How Can You Brand Yourself?

A topic which I have been pondering for years is becoming more and more important, both for business people in particular and all people in general: the personal branding of each one of us.

Even if you are the “talent” that everyone is searching for, your life won’t necessarily become easier. How many people know about you? How many people remember your name? How many have heard about your successes? How many times was the credit for these successes taken from you?

In the past branding was the result of the work of a public relations office or a business which wanted to promote a product or service. Today, people all over the world understand that in order to stand out from the crowd and be special and in order to be remembered in the networking world, they must brand themselves in such a way that will differ them from everyone around, competitors and others.

Personal branding is, indeed, an individual and unique thing for every person, but there are several tools one can use to create a buzz and interest. First, I suggest that my clients find their hidden asset, which is not the profession or field, but rather a skill a person acquires with time. I mean, not the “what”, but rather the “how”; the way in which the person reaches his goals and uses his hidden asset in different fields, utilizing it in the most effective way.

When considering personal branding, you need to ask “in relation to what situation do I wish to brand myself?” and “who is the target audience of this branding”, because the branding changes according to circumstances, audience and time. But is this a fact? True, the skills you may show at the office will differ from the ones you may show at a social event, but, since our focus is not what skills you have but rather who you are, the longevity and suitability of your branding may fit and hold in different circumstances, audiences and periods of time.

How can you brand yourself?

A short questionnaire can help each person find their hidden asset and use it for personal branding.

1. Write down what, in your opinion, makes you special in your professional field?

2. Ask six people, three with whom you worked in the past and three with whom you have been working lately, and try to engage what they think is your strength, what makes you special, what makes you stand out.

3. Compare the answers and redefine your relative advantage and your personal talent.

4. Write down three answers to the following question: If this is the definition of my branding, what can it offer me?

Even if you are exceptionally talented in your field, don’t be complacent! You must build your personal branding systematically and appear unique in the field. Aspire to be “the purple cow” in a herd of brown cows.

The uniqueness will clarify to others the value you can offer them.

You know me, I market very little and manage to create, and not incidentally, high demand. If a person gives the following answer:

- How is work?

- Working hard… You know how it is?!

Imagine a person who answers instead:

- working smart… You know how it is?!

If we receive the first answer, we may feel empathy toward the replier. If we receive the second one, we may think “What an arrogant SOB!”

But the actual question is directed at you: Do you work hard or smart?

Three months of work in front of cameras got me one only program on TV. I added a short marketing effort and managed to land hundreds of potential clients. Meaning, 40 hours of work with the production company and the person I coached created for the next quarter almost $ 300,000.

So you tell me, is that working hard or working smart?

OK… I am a little bit arrogant. So what? Is that so bad from time to time?

If you fail at planning, you will plan your failure.

The calculated work of the last months has started me on the right foot toward my new projects. If you wish to learn or be part of them, just say the word.

So have a great day.

Opher Brayer