Instagram influencers aren’t the only ones using personal branding. Leaders can also benefit from building a distinct personal brand.
Possess brand leadership potential? Worldwide, performance evaluations and promotion discussions present this loaded topic of branding strategy. If you want to advance in your career, you must first understand how people see you in your business and profession.
But other experts, including your boss and his boss, are increasingly occupied putting out fires and thinking about profits. Make sure they notice if you want them to comprehend who you are and what you can do. And don’t be afraid to talk about money. Everyone is interested in that.
Of course, we can’t (and shouldn’t) go on a self-congratulatory rant about our talents. Instead, we must convey our point in a straightforward yet subtle manner using strategy.
Some people are offended by the phrase “personal branding,” coined after a famous 1997 Fast Company cover article. But that’s not the point. Personal branding is essentially a rebranding of your professional reputation, which most professionals think is vital to their future success. Personal branding involves taking charge of your reputation and ensuring it represents who you are.
It differs by culture. In any nation, influential professionals should understand how people see them. Consequently, take measures to bridge the gap and guarantee their talents are genuinely acknowledged.
Self-Promotion
The first stage in any strategy is to define your message. People often confuse your brand with your “elevator pitch,” a 10-second summary of who you are.
Those are only a few aspects of your brand.
Consequently, it encompasses how you dress, speak, socialize. Indeed, what organizations and charities do you belong to if you blog, where do you blog, etc. Brand. Branding. Never let those words leave your waking mind!
That implies your brand is something you live on every day, so authenticity is so important.
Even if you wanted to, you can’t fake it for long. Instead, figure out what makes you distinctive and robust and use it to your professional advantage.
Experts typically advise CEOs to start with a short informal poll of friends or colleagues. What three adjectives would you use to characterize me? This pushes individuals to concentrate and only identify their most valuable traits. After three or four conversations, patterns emerge that may be highly insightful.
According to executive coach Alisa Cohn, it’s critical to match the characteristics you hear with those you need to get there. Perhaps people say “I regard you as serious, meticulous, and polite.” However, it is not a leadership brand like “decisive.” It’s not awful, but it won’t bring you to the top. Should branding strategy be anything else?
Fitting Brand
Next, consider how your brand aligns with your company’s. You and them may be a fantastic match.
We frequently share components with our company’s brand while diverging from others. Professionally, it helps to think of it as a Venn Diagram. Discover the overlaps and accentuate them.
An executive at a multinational corporation told about his search for the proper brand match. “Some of the corporate leadership team have technical backgrounds and think in rigorous, process-based ways, not me,” he stated. “The rebel in me had to accept that my genuine brand wouldn’t fit, but it had to be me. What might we agree on? I knew we could agree.” So he marketed himself as a “results-driven leader” and spoke about his job accordingly.
Managing his brand required him to “know what it is and be aware of it.” The outcome is his great success in the firm. It’s what branding strategy is all about.
Showcase Your Brand
Finally, show out your brand. Especially when “rebranding” — changing people’s impressions of you — the element of surprise might be advantageous.
Volunteer for a project that demonstrates new skills relevant to your rebranding or new initiative. Sign up for a language lesson or join the diversity committee to be viewed as a global leader. Find methods to show people your interest and brand.
Creativity Matters
Building your blog (using free software like WordPress) has never been simpler, and most marketing teams would appreciate your assistance in writing pieces.
Writing isn’t about the format; it’s about the thoughts.
You may make podcasts or video blogs using just your smartphone’s software. Indeed, many company marketing departments would gladly assist you if you show interest instead of referring to outside “experts” to justify their perspectives.
Yet people will start mentioning you and what they read in your blog or heard on your podcast. As a result, a customer or potential client expresses a problem. Knowing you are able to respond, “I just wrote about that; let me email you a link,” is enormous. It’s a must for branding strategy.
Networking is the most effective approach to guarantee your leadership brand extends across your business. It’s not about attending “networking events” and exchanging business cards. That is to say, it’s about breaking out of the ruts we as professionals slip into.
Most individuals have lunch and work with the same coworkers. It’s convenient, but it’s a mistake.
Taking one new person from a different department out for lunch each week may significantly improve your capacity to access best practices. The act will help you network, learn about new possibilities, and contribute to your business. Networking doesn’t have to be tiring; it’s about being open to new meetings and opportunities and not stagnating existing relationships.
If you want to advance in your job, you must expand your network.
Personal branding may help you stand out as a leader. It’s the most extraordinary kind of authenticity since it shows your worth and pulls others to you. This is one of the most fantastic types of career insurance you can get.
