Personal Branding Demystified – What is Personal Branding?

Unless you’ve been disconnected from social media and the news for the past year or so, you’ve been hearing and reading a lot about personal branding.

Maybe you’re overwhelmed by the volume of information swirling around out there and confused about what a personal brand really is.

So much of what we’re being hit with is just wrong or, at best, misleading snippets picked out to disparage branding as a whole.

Here’s some of what we’ve been hearing lately:

“Most of the time ‘personal branding’ is a fancy word for ‘narcissism’.”

“The premise of personal branding is that success doesn’t come from personal development or hard work or intelligence. Instead, personal branding proponents claim that success comes from self-packaging.”

“I think personal branding is a sham. The idea that you can have one thing that consistently defines you in all contexts of your life is ridiculous.”

Let me dispel some of the mediaspeak:

• Personal branding is NOT just a buzz word, the latest passing fad.
• Personal branding is NOT merely ego-stroking and self-promotion.
• Personal branding is NOT just a catchy logo or tagline.

Here’s the real skinny:

Personal branding is not new. It’s always been with us. Before there was a name for it, people were assessing other people’s reputation and promise of value before deciding whether to partner, hire, or do business with them.

Tom Peters coined the phrase in his Fast Company article “The Brand Called You” in 1997 and explained it this way:

“We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc.

You’re hired, you report to work, you join a team — and you immediately start figuring out how to deliver value to the customer. Along the way, you learn stuff, develop your skills, hone your abilities, move from project to project.

And if you’re really smart, you figure out how to distinguish yourself from all the other very smart people walking around with $1,500 suits, high-powered laptops, and well-polished resumes.

Along the way, if you’re really smart, you figure out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself — you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called You.”

According to William Arruda, personal branding pioneer and founder of Reach Branding, “Your brand resides in the hearts and minds of those around you.”

I describe it this way:

“Personal branding links your passions, key personal attributes, and strengths with your value proposition, in a crystal clear message that differentiates your unique promise of value and resonates with your target audience.”

You already have a brand. Your brand is your reputation.

The key is to examine all the pieces that make up who you are and identify precisely what differentiates your value proposition from everyone else’s.

Defining your brand takes effort, introspection, and some digging. Coming up with a catchy tagline does not equate with capturing your brand. So much more is involved.

Along with introspection, the true measure of your brand comes from those who know you best. They already know what your brand is about. They know what you’re the “go to” person for. You need to elicit feedback from them and compare their input to find consistencies.

The process also requires identifying your target audience so that your positioning message will hit home with them.

But branding isn’t just about marketing yourself.

Because the introspection and development process looks at your vision, purpose, values and passions, branding also helps you gain a keener understanding of what kind of work is a best fit for you.

Branding helps you position yourself to move toward career fulfillment and to work your passion.

One of the great things about branding in career and job search marketing is that it generates chemistry in what are often flat, lifeless communications. This helps the hiring professionals assessing you determine what you’re like to work with, how you make things happen, and what you have to offer that no one else does.

Your brand makes it easier for recruiters and hiring decision makers to decide if you’re a good fit for their organization.

Once you’ve defined what differentiates you and pulled together your brand, you’ll need to build a career marketing strategy to consistently communicate your unique promise of value to your target audience across multiple channels, online and offline.

To summarize, personal branding can:

• Help you find career fulfillment,
• Better communicate to employers why you’re the best hiring choice,
• Make their hiring decision easier, and
• Most likely get you into your next great gig faster.

Doesn’t it make sense to ignore the misinformation, embrace branding, and invest the effort in working on yours? Get started now with 10 Steps to Uncovering and Building Your Authentic Personal Brand and also check out Best of Personal Branding Strategies, Lessons, and News.

An Executive Personal Branding, Online Identity and Job Search Strategist, Meg is one of only a handful of career professionals worldwide to hold both the Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategist and Master Resume Writer credentials.

“I love my work collaborating with savvy corporate leaders and entrepreneurs who know where they’re going, but need help branding their unique promise of value in the new world of work and executive job search, and positioning themselves to work their passion. My clients are typically C-suite, Senior-level executives, and rising stars.” Find out more about Meg at her Executive Career Brand blog/website. View her LinkedIn profile and follow her on Twitter.