Marketing Yourself for Success:Proven Personal Branding Strategies

I wish someone had shared the importance of personal branding with me much earlier in my career.Timing is everything, right?Even if I had been told about personal branding when I started my career in the 80's and I applied the personal marketing techniques with brilliance, it probably wouldn't have been very well received.Things are different today.In today's competitive environment, personal branding is a critical link to experiencing professional success.

Branding is not a new concept.It has been a key component of product marketing for as long as product has been sold.Personal branding on the other hand is fairly new.Tom Peters introduced the idea in the early 90's.Peter's position on personal branding as depicted in Fast Company Magazine in 1997 was put this way, "regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding.We are CEOs of our own companies:Me, Inc.To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called 'You'."

Some people have resisted the notion of personal branding based upon their belief that it represents bragging.Most of the people who believe this theory are women.Why?Beginning at a very young age, girls are taught that it is not nice to brag about themselves.Boys, on the other hand, are encouraged at a young age to express pride in their accomplishments.A recent study of executive women, conducted by Peggy Klaus, reveals the impact of women's inabilities to market themselves. In the study, nearly three-quarters of those interviewed recognized that advertising oneself is important, but 51 percent said they'd been told when they "tooted their own horn" they were judged too aggressive for a woman.

There is no one who can market you better than you.Trust me; you don't ever want to give your own marketing responsibility and power to anyone else.Your brand is the sum of your beliefs, values, character, talents, experiences, and vision.It comes from within and therefore shouldn't be shaped by anyone but you.You have to own this brand.And you have to live up to this brand. Taking control of the creation of your personal brand and the marketing plan to present yourself to the world places you a step ahead of everyone else.

To be effective at marketing yourself for success you must be able to strike a balance between bragging and marketing.The purpose of this article is to offer you a three step process which will allow you to successfully find the balance.I subscribe to the words of Bruce Barton who said "If you have anything really valuable to contribute to the world it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature".The key words in this quote are personality, contribution, and different. My translation of these three words is substance, service, and strategy.These words are key anchors to designing a personal brand and a marketing strategy that will open the door for breakthrough success.Taking the time to think about your brand as it relates to each of these critical success factors and how they relate to your personal goals will be the catalyst for defining and mar! keting yourself for success. 1

Step 1: Root Your Brand in Substance

A great brand screams quality.In order to project quality there must be substance.Your credibility comes from passion, experience, expertise and a proven track record for getting results.Have you ever noticed a person who is an accomplished speaker about their experiences?Their eyes light up.Their energy level is higher which translates into confidence.Juanell Teague a well known business coach describes it this way; she says "Once you connect with your passion, you tap into an endless energy source".It's this energy source that gives you the drive to be innovative, to look for better ways to achieve the goal.It is also what makes you credible. The substance of your brand is the context around which everything else will be added. What is your substance rooted in?What breakthrough results are directly tied to your leadership?What experiences position you as being highly credible?

Step 2:Know Your Value-Service Relationship

Great brands are great because they produce an experience, a product or service to a target audience.Think about why you, as a consumer,make a purchase of any kind.Are you looking for value?Probably so!Personal branding is no different.You must present yourself from a position of adding a lot of value. To produce the highest level of value and service you must understand your audience.You will need an intimate appreciation for the audience; this knowledge will provide you with the insight needed to build relationships that will advance your brand.Wal-Mart redefined the shopping experience for America.They understood the desires of their target and consistently honored the needs of the audience.As a result they are the largest retailer in the world.There brand is known everywhere in the United States and in many countries beyond.

Where people fall outside of the professional boundaries of personal marketing into bragging is by focusing on self instead of serving others.In the first step you were provided with the opportunities to focus on your qualities that make you stand out and offer you a point of difference.In the second step you should be focused on understanding how you can use those qualities to make a positive difference and leave a permanent mark. Volvo has earned a reputation for safety and consistent performance.I recently purchased a Volvo.In fact, I purchased the new SUV.As I conducted my research for the purchase, it was amazing to me how my mind immediately went to the essence of the kind of brand that I was looking for.It was around quality, reliability, consistency.After I decided on the criteria the ad's for Volvos just started to scream at me.Talk about making a connection.This experience reinforced the power of connecting your value to the need of the target aud! ience.Your value will be the source of projecting your brand in an alluring way.So, what's your intent to use your skills and qualities to provide service and value to your target audience?How are you positioned to add value to your target?

Step 3:Develop a Communication Contact Strategy

Millions and millions of dollars are spent each year by manufacturers to position their brands with the target audience.Every way you turn you are exposed to some form of branding 2 communications.There is so much noise in the market place which is equally high in the professional world.In today's competitive environment, your career success is directly linked to your ability to effectively market yourself.As you think about communicating your brand, think in terms of the words that your friends or colleagues would use to describe.Would they use words like dynamic, leader, or results oriented? If can't answer this question, stop and ask someone right now!

Your communication strategy should be designed to increase your presence and visibility with the target audience. Start by identifying opportunities where you can communicate your brand.Think in terms of meetings, conventions, special projects or initiatives that you can leverage.You might also give consideration to volunteering to represent your organization in community events.Prepare yourself by taking the time to develop your branding statement.This statement will enable you to communicate your brand with consistency.Your branding statement should communicate who you are, what you bring to the table and what value it adds. Once you have this statement solidified you will be able to communicate your brand with confidence and conviction.

Building your brand is as much a process and a journey as it is anything else.It is absolutely critical that your brand be rooted in authenticity. Remaining authentic is the secret to a successful personal branding marketing strategy.As you develop will you need to reposition your brand?Yes, flexibility is important given the rapid pace of change in the world we live in.As long as you challenge yourself to be rooted in substance, maintain a value service relationship and communicate in a spirit of authenticity you will be fine! Make the commitment now to honor yourself and the world of possibilities and opportunities that await you by developing your personal brand.

Author: Trudy Bourgeois

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