What's so great about the 'Personal Brand Mix'?
Using the four P's in marketing to project and grow your Personal Brand.
Personal branding has become the buzz word of many executives and professionals in the current fast-paced world of work. People may decide to do business with you based on the brand you exude and not so much on the job title you hold or the product or service you offer.
Distinguishing yourself from your peers and the competition will determine whether your services or your skills would be hired rather than the competition. Personal branding has become the tool for unearthing your Unique Personal Attributes (UPA's) (eg.your talents, skills, strengths) and your Unique Promise of Value ( UPV's) (eg. Your vision, purpose, passion and values) to those who make decisions about you, that is your Stakeholders.
I call the UPA's and the UPV's your personal Brand DNA or what makes the 'you' You!
Coming from a marketing background, I recently analyzed the Marketing Mix- The Four P's of marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) and saw the synergy in unearthing your 'Personal Brand mix'. This is what I observed:
The Product is you!
How do you perceive yourself? Since you are the product, what's unique about you? What's unique about you is what differentiates you from your peers, competition and others with similar skills and titles. In viewing yourself as the product, determine what your Unique selling point is.
Determine what your efficiency, your functionality and your key features are. These can be expressed in your values, your skills, your talents and knowledge acquired over the years. Determine all of the above and write down what makes you really 'You'. Allow the above to guide your business and career decisions.
The Price is the price to you
You need to strategically research and determine what price or value you want to command. What distinguishes you from the competition?
Understand why your stakeholders will pay a premium for your service and not your competition or why they will pay a premium for the competition and not you. Your price will determine the value of your communication and the value of your presentations.
Premium products command a premium price. Additionally, your level of differentiation will determine your level of pricing. What are your key stakeholders and people making decisions about you willing to pay? What do you bring to the table? You could also have price differentiations for the different markets you operate in.
Consider training and mentoring young people pro bono but charging corporate execs a premium for your service. Consider writing for a youth online magazine for free but charging when writing for mainstream magazines or blogs.
The place (ment) is your distribution channels
How do you distribute the information about you to all the marketing channels available to you? Determine whether you will use online, social networks, real-life networks, key people, mentors, or followers.
The above are all areas, people or groups you may consider in communicating your product or price.
Promotion
Promotion is how you communicate the "You" (product/ Service) to the communication channels available to you. Promotion should have in mind the return on influence (ROI). Here, determine which online communication channels best fit your brand and expression and use optimally.
Develop a promotional or communication plan that best fits the authentic you. Determine whether to use LinkedIn, Instagram,Twitter, Brandchat, YouTube, Facebook or blogging. Remember, video is fast becoming or now the go-to communication channel in today's accelerating business world.
Incorporating video and slides in your communication shows gravitas giving you more impact. Even though I was on television and in media for years I always fought shy of making videos. It took a lot of convincing to engage but when I started, I noticed the difference exponentially.
Remember, video can help catapult your brand and income. Build and grow a YouTube channel and link this to your personal website and social media channels. Draw a plan on how to be visible in broadcast television and radio programs offering your services for free if possible. Many executive and recruitment websites now offer you the opportunity to upload a video resume or CV. I highly recommend video bios for your intranet and other social media sites.
Remember, your personal brand demonstrates your intellectual property to potential clients and key stakeholders while a resume/CV only assents your viability. Your personal brand through effective communication proves and undergirds the Real You.
Using the right promotional tools offer you a superior avenue to exude, grow and nurture a premium brand above what a resume /CV can. The key is to promote your passions and what's unique about you. Personal branding is about showing what's authentic to you.
It's not about presenting a fake persona to the outside world. Its also not about deceiving people about the real you. Allow what you exude or show online to reflect the real you. In essence, the virtual you should match the real person in your real life relationships or face to face networks.
Using your 'Personal Brand Mix' (the Four P's) to project your personal brand can aid in promoting the real you and expand your success.
Growing and developing your Personal Brand Mix can catapult you into the limelight and you'll be seen as compelling, credible and expand your impact
