The Power of Personal Branding
Personal branding is about covering your authentic and unique self by allowing you to be the person you are meant to be. It’s more about building credibility as your target audience wants to know that you can do what you say you are going to do. It’s worth to note that credibility is built through actions and not only words. Ever heard of a saying ‘practice what you preach’. It is very important to remember and understand that everyone has a personal brand, whether you want one or not. It is defined by everything you do.
How to Build a Powerful Personal Brand
- You need to decide what you wish for people to associate with you when they think of your name. For example, what comes to your mind when you think of Oprah Winfrey, Khanyi Dhlomo, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela? You probably have a very different and very clear image of what kind of a person each one is. Once you understand how you wish your brand to be perceived, you can start to be much more deliberate about your personal brand.
- When figuring out how to start your own brand, ask yourself the following questions:
1. Who are you?
2. What makes you different?
3. What is your vision for your personal brand?
4. What is your goal with personal branding?
5. Do you have an audience?
6. How can you help them?
7. What makes you reliable?
8. How do you prove that you are trustworthy?
- Have a personal website for yourself as this is one of the best ways to position your name on the search engines. It does not have to be powerful. It should at least have basic important information or services you are offering. Remember to always link to your social media platforms.
- Be purposeful in what you share on social media. Every status update or tweet you send and picture you share contributes to your personal brand. Once you understand how you wish your brand to be perceived, you are on the right track.
- Increase your visibility by working with your audience and this can be by means of outreach, networking, guest blogging, interviews, partnerships, etc.
- Proactively manage all aspects of your brand by ensuring these aspects are aligned and that they continue to reinforce your brand attributes. For example, your social media profile pictures should look similar to the in-person you.
Defending Your Personal Brand In a Crisis
Reputation is very fragile and it only takes one mistake to cause damage to your image. Tips on how to handle personal branding crisis
1. Pause and assess how the situation affects you.
Emotional intelligence is one of the skills a person should strive to have. This will help you in understanding that stopping/pausing for a moment is good for you. This is why you will be able to breathe and this will allow you room to assess and tackle the problem in a professional way. It’s good to note that as much as your personal brand is about how you see yourself, it is also how others see you.
2. Assess a response or whether you should even respond at all.
Once you have assessed the situation, you need to assess your response and whether you need to say something. Most of the time, we think that we must always respond to defend our honour, when sometimes the silence becomes the best weapon for us without realizing. How many times have people responded to a tweet at the heat of a moment or through rushed emotions? Only after they had responded they realize that should they have not responded, the situation could have diffused by itself and one could have gained integrity or a win.
3. If you decide to respond, know your goal in responding.
Again, as a re-iteration, once you decide to respond, know what you want to achieve. It is best or advisable to aim for amicable and relationship restoring response. Maturity, professionalism, customer service and integrity are key here.
When assessing your personal brand and the power of it, it’s vital to always come back to your core – what is that drives you, and what is it that you want to achieve in life. Then, when you’re faced with a challenge or crisis, you’ll be able to handle it effectively. You’ll always come across as authentic because you’re being true to yourself, you’ll be able to build trust, and you’ll be more likely to attract partnerships and customers in whichever industry your business is in.