When it comes to your own life, you are marketing your personal brand every single day, whether you realise it or not.
Marketing boils down to how you serve yourself up to those around you and what you consistently offer to them. The work you do and the friendships you provide are an experience you enable others to consume. When marketing yourself, it’s about consciously building that experience so that you can effectively get what you want in return from your life. That’s what marketing truly is all about: creating a consistent experience for your “customers,” whether you are a big brand or just managing your life toward your own personal goals. The key here is to take control. You are your own brand manager, and you must set the course for your own brand experience. It’s your show, love your brand.
From a marketing perspective, positioning is the space you want to occupy in your customers’ minds when they think about your brand. In personal branding, it’s how you want others to feel about you, whether it’s a boss, co-worker, job interviewer, friend or partner. Positioning is not a statement about you, it’s a statement that captures who you are. It’s not a factual claim; but rather, an emotional reason for people to want to be around you. It should capture the essence of who you are and how you have defined your personal brand.
You can use personal attributes you outline as part of your brand definition to craft a positioning statement that captures how you want people to feel about you. Knowing who you are entails you have your stance and position. This means you have a position statement that best describes who you are and your services. A positioning statement is so much more effective than droning on and on about every career move you’ve made. It captures your essence and lets people instantly know what you are all about. While my positioning statement is fact-based, it also has a sense of emotion to it. This positioning statement becomes an effective way to describe who you are to others.
No matter what services you offer, let your voice, tone and overall image reflect your personality and work style. This will allow anyone - even strangers - feel like they know you, and will make you stand out among the competition.
Ask yourself: “What about me makes me unique, professionally and personally?”
Do you have a unique sense of style? Flaunt it.
Are you a perfectionist? Then make everything perfect.
Are you funny? Use witty humour throughout your messaging.
Are you incredibly easy to work with? Prove it with quotes from past clients.
Most of my colleagues says I am a complete lunatic, funny and MAD. MAD means “Make A Difference.” They believe in how I approach things and the solution I bring to the table. They accept my unusual style of dealing with things because it brings the kind of result the organisation seeks.
The perfect place to start defining your style is with the photo you use in your profile, website or portfolio. Your photo is the first thing potential clients are going to see and the first thing that’s going to impact their opinion of you. It needs to portray you as a professional they’d want to work with. That doesn’t mean they need to be formal, but they do need to be high-quality and well executed.
In 2007, during one to one with my line manager who was a Senior Director, he specifically told me there were three things about me that made me stand out from the rest of the team and he insists I shouldn’t lose these three qualities: my communication skill, my empathy and compassion to both clients and colleagues. This was the first time I took absolute notice of these qualities and I became conscious and started developing them further. Over the years, these qualities have become part of my position. These qualities separate my work from that of my colleagues. These qualities bring the kind of results that makes any management to respect and value me. Although your personal brand should be uniquely you, it should also be one that your ideal clients relate to.
Without a proper definition of your personal brand, you can’t possibly market yourself. Part of that process is also identifying how your brand can be unique from others in the same space, and how to build an experience, unlike all others around you. Identify your personal skills and ownable attributes (the ones you have now or the ones you want to acquire over time).
Make sure you can excel at each of those skills and attributes. Determine whether you can use them to differentiate yourself from others. Start by outlining all the areas of your life where you want to achieve success and happiness. This would certainly include your career, but also your social life, relationships, children and places you would want to live. It’s never too early to start a bucket list, and it should be directly linked to your brand and ultimately, your plan.
Next time you are in a job interview and the interviewer says, “Tell me about yourself,” you can lead in with a short, descriptive, and powerful positioning statement. Imagine how convincing and confident you will sound. A positioning statement is so much more effective than droning on and on about every career move you’ve made. It captures your essence and lets people instantly know what you are all about.
Remember that your personal brand definition should be operational: an indication of what you want out of life, not necessarily where you are right now. Don’t let others define you. What you think of yourself is what really matters most. Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. How you make others feel about themselves says a lot about you. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. You need to believe in yourself. Nobody can make you happy until you’re happy with yourself first.
The five keys to personal branding success are:
1. Make all assets undeniably you.
2. Be as consistent as possible.
3. Be authentic. Be yourself, rather than trying to be someone else.
4. Get to the point. Make your offering and personal brand clear from the start. Keep your bio short and to the point.
5. Don’t underestimate a tagline. This is your unique selling proposition in ten or less words. Spend some time with it and make sure it conveys the value you add.
It is a good start to love yourself and spread happiness. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything. You can never be happy if you’re trapped in the past and fearful of the future. Living in the present is the only way to be happy. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life you are excited about. The secret of being happy is accepting where you are in life and making the most out of every day.
Branding Yourself for a Happy Life. Featured
Written by Jefferson O Imgbi
16019 comments
-
Comment Link
Sunday, 08 May 2022 01:25
posted by nike sb dunks
Thank you a lot for providing individuals with remarkably marvellous possiblity to read articles and blog posts from here. It is always so kind and also jam-packed with amusement for me personally and my office mates to search your web site not less than 3 times weekly to read the latest guides you will have. And of course, I'm just always pleased concerning the powerful tips and hints you serve. Certain 3 ideas in this article are ultimately the simplest we've ever had.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 23:45
posted by hermes birkin bag
My husband and i felt lucky when Jordan could finish off his researching from the ideas he made from your own weblog. It's not at all simplistic to simply possibly be giving for free solutions which usually many others have been making money from. We really recognize we now have you to give thanks to for that. The type of illustrations you made, the straightforward site navigation, the relationships you help create - it's many overwhelming, and it's really aiding our son in addition to our family reason why this subject is brilliant, and that's unbelievably vital. Many thanks for the whole lot!
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 21:23
posted by alexander mcqueen
My wife and i felt so happy when Ervin could finish off his preliminary research because of the ideas he came across from your very own web page. It's not at all simplistic to simply find yourself releasing concepts which other folks have been selling. We do know we've got you to be grateful to for this. The specific explanations you made, the simple blog menu, the friendships your site give support to foster - it's got mostly superb, and it's really assisting our son in addition to us reckon that this idea is satisfying, which is particularly mandatory. Thanks for all the pieces!
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 20:19
posted by lebron james shoes
I must express my appreciation to you for bailing me out of this type of crisis. Right after looking out through the internet and finding things that were not powerful, I was thinking my entire life was done. Living without the strategies to the issues you have sorted out by way of your entire short article is a critical case, as well as those that would have badly affected my entire career if I had not noticed your web site. Your personal mastery and kindness in controlling a lot of stuff was vital. I'm not sure what I would've done if I hadn't come upon such a point like this. It's possible to at this time look forward to my future. Thanks a lot very much for your skilled and amazing guide. I won't think twice to suggest your web blog to any individual who requires guidance about this matter.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 20:00
posted by kobe shoes
I wanted to send you a little note to finally thank you very much once again on your nice tricks you have discussed at this time. It is simply incredibly generous of people like you to make extensively precisely what some people would have offered for sale as an e book to earn some money on their own, most importantly considering the fact that you might well have done it in case you wanted. Those points also acted like a great way to realize that most people have similar zeal the same as my personal own to figure out many more related to this problem. I know there are numerous more pleasurable occasions ahead for many who start reading your blog.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 19:15
posted by off white shoes
I would like to show my thanks to the writer for bailing me out of this particular setting. Just after surfing throughout the the web and getting ways that were not powerful, I thought my entire life was done. Being alive without the solutions to the difficulties you've fixed as a result of your entire post is a critical case, and those that could have in a wrong way damaged my entire career if I had not discovered your blog. Your good natural talent and kindness in maneuvering everything was crucial. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't discovered such a solution like this. I can also now relish my future. Thank you very much for your impressive and results-oriented guide. I will not hesitate to suggest your blog to anyone who needs guidance about this topic.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 18:46
posted by supreme clothing
I definitely wanted to type a brief remark so as to express gratitude to you for some of the marvelous facts you are giving here. My extensive internet research has finally been honored with reasonable facts and strategies to go over with my neighbours. I would point out that we website visitors actually are undoubtedly fortunate to dwell in a superb site with so many marvellous people with helpful tactics. I feel quite fortunate to have discovered your website page and look forward to so many more excellent moments reading here. Thanks once more for a lot of things.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 17:30
posted by pg 1
I simply needed to thank you so much once again. I am not sure what I could possibly have achieved in the absence of the entire pointers revealed by you regarding such a subject. It was before a real difficult difficulty in my opinion, nevertheless discovering your professional approach you handled the issue made me to weep with joy. Now i'm happier for this guidance and even hope that you are aware of a powerful job you're providing instructing most people with the aid of your blog post. I am certain you've never encountered any of us.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 14:50
posted by kevin durant
I intended to create you this very small observation just to say thank you the moment again with the wonderful guidelines you've provided here. It has been wonderfully open-handed with you to grant publicly what numerous people could possibly have distributed for an electronic book in order to make some cash for themselves, specifically since you could have tried it in case you considered necessary. Those points in addition acted to be the great way to be sure that other people online have similar desire much like my personal own to know lots more on the subject of this issue. I am sure there are lots of more fun situations up front for individuals that scan your site.
-
Comment Link
Saturday, 07 May 2022 14:27
posted by golden goose
I simply needed to thank you very much all over again. I'm not certain the things I might have taken care of in the absence of the entire recommendations revealed by you about such theme. It was before a real terrifying difficulty for me, nevertheless spending time with the very skilled technique you resolved that forced me to weep with gladness. Extremely happy for the guidance and thus wish you know what an amazing job you're accomplishing educating others by way of a web site. I know that you have never got to know any of us.
Leave a comment
Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.