It just makes $ense to bring out the best in you through your personal brand. The best in you will bring out the best in others.
By Bette Lord Hillman
Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. Your self packaging and self presentation is your personal brand. The importance of personal branding has increased. Urbanization, greater geographic mobility, and frequent job changes all contribute to the fact that we are frequently interacting with strangers. As a result people are more frequently assessed by others simply based upon their appearance because that may be the only information we have when we meet them for the first time.
We may not have the same neighbors, the same school friends, the same workmates, or the same employer. Therefore, personal branding to make a great first impression has increased importance as our society becomes more fragmented. Media consultants and political analysts know that personal branding is important to capture the desired attention. Once you have that attention, the person has more credibility, more respect, and will be remembered longer.
Self help management techniques are about self improvement. The personal branding concept suggests that success comes from self packaging. This self packaging involves defining your individual clothing, physical appearance, and areas of knowledge which lead to a unique, distinguishable impression. Can you see the benefit of sending a clear impression regarding your personal brand?
Just like a television commercial for a mop company. It makes a clear statement when the person holding the mop is dressed like a stay at home dad or mom who would be cleaning the kitchen floor. It would be unusual to see the same mop held by a man or woman in a professional business suit. You might not consider them using the mop. You might only think they would be handing it to the person who would be doing the cleaning. You have added a few seconds to get the message through to your client because it isn’t as clear.Those seconds can cost a lot of $ when paying for an advertising commercial. Ask actors who are auditioning now for particular roles in advertising or television. They are more often instructed to come dressed looking the part of the role so the producer, director, and writer can see them in the role immediately. Making a clear impression in this situation can get you the job because you made the right impression and did the work for them by looking the part.
Would you get the role for your career based upon your personal branding at this time? When you work for a particular corporation or are attached to a specific industry, your personal brand is most effective when it aligns with the marketing brand of the corporation and industry.
You may have brand marketing guidelines which are already set because of your corporation or industry therefore your task is to align your personal branding with the guidelines. Impression management also refers to the process of creating a public image for yourself, company, or organization. Perception can become reality. We are willing to spend money on our website appearance, but then hesitate to invest when it comes to our physical appearance while doing business face to face. How will the prospect know you are the best in the market and worthy of their $ if your appearance distracts away from your message of being the best choice? Be deliberate about your personal brand choices and align them with all of the messages you are presenting in the market place.
Your business will build and that makes $ense. Finally, as you develop your personal brand, it is important to be yourself, stand out from the crowd, and carve out your niche. Aligning yourself with industry branding still allows room for your own signature statements and individuality. It just makes $ense to bring out the best in you through your personal brand. The best in you will bring out the best in others.
Bette Lord Hillman, has been consulting corporations and clients regarding professional and personal branding for over thirty years. Image impact impressions continue to fascinate her passion to support others in visually aligning with their purpose and message.
