Thursday, May 10
Small Business Marketing: The power of personal branding
Small Business Marketing:
The power of personal branding
From the flyingsolo blog that just came across my desk:
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What do Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Anita Roddick and Madonna all have in common?
They all spent time, effort and energy creating their own unique personal brands.
And you can too. You don’t have to be a billionaire, golf champion or celebrity to reap the rewards of personal branding.
A personal brand creates a point of difference. It helps you stand out from the crowd. There are no two grains of sand alike and there are no two personal brands the same.
What are the benefits of having a strong personal brand?
For starters, well-branded soloists can charge more. They can do this because their unique personal brand will add value to their clients.
Imagine if you had the cachet of a brand like Donald Trump, the Dalai Lama or Bill Clinton working for your business.
Also and importantly for potential clients it reduces the perception of risk in hiring the soloist because a strong personal brand is built by having a good reputation.
Branding in today's competitive, crowded and noisy marketplace now needs to focus on three levels - the corporate brand for customers and external stakeholders, the internal brand to attract and retain the best employees and the personal brand of the individual. Clearly soloists need to be developing the latter.
Successful soloists with high levels of power, influence and charisma are able to align their personal brand with that of their clients to add value.
Brands help keep products or services fresh in the minds of client and the introduction of a new personal brand can bring new energy to an organisation.
This is my Integrity Marketing method, where an effective soloist will use their expertise, experience and insight to align the values of an organisation with those of its staff and customers.
Personal branding operates at three levels. The first and most inner and authentic is your core personal brand shaped by your upbringing, family, values, beliefs, personality and attitudes.
The second or middle level is your created personal brand – this is a planned process of self-development that builds your knowledge, specialisation and expert power to create and define who you are.
The third or outer level is your perceived personal brand. You can shape perceptions simply by managing how others see you and presenting yourself in a compelling, visible and persuasive manner.
The most effective way of doing this is through assuming a leadership role (such as President of a community group or industry organisation), networking, writing, speaking and being quoted in the media.
To be successful, a personal brand must be seen over and over again.
Visibility creates the presumption of quality. People assume because they see a person all the time, he or she must be superior to others offering the same product or service.
Successful people like Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Anita Roddick and Madonna work at all three levels. Do this in a constant, consistent and congruent way, and you will create an effective – and lucrative – personal brand.
Remember, while strong personal brands take years to build up, they can also be destroyed in seconds.
If you're an aspiring or experienced soloist here are five reasons why you should implement a personal branding strategy:
1. It sets you apart from your competitors.
2. It reflects your core values, personality, talent and skill set.
3. It increases your credibility, especially if you can harness the power of the media.
4. It establishes your expertise, authority and value.
5. It creates a success spiral that can boost your health, wealth and career.
Are you doing enough to develop your personal brand?
The power of personal branding
From the flyingsolo blog that just came across my desk:
====
What do Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Anita Roddick and Madonna all have in common?
They all spent time, effort and energy creating their own unique personal brands.
And you can too. You don’t have to be a billionaire, golf champion or celebrity to reap the rewards of personal branding.
A personal brand creates a point of difference. It helps you stand out from the crowd. There are no two grains of sand alike and there are no two personal brands the same.
What are the benefits of having a strong personal brand?
For starters, well-branded soloists can charge more. They can do this because their unique personal brand will add value to their clients.
Imagine if you had the cachet of a brand like Donald Trump, the Dalai Lama or Bill Clinton working for your business.
Also and importantly for potential clients it reduces the perception of risk in hiring the soloist because a strong personal brand is built by having a good reputation.
Branding in today's competitive, crowded and noisy marketplace now needs to focus on three levels - the corporate brand for customers and external stakeholders, the internal brand to attract and retain the best employees and the personal brand of the individual. Clearly soloists need to be developing the latter.
Successful soloists with high levels of power, influence and charisma are able to align their personal brand with that of their clients to add value.
Brands help keep products or services fresh in the minds of client and the introduction of a new personal brand can bring new energy to an organisation.
This is my Integrity Marketing method, where an effective soloist will use their expertise, experience and insight to align the values of an organisation with those of its staff and customers.
Personal branding operates at three levels. The first and most inner and authentic is your core personal brand shaped by your upbringing, family, values, beliefs, personality and attitudes.
The second or middle level is your created personal brand – this is a planned process of self-development that builds your knowledge, specialisation and expert power to create and define who you are.
The third or outer level is your perceived personal brand. You can shape perceptions simply by managing how others see you and presenting yourself in a compelling, visible and persuasive manner.
The most effective way of doing this is through assuming a leadership role (such as President of a community group or industry organisation), networking, writing, speaking and being quoted in the media.
To be successful, a personal brand must be seen over and over again.
Visibility creates the presumption of quality. People assume because they see a person all the time, he or she must be superior to others offering the same product or service.
Successful people like Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Anita Roddick and Madonna work at all three levels. Do this in a constant, consistent and congruent way, and you will create an effective – and lucrative – personal brand.
Remember, while strong personal brands take years to build up, they can also be destroyed in seconds.
If you're an aspiring or experienced soloist here are five reasons why you should implement a personal branding strategy:
1. It sets you apart from your competitors.
2. It reflects your core values, personality, talent and skill set.
3. It increases your credibility, especially if you can harness the power of the media.
4. It establishes your expertise, authority and value.
5. It creates a success spiral that can boost your health, wealth and career.
Are you doing enough to develop your personal brand?
