Personal branding is an idea and process that many introverts resist.
Personal branding is an introverted and extroverted activity. It involves self exploration to unlock a vision for your life's work that leverages what you care deeply about, what you are most talented at and what you enjoy doing.
It goes beyond personal discovery work to include a marketing element of packaging and promoting the best of who you are so that the people you most want to work with and help know about you and ultimately hire you for what you bring to the table.
I find a lot of introverts resist the idea of personal branding because of the perception that it's about shameless self promotion, tooting your own horn, putting yourself in the spotlight etc. While there is some truth to the idea that personal branding requires putting yourself out there there are many benefits of using the ideas and concepts of personal branding to focus yourself and move more deliberately towards your goals and vision.
I'll be writing more about personal branding for introverts in an upcoming blog. Let's start the conversation with some definitions of personal branding.
I'm a member of the Linked In Group 'Personal Branding Network'. Recently the question was posed "How do you define Personal Brand in one sentence?" Over a hundred people replied to this question. In my humble opinion here are the top 12.5 ideas (in no particular order):
1. Bearing in mind that perception is not always reality, one’s personal brand is comprised of his or her appearance, personality and character traits, beliefs and attitudes, skills, and the accomplishments for which he or she is best known.
2. Your personal brand is the thing that makes you and others smile when you're talking about it or doing it.
3. The 1st thing people think of when they hear your name.
4. (This was my response) It's what people associate with you, how they think and feel about you based on their experiences with you directly or indirectly through word of mouth or content, products etc. that act as an extension of who you are and what you stand for. We all leave our mark on the people we interact with. The decision for each of us is how deliberate we want to be about it.
5. You have a personal brand whether you are aware of it or not but a strong Personal Brand will be intentional and reflect your true character, values, strengths, and uniqueness to the world around you.
6. Your brand is the answer to the question: "Why should your prospect or target pick up the phone when you call?"
7. Personal branding (any branding for that matter) is the creation, manipulation, and power to influence “perception” in the minds of others.
8. The 'emotional response you evoke in others'.
9. Your personal brand is..The promise you keep... every time!
10. Your personal brand is what others say about you when your not there.
11. Your value - what you can do uniquely well to help others address opportunities or solve problems that matter to them.
12. Your most valuable asset in business today.
12.5 The art of being yourself and being perceived as unique and valuable.
Have you defined your personal brand? Do you even care about it? It's time you took a serious look at it if you've ignored or avoided it.
Start by reflecting on your beliefs about personal branding. What aspects of personal branding do you feel could help you achieve your goals? What aspects of personal branding do you dislike and why? Revealing your affirming and limiting beliefs will help identify potential fuel to build on and barriers to manage as you build your brand.
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