Personal Branding Weekly – You are the Product

  • 4 min read


I understand the importance of visibility. As a small business owner, being “known” can be the difference between a steady flow of revenue or closing your doors. Yet, being visible is not enough. Being remembered is most important and means you occupy some prime real estate in the mind of someone. Garnering “share of mind” means that somewhere along the way they sampled your character and competence and you became memorable.

Marketing, by definition, is creating an exchange environment. For an individual, that could mean exchanging a referral, speaking positively on your behalf, a promotion or an introduction. Branding, by definition, is an emotion or image tied to a product.

You are the product. [tweet this]

Even in businesses, people are the brand and define the company, more than any mere mission statement hanging in the lobby. So, how does an individual create “buzz” for their brand for visibility and more importantly to be remembered so that they can develop credibility?

1. Know what makes you unique.

Whether you’re job hunting or wanting a position on board of director’s, you need to confidently know what value you bring to the table.

2. Get really good at communicating what makes you valuable.

Ninety-three percent of communication is tone and body language. Spend time on the words so that what you say and how you communicate are congruent with your value. Yet, know that communication includes your image, the way you present yourself, your workspace, your phone skills and even your lunch meeting etiquette. They must all be congruent with what makes you valuable. Any discrepancies will jeopardize your credibility and could produce negative word of mouth which is a problem that I will address in future articles.

3. Manage that communication.

If you’re creating “buzz” around your brand, it will require you proactively managing the communication. For example, if you’re new to a company or a position you will need to build a credibility wall. Yes, a physical wall if possible. It showcases every plaque, certificate, service honor, licensing, certification and degree you’ve received. This wall is your visual third party testimonial on the character and competence of your brand. Since that wall cannot travel with you, make sure that anytime you’re honored for volunteer service or recognized for a contribution that a copy of the “thank you” letter, note or card be placed into you personnel file.

Even if you’re on your own, these “proof of credibility” tools will take you far. As the vice president of a business fraternity in college, I booked speakers to speak to our fraternity for professional development. I asked each of them to write a letter for me about their experience working with me so that I could include that in my personal portfolio. Many of these speakers went on to become regional directors, chief operation officers, chief financial officers, company presidents and further that my portfolio has become quite valuable. Actively “buzz” your brand! Doing that will develop credibility; credibility will lead to influence; and influence will lead to leadership.

This past week we covered:

Some tidbits from last week’s posts that are useful and that you can tweet about are:

Thank you for your comments and feedback! And, most importantly thanks for taking the time to read and join us here!

Picture of Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron

Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand.  Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat- a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

TRENDING AROUND THE WEB

We tend to blame the speeding-up of years on age, but memory researchers point to novelty: a childhood summer felt long because everything in it was new, and new is what the brain records — a repetitive year passes without being filmed

We tend to blame the speeding-up of years on age, but memory researchers point to novelty: a childhood summer felt long because everything in it was new, and new is what the brain records — a repetitive year passes without being filmed

The Vessel
The term for the brain packaging a whole routine into a single automatic unit is chunking, and studies at MIT traced it to the basal ganglia — the deep structure that lets you drive a familiar route while remembering none of it

The term for the brain packaging a whole routine into a single automatic unit is chunking, and studies at MIT traced it to the basal ganglia — the deep structure that lets you drive a familiar route while remembering none of it

The Vessel
The 36 questions supposedly designed to make strangers fall in love came from a study that only set out to measure closeness — and the famous wedding was a single parenthesis

The 36 questions supposedly designed to make strangers fall in love came from a study that only set out to measure closeness — and the famous wedding was a single parenthesis

The Vessel
Writers who reread their own old work and physically cringe aren’t bad judges of their own quality, they’re the only kind of writer who has actually gotten better

Writers who reread their own old work and physically cringe aren’t bad judges of their own quality, they’re the only kind of writer who has actually gotten better

The Blog Herald
The Society of Authors just launched a label that goes on the back of a book jacket reading “Human Authored,” and it runs entirely on an honour code, which means the only thing standing between a reader and the truth is a writer’s word

The Society of Authors just launched a label that goes on the back of a book jacket reading “Human Authored,” and it runs entirely on an honour code, which means the only thing standing between a reader and the truth is a writer’s word

The Blog Herald
A song engineered with a sound therapist to slow your heart rate has been available since 2011 — and almost nobody who talks about anxiety has mentioned it to you

A song engineered with a sound therapist to slow your heart rate has been available since 2011 — and almost nobody who talks about anxiety has mentioned it to you

The Vessel
Load more
CATEGORIES
Explore