Did you know that the true success of a personal brand is not in its existence, but in what has been done with the brand?
When there is a clear goal in sight, all your tools and skills should be adjusted to optimising your journey of getting to that goal – like a personal brand; this is a tool, and you need to be tuning it up with different strategies aimed at success. One of the most pivotal ways to fine-tune your personal brand, and thereby help you steer better towards your goals, is with a personal brand statement.
Who are you?
If your life came down to one catchphrase, or one line, how would you define ‘you’?
A personal brand statement goes to the heart of who you are. Without gimmicks, bells and whistles, your personal brand statement is a summing up of the best and most intriguing parts of you. This is not an opportunity to write endless lines that mean nothing, nor is it time to use words you wouldn’t yourself say day-to-day. A personal brand statement is where you should be truthful – polished, factual, and entertaining truths.
Wondering how to even begin drafting a personal brand statement? Need to figure out what your personal brand even is?
Here are the top five personal branding insights you can use to power up your brand for the future:
- A Personal brand statement should be no longer than five lines. If you cannot sum up who you are, and what you are about in a few lines, then a longer account is not going to help how another person understands your personal brand. Keep it short and simple.
- Personal brands can revolve around a personal event that happened to you, BUT its more about how you dealt with it, that will keep people coming back.
- Not everyone needs to be polished and articulate by Western standards, to maintain a personal brand that thrives globally. The world has been captivated by wisdom and heart, in defiance of language barriers, race and digital divides. One thing humanity is quite adept at though, is reading authenticity. When its real and connects with them, they carry that impression you leave them with.
- You have to live your brand. A personal brand is to something you can pull on and then leave off, when it suits you. You must embody and live this personal branding truth. It needs to manifest in every conversation, every act and every bit of your lifestyle; So make it a truth you can live with.
- Personal branding is you – not an idealised version of who you would like to be.
Some often don’t know enough about themselves, to figure out how to package a personal brand, which is why my Giraffe Brand Academy offers branding and business programmes to anyone around the world, who is keen to uncover and utilise their personal brand to the max. Visit thegiraffebrand.com for more details on how to schedule your rise to the next level.
Want a firmer start to your personal branding journey? Begin with a personal branding strategy!
A personal branding strategy is the master plan for your journey towards success. Entrepreneur and executive Elizabeth Harr says that the personal branding strategy “is a plan to take your reputation and career from relative obscurity to high visibility. It describes where you stand today and what level of visibility you want to achieve in the future”.
The focus of such a strategic outline, is that it gives you the grand design of where you are, what you want, where you’re going, and how you are getting there – this means that it is a comprehensive plan, which includes: tactics, skills, resources, and tools. By the time you complete your personal branding strategy, you’ll amazingly also be equipped with some necessities for showcasing your best self at interviews, at your workplace, and when networking.
Don’t feel daunted. You’ve got this!
Start with one step: establishing what you want your personal brand to actually do for you.
For a truly successful personal brand to be sustainable, it is evident that you have got to angle it towards a goal. Find your bliss, and let it saturate this personal brand you are developing. Content marketing is a part of the ‘how’ of your personal branding strategy, but right now you should focus on the ‘why’.
Where the ‘how’ aspect of your personal branding strategy comes into play, Steven Li, founder of Medius Ventures, advises that one of the facets of your personal branding strategy should be to maintain a good personal website – words of wisdom I agree with fully. Being online is not relegated solely to visuals and trendy posts, but in using the platforms as a way of making meaning. Making meaning online is about value being added to somebody’s digital experience; and the impression and information you share, sticking in the minds of others long after they’ve unplugged.
Credibility is a hard-to-find commodity when observing some of the entrepreneurs and personal brands blinking in and out of our daily orbits. Credibility is currency; and can turn your words into game-changers because people consider you trustworthy.
Your personal brand strategy should be geared towards authenticity and value, as well as you having a plan dedicated to substantially building your credibility – in part, using social media, your personal website, and most importantly by storytelling. Marrying knowledge, experience, and truth, is a surefire way to elevate your personal brand, so when are you getting started?
Liezel van der Westhuizen, who has a Master’s in Business Communication, owns The Giraffe Brand Academy. Here, her mission as a personal brand builder is to assist clients to stick their necks out and cultivate their power to stand tall and be unique. This, she believes, is the key to marketplace success.
