on the market and in people’s minds. What is interesting to notice here is how with very few words one can set a specific tone of perception of their organization.
Having a strong brand can help you stand out of the crowd, resulting in increased awareness and higher number of sales.
Branding isn’t just important for companies. It is also applicable for us as individuals, professionals and experts who are expected to have developed a personal brand that is continuously evolving as in today’s world, it is no more a nice-to-have, but it is expected.
What is personal branding?
A personal brand is similar to one of an organization. It represents your personal values, your causes and the way in which you communicate them. Just as a company’s brand helps its organization to convey a message and present a unique value to its customers, so does a personal branding of an individual. It is a tool to help you stand out from your competition…
…or in other words, sharing a great story with the world around you.
This story will have a crucial impact on your career path. Nearly all hiring managers state that what influences their decision whether to hire a certain talent is their personal branding. You should create a personal branding story that revolves around your strengths and outline your unique attributes and abilities that you will bring to the industry that you focus on. The private label manufacturer Tsilkov can help you with all of these.
When meeting someone, your personal branding story will be a decisive factor in forming an opinion of who you are and what you stand for.
Why does your personal brand really matter?
When you project your personal brand in front of other people, they begin drawing an image in their minds of your traits and capabilities. We often refer to that as building a reputation for yourself.
The person that you are talking to is consciously and unconsciously forming an opinion about you during the conversation that you are having. They might give you a signal what they think of you, but also could decide not to do that. It is something normal that we humans do – deciding in our heads whether someone will be a friend of ours or not.
The above logic is applicable in a very similar way when it comes to your company or you being hired as an individual. A great personal branding story will play a key part in getting someone to decide whether to do something for you or not.
The bottom line is that you have to be honest with yourself and make sure that the personal brand that you build truly reflects who you are. If that is not the case, this can result in wrong, missed or short-lived opportunities for you.
6 things to help you build a strong brand
From what we have discussed, we can conclude that creating a personal brand can be challenging and it requires dedicating time on thinking about your true values and what you stand for. You can read more about it here.
One of the easiest ways to get lost in the process is by not knowing where to start from. This thought is further supported by the case of Oprah Winfrey, who began her career by going from one local show to another, all based on different themes, until she found her place and became one of the most influential personal brands in the world.
In both cases, when talking about getting hired, starting or running your own company, it is important to develop a strong personal brand. Below we are going to present to you 6 things for you to consider when building a strong brand.
Define who you are and who you want to become
It is important to set up milestones and work on them everyday in order to reach your goals. Make sure that you track your progress and stay open to the idea that you have to continuously implement changes in your life.
Clearly define your audience
An important factor to consider, before you begin brainstorming on what your personal brand should look like is the audience that it will be present to. Important questions to ask yourself about your target audience are: Is it other industry thought leaders? An individual at a particular company? Recruiters? The sooner you have answers to these questions the more relevant your story will be to them.
Always tell a story
If your personal brand isn’t structured like a story, you run the chances of losing half of your audience attention. You can make your story more engaging by building an engaging narrative. People repel a one word story that only shouts your brand name. Don’t be that person and put in work on your personal branding.
Be consistent
Focus on one topic and create content that revolves around it. This will help you make a stronger point and further put emphasis on the different important elements of your story.
Be active and engage customers
Proactively research about the current trends and what is of interest to your customers or target audience. Make sure to prepare an engaging content that is subject to a continuous review on your side.
Create interesting content and ideas
The time that it takes to create interesting content and generate a great idea can significantly vary. Don’t despair. It’s normal. We all have been there.
Now it is your time to shine and create a great personal brand for yourself.