Why is Personal Branding Important in Today’s Economy?
…Primarily because the workplace just isn’t what it used to be.
For those working inside the corporate world, job security is almost non-existent. According to research data from Monster.com, only 26% of employees are confident in their job security, 54% are currently looking for their next job, and 90% of those polled have considered making a career change in the last year. Gone are the days of long-term pension plans and corporate loyalty. Today’s workplace is filled with layoffs and cutbacks.
The net result of this radical shift in corporate culture is a new paradigm toward individualization and self-promotion. Those who wish to stay above the lay-off cuts have to find new ways to differentiate themselves. They have to find creative ways to let their talents shine brightly enough to stand out among their peers. Personal Branding creates a platform from which to communicate your strengths to your team members, your employer, and your clients.
For those who have already been laid off, Personal Branding is the key to landing the next opportunity. In today’s job search, you are competing with thousands of other applicants. Most employment opportunities are found in online searches where the volume of applicants is staggering. Often in these situations, you won’t even have a chance to differentiate yourself in the visual presentation of your résumé. Your entire work history is reduced to plain text statistics in an online form. Personal Branding helps you tie together the links of your professional history and punch up your key assets into concise, clear bullet points.
And finally, for those who have abandoned the corporate lifestyle and have ventured down the entrepreneurial path, Personal Branding is the key to rising above your competition and getting customers. The Internet has paved the way for you to reach across the globe to connect with clients in any location, but it has done the same for your competitors. You no longer compete just with those in your vicinity, but with the worldwide market. To find success as an entrepreneur or independent professional, you must be able to target your audience and communicate a compelling reason why they should do business with you.
Personal Branding is the process of discovering your key personal and professional assets in an objective process and communicating them passionately to the audience that needs what you have. Whether you want to keep your job, rise up in your current environment, find the right fit in a new environment, or get new customers for your business, Personal Branding is the path to success.
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Children: The Original Personal Brand Gurus
Kids have it nailed. If you want a quick lesson in some key personal branding basics, spend some time with a 5 or 6 year old. Bring some paper and a crayon to take notes, and you might just learn how to succeed in business.
Number One:
They know what they want to be when they grow up.
For a 5-year-old, there’s no hesitation in answering this question. No qualifying parameters without a solution. No hemming and hawing, as you will find with most thirty-somethings and up. Just a simple straightforward answer. A fireman. A teacher. A doctor.
As adults, the choices get much more complicated — or so they seem — and we tend to waver in our decisiveness. We try to be whatever fits the opportunities available and lose ourselves in the process. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Number Two:
They spend a great deal of their time creating that reality.
If 5-year-old Jane wants to be a doctor, she does everything she can to become a doctor. She asks for the doctor’s bag and stethoscope for Christmas. She practices on her dolls and her friends. She draws pictures of herself as a doctor. She imagines herself as a doctor. She tells everyone who’ll listen that she’s going to be a doctor when she grows up.
The same should be true for any adult trying to build their brand. Live it. Breathe it. Dream it. Talk about it.
Number Three:
A 5-year-old will tell you flat out what he’s good at.
And he can tell you in about 10 seconds. No modesty. No shyness at that age. If you ask them, they’re right up there with Picasso, Pavarotti, and Michael Jordan. When they are good at something, they aren’t afraid to own it and even show it off.
As an adult, what are your skills? Can you list them quickly off the top of your head? What if you unexpectedly met the boss in the elevator and he asked you what your top 5 skills were. Could you answer him quickly and fluidly? Or would you say something and then curse yourself after he got off the elevator and you realized that you forgot to mention your most significant skills?
Number Four:
They do everything 100%.
At 5, you seldom see a child hold back emotionally. When they play a video game, they play to win. When they are on the soccer field, they sink their whole heart into it. They wholly focus on their objective.
If you truly want to succeed in your profession, you have to do the same. 100% whole hearted effort. Passion, focus, and stamina are what make the difference.
This is the wisdom of a kindergartener.
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How Different Do You Want To Be?
Defining your brand as markedly unique or as a supportive part of a larger brand image.
This question has been debated for years in corporate and product marketing circles. Should a product or business segment have its own unique and independent brand, or should it be a subset extension of the larger corporate or market segment brand? To veteran marketers the former is called the P&G model, referring to Proctor & Gamble’s long standing policy of uniquely individual product brands. The latter is demonstrated in many business models and often referred to as “integrated branding”. Both have their pros and cons, and for the individual developing their personal brand, both models should be considered.
The P&G model consists of a broad corporate theme, with independently driven brands under the parent company. In fact, their products are so diverse that the average consumer has no idea that they are owned by the parent company. Their products include: Aussie® hair care, Tide®, Cheer®, Tampax®, Iams® pet products, Eukanuba® pet products, Crest®, Cover Girl®, Downy®, Dreft, ® Charmin®, Folgers®, Gain®, Gleem®, Herbal Essences®, and many many more. For a complete list you can check out their brand lines at http://www.pg.com/products/pg_products.jhtml. These products all have their own identity, color palettes, slogans, and individual marketing campaigns. The one thing they do have in common is a general market audience. In fact, the products are often competing products. There are several different laundry detergents, feminine products, hair care lines, and pet products.
Why would they spend so much time and effort marketing different products to the same audience??? The answer is to capture more of that audience as a whole. It costs them very little to modify a product slightly, or to modify the marketing of similar products slightly, and to see which performs better. It also means that they give the audience choices without losing any of that audience to a competitor.
Can you see places in your business or your career where this might apply to your own marketing strategy? Can you modify your product line slightly to gain more of your market segment? Can you offer choices to your market without diluting your individual offerings? Can you define the overall needs of your target audience and create offerings to meet those needs?
Now, what about the drawbacks to this form of marketing strategy? Proctor & Gamble is a multi-billion dollar industry that leverages their efforts on an economy of scale. For the smaller or independent professional, this is often simply not a viable option. The energy and resources required to drive one brand are significant. When you start to develop more than one, the financial and physical resources multiply quickly. Proctor & Gamble has the resources to support all of their brands successfully. If you do not, you need to consider consolidation. It is better to develop a strong solid brand foundation than to create multiple weak sub-branded products or services.
Creating a larger brand image for yourself is often simpler, and more powerful for the independent professional. Consider Nike. From shoes and clothing, to athletic equipment, their overall brand is consistent. Their brand message has not changed in years: “Just Do It.” And the strength of their image allows them to readily introduce new products into the market with an immediate market response and expectation of brand alignment.
This model is much simpler to manage and contains consistent reinforcement to the target market. Nike’s signature “swoosh” is a quickly identifiable symbol, and all products donning the swoosh are instantly recognized as part of the Nike line.
This same concept can apply to individuals developing their own brand within a corporation or an industry. Think about the benefits you have in aligning yourself with the existing brand of your parent company or industry. Are you a member of professional organizations? By depicting the member logo on your business card or website, you instantly gain the brand credibility of the organization. Be careful, however; this works in reverse as well. If the organization gets bad press, you can be affected by it too.
Inversely, can you strengthen you own market position by diversifying from the norm of a parent company or market brand. You can significantly create a name for yourself by setting yourself apart from the rest in your market. You can be the fitness expert, that understands the value of occasional junk food, the financial advisor who is unafraid to share the stories of personal financial failure in the past, or any other unusual segmentation that sets you apart from the rest.
There are pros and cons to embracing a larger unified brand, and pros and cons to developing individual brand elements. The key to success is accurately evaluating what you can handle, how much it will take to do it well, and the net result desired within your market audience. If you allow yourself the strategic time to project your options, the correct path will become clear. The trick is that many individuals and many businesses do not take the time to consider these paths fully. Research your competition, research your buying audience, and future map your vision for your business. It will be the best investment you can make in your brand strategy.
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Set Yourself A.P.A.R.T. from the Crowd
When trying to grow your business and establish a brand for yourself, it is key to find a way to differentiate yourself from your competition. To be noticed and recognized your audience must see you as unique in some definable way. Promotions, awards, opportunities, clients, and professional or romantic relationships all hinge on our ability to be noticed by the audience we seek. But what is it that truly sets us apart in a positive light?
Some people look to their clothing or fashion to create a memorable impression. Think of Pee-Wee Herman with his signature high-water pants and suspenders with greased back hair or Cher with her daring extremes in costume. Other people look to rebellious activities to gain notoriety, such as Howard Stern. While this might work for him, it is not what most of us want to be remembered for, nor will it attract the audience we want?
So how can you set yourself apart from the masses and gain the results you desire?
Follow the acronym: A.P.A.R.T.
(A) Actions
Everything you do, every day, has an impact on your life and on the impression those around you have of you. Consider all that you do. How do you respond to your boss or your clients? How do you treat those who help you in your daily activities? How much effort do you put into your work or your sport? Everything counts.
(P) Publications (verbal and written)
Everything you say and everything you write is a part of your personal publications. In all that you say and write you communicate to the world your values, ideas, experience and intelligence. In today’s world the opportunities for broadcast communication are endless: FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, Email Newsletters, YouTube, etc. Be mindful of these double-edged swords. With so many avenues to share your thoughts and ideas, it has become increasingly important to think carefully about what you put out into the digital universe. Any and all media can be searched by potential clients, employers, peers and competition – making it vital to consider exactly what image you want to communicate to the world.
(A) Associations
Whom do you associate with? What is the reputation of the company you work for? What are the reputations of the people you socialize with? What professional groups do you belong to? Are these associations in alignment with your personal and professional aspirations?
Again, in the digital world, these associations are more visible than ever. Seek out those that share your interests, ideals, values, area of expertise and use today’s online tools to build relationships that nurture your personal brand.
(R) Results
Results speak louder than words. I can think of numerous soft-spoken leaders whose career histories speak for themselves. Achievements say a lot to your audience about your abilities. Awards, promotions, and successes in any area lead to increased recognition. Don’t be afraid to go for it! And when you get it, don’t be shy about sharing the good news!
(T) Timing
Sometimes it is not what you do, but when you do it. There have been many men to travel into space at this point in history, but we will never forget who was first. Being a forerunner in history is incredibly powerful. Set yourself a goal that sets you apart in this manner. You might become the first woman in your company to become a VP. You might be the first to suggest a new idea. Find a goal that motivates you to be your best and a trend-setter.
Of course there are always those who don’t want to stand above the rest. Some people prefer to hide in the crowd and seek anonymity. But the rewards in life are not for those who hide. They are for those who dare to dream and put their efforts toward achieving their dreams. The rewards in life are for those who set themselves A.P.A.R.T.
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