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Give Your Personal Brand A January Jumpstart

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FACT: You have a personal brand—whether or not you realize it or choose to manage it. You may prefer to let it be and let your business acumen and client list represent you, and they are undeniably important factors. Nevertheless, be advised that your personal brand is your reputation. It sums you up, in a brief sentence or two, in the minds of peers, competitors, prospective clients and perhaps even power brokers whom you’ve yet to meet but could still, some day, be in a position to evaluate you, however quickly, and advance or limit your preferred business trajectory.

Especially for Freelance consulting experts and other business owners, the personal brand has impact. Rather than leave public perceptions of who you are and what you stand for to chance, it is far less risky to develop and present your personal brand narrative yourself—perhaps with the assistance of a public relations expert or a business coach whose background is not in behavioral therapy or counseling, nor exclusively in traditional employment, even at C-Suite level, but rather in boots-on-the-ground independent business ownership, Freelance or otherwise, and preferably a coach who has had public relations/ marketing responsibility.

Defining your Personal Brand

I’m no fan of Jeff Bezos, but nevertheless, I feel his definition of personal brand is spot-on: “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” You can also assert a level of control over your personal brand, because it really is about you being yourself—on purpose. It’s both authentic (being yourself) and strategic (on purpose). You have actually have a responsibility to shape and define how you’re perceived, to the extent that it’s possible. Your personal brand exists to amplify your strengths, does it not?

Use storytelling to build, engage and connect with your community

Heads up—branding, personal or business, is not about your company colors and logo design. Those elements represent the company visually, but they cannot build your brand. Your story does the brand building. Branding expert Chris Do, founder and CEO of The Futur, has spent 22 years building design businesses and also teaching marketing creatives and others in search of client work how to succeed. Do quotes Michael Margolis, founder and CEO of Storied, a strategic messaging company: “A product, service, or organization without a story is a commodity.” Do emphasizes that when prospective customers and clients make a choice between a better product or a better brand, they choose the better brand nearly every time because they can relate to it.

Emotion matters. “Facts tell, stories sell,” Do explains. He encourages those with a brand to build and manage, like you, to share your journey. Tell it like it is—be real about your failures; make people feel what you felt. Author and actress Maya Angelou famously said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Always remember that your stories can never be copied by competitors. They describe and define you and they are authentic. Use your stories to stand out in an oversaturated market.

As Do sees it, your background isn’t baggage, it’s your superpower. “The origin story of you is the easiest one to tell because you’ve lived it,” he says. Your home town, what your dad (and/or mom) did for a living, the cultural references that were the foundation of the values that guided your parents as they raised you, the stories that they, and your aunts and uncles, shared with you at home and at family gatherings all shaped your worldview. Like Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a New York City native who grew up in Brooklyn, do not be afraid to keep your accent, your cultural references and your unique expressions. Your story creates cultural currency that connects you with your audience and brings them into your community. Don’t be self-conscious and hide the unique characteristics that define you. Do recognizes those quirks of personality and expression as shortcuts to understanding and trust with people who share similar experiences or just find your background fascinating—and authentic.

Take your personal brand public

Building and sustaining your preferred personal brand requires public exposure and your currency as a Thought leadership is often one of the first thing people think of when they think of a personal brand. You might publish an e-book, but there are other brand-building tools—such as publishing a blog or newsletter, appearing on webinars and podcasts and becoming an active and visible member of a local business group or national professional organization. It’s a great idea to Google yourself to see which links and images appear first and decide what you want others to see when they search your name and your company’s. What impression do your LinkedIn and other social media profiles present to the public? near the top of the search results? Update your headshot, reassess and align your headlines, perhaps revisit your unique selling proposition and align the description across all platforms. 

Finally, evaluate your network connections and go about building a community that is mutually beneficial. Your network is about quality, not quantity. Seek out professional connections across industries, functions, and even geographies. Furthermore, say yes to attending networking events, especially when they’re in-person. So what if you’re doing Dry January—order a sparkling water with a slice of lime and call it your mocktail!

When you meet new people, focus on generosity. Offer helpful introductions, send links to relevant articles, share timely insights. Always follow up. To all who’ve given you a business card, send a quick message to say something like “Great to meet you! If I can be of assistance, please reach out.” You want to do what’s possible to politely encourage beneficial relationships that reinforce your brand.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year,

Kim

Image: © George Marks (photographer) circa 1950s “Man in the Mirror”

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Design Social Media Content to Fit Your Goals

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News flash—creating social media content that advances your company marketing goals may demand more attention than you might’ve guessed. Checking social media accounts might be something you do while having lunch—why not log into Facebook to see what’s up?—but the “free” resource known as social media works best when you are strategic when using it. Effective marketing in any format demands precise planning.

Keeping a strategy in mind as you develop social media marketing content means that all posts—text, images, audio, video—will be designed to work in concert. That’s your recipe for social media that clearly communicates talking points, tells the story, follows the strategy and delivers the desired return on investment. So whether the plan is to promote brand awareness, cultivate customer relationships, or facilitate customer service, for example, there is documented evidence that well-executed social media campaigns are able to deliver the results you want. Your job is to create the right content and post on platforms your audience trusts and follows.

If your company maintains a presence on more than one site, keep in mind that content posted on multiple channels may be tailored to fit the unique strengths of each platform used, but content will be most effective when aligned across channels. You want to ensure that you communicate a unified message to the audience on all platforms used. Unaligned, inconsistent messaging can confuse audiences and undermine brand credibility.

Budget

Let’s start with money, the ultimate commitment. A financial investment is worthwhile for companies that are serious about social media marketing because a well-developed strategy that has the potential to achieve marketing (think revenue) goals can be realized only if all aspects of the content match your aspirations. If your marketing goals require a high-performing social media campaign, the strategies that get you there must be enabled by the right budget. Can you strike a balance between the funding needed to support the campaign you want and a financial commitment you can tolerate?

If the money is there, you might decide to hire a social media specialist to produce all text and image content. If your budget is modest, or you prefer to copywrite the text yourself, you could focus your spend on audiovisual elements and invite a pro to shoot and edit the visual elements.

Authentic

Today, “raw,” unscripted content sets the standard for what’s considered authentic and credible—i.e., trustworthy. Cinema verite is where it’s at and conversations and actions that feel scripted and rehearsed are a turn-off. Your followers want to see a slice of life—tear off the band aid, peek behind the curtain, get the view from backstage.

So, if you’re scheduled give a talk at a business association program, your social media audience may find it interesting to watch you getting ready to take the stage. Recruit a friend or ask your social media specialist, if you’ve hired one, to video you en route to the venue. Your commute to the venue can be filmed and you can supply background info about the organization during the ride. If the sponsoring organization allows, you can also be shown meeting the host, being introduced and walking to the podium to launch your presentation. If allowed, your talk can be filmed in its entirety and short clips can be edited to use in future marketing collaterals.

Interactive

Rather than waiting for your social media audience to make the first move, recognize that they will probably need a compelling invitation from you as motivation to engage with your content. The good news is that invitations to interact with your audience are not difficult to design.

For example, some of your viewers may agree to take a quick survey or poll that gauges their feelings about a particular topic (which may not directly involve your products or services). Social media users often enjoy opportunities to connect with the brands they follow. From time to time, just be sure to include a question or two about what they’d like to see added to your line, or what might make a useful upgrade for your product or service. Your audience will feel more connected to your brand if they feel as if they’ve contributed to your company’s product development.

Soft sell

The hard sell no longer works. The soft sell, like soft skills, is the new champion of today’s marketplace. Instead of coming on like a carnival barker on the midway and shouting “Step right up, folks!” the preferred approach employs social media platforms as a conduit to current and prospective customers who would like information about your products, services and you and your company. Customers, prospects (and influencers, if you’ve caught the eye of one) would like to get to know you. They often don’t trust or respond to aggressive sales tactics. A smart sales strategy is designed to cultivate a steady stream of customers and prospects who engage with your content and then make purchases and referrals, give testimonials and become brand cheerleaders, too.

Avoid over-sharing

It is true that being reliable and predictable—consistent—is reassuring and you should keep that in mind as you post content to your chosen platforms. But how do you know how often to post? Two posts a month is probably too little; two posts every day of the week is definitely overkill. You want site visitors to see worthwhile information—not always serious, sometimes amusing, always interesting and never a waste of time.

You don’t want your content (and company) to be perceived as annoying and irrelevant, a burden that clogs their feed with filler. Working with a good social media professional can help you determine how often you should post and how you might diversify your content to enhance interest and keep viewers coming back.

Call-to-Action

Remember to include a call-to-action in your social media content. It’s a feel-good to see great numbers when reading the statistics of your site’s impressions and views, but you won’t get your full reward unless followers are asked to do something—take an action—so you’ll receive a tangible result of some sort.

Your CTA completes the social media experience by inviting your audience to click a link and—-watch a video, request a free 30-minute consultation, register for a webinar or course. The CTA allows you to both collect and measure the ROI of your social media marketing campaign. You’ll be certain that your campaign goal is reached—brand awareness and brand loyalty enhanced, customer relationships nurtured, names added to your customer list (through the sign-up), warm leads created.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Rex Features. British actor Sean Connery (August 1930 – October 2020) with Anthony Sinclair of Anthony Sinclair Suits, his Savile Row tailor in London, during the 1960s James Bond movie era.

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7 Personal Brand Building Blocks

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OK, it’s like this—- if you’re not sure whether or not you have a personal brand and you don’t know what to make of it even if you do, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’ll examine the business strategy known as the personal brand and talk about why you want to develop one for yourself. The short answer is, an effective personal brand is an excellent marketing tool.

Your personal brand helps you to clearly define your company and its purpose, describe the value you bring to clients, articulate what sets you apart from competitors and helps you to build and sustain a community of loyal clients who will be happy to give you repeat business and refer still more clients to you. A personal brand serves to establish you as a known quantity, familiar and trustworthy, a go-to expert in your field. Those with a respected personal brand have a high perceived value and that attracts clients. Are you ready to explore personal brand building blocks?

Authenticity

Your clients and prospects have no desire to interact with a focus-grouped and sanitized version of who and what you think they want to see. Clients and prospects would like to know you, i.e., the part of you that culturally accepted boundaries would incline you to share. It’s akin to being emotionally available.

It takes some courage. Sometimes it means you’ll take a public stand that may not be universally popular. If you can appropriately define your boundaries (something that also requires courage, along with self-awareness), the practice works for introverts and extroverts.

Visuals

 It will be to your advantage to maintain consistency in how you present your personal brand, to make it easy for you to be recognized. Develop a visual repertoire that represents you well and makes you and your company memorable in the best way. Create a look that epitomizes you and your company and include your branded elements of style in all visuals:

  • A logo that is used consistently in all media placements
  • Your profile photo that is used consistently in all media
  • Consistent cover and background images used in all media
  • Specific colors used in all media
  • Consistent style of dress when your photo is included in all media representations

Story

Your story can be quite simply, what motivated you to go into business as told through the experiences that brought you to where you are now. Storytelling is used as a marketing strategy and your personal brand is an integral component. Be sure to emphasize that it is the quality of your product or service, as well as the attention paid to the needs of clients, that guides your company. Your emphasis on the importance of meeting the needs of clients and exceeding their expectations on every metric is another must-do.

Expertise

Establishing yourself as an expert is the key component of being in business, even if you’re selling popcorn. Your expertise is the foundation of your reputation and the trust that clients, referral sources and prospects have for you. Showcase your expertise through content marketing, public speaking, interviews and direct interactions with colleagues, peers and prospective clients. 

Visibility

Half of life is about just showing up, as some very wise person said many years ago. Along with your regularly updated online presence, remember to seek out opportunities to appear in traditional print media outlets and to make personal appearances. If you are a decent writer, learn to repurpose your blog or newsletter posts by offering selected pieces to the editor of a media outlet that covers your business sector.

Whether IRL or virtually, attend three or four professional or business association meetings each year. It’s thrilling if you’re asked to be a headliner or a panelist, but just being in the crowd presents many advantages. You can network and meet people who you want to know. You might even meet a good prospect or referral source. You’ll grow and strengthen your professional network. You’ll enjoy the experiences.

Value

A key component of building a personal brand is first developing an understanding and awareness of what motivates clients to do business with you and then developing the ability to communicate it clearly and succinctly in your sales pitches and marketing materials. Work on all the ways you can express your value, the why of doing business with you. Maybe you’ll be able to distill your value proposition down to a single sentence that you can use when asked you to describe yourself and your venture. 

Relationships

Who you know and who knows you are important as you spread the good word about your personal brand. Through your relationships you will receive introductions to others and will expand your network and influence. The list of supporters, referral sources and clients that you accumulate will result in testimonials that speak directly to your character. People do business with people they know and like; they do even more business with people they know and trust.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Anna Wintour, “Nuclear Wintour, ” powerhouse Editor-in-Chief at Vogue Magazine (America) and Global Chief Content Officer at Conde Nast, arrives at the Chanel ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris on March 3, 2014.

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Personal Brand: Create Your Story and Control Your Image

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Your personal brand is your reputation: the impression you leave with people with whom you interact,  their perception of you.  The personal brand reflects the aura and impact of the choices you’ve made in life and how you present yourself to the world: mode of dress,  communication style,  profession,  educational level,  values and priorities,  how and with whom you socialize.

Primarily for professional reasons,  it is a smart idea to connect selected dots that you wish to emphasize and create a narrative that will communicate to prospective clients or employers,  VIPs and colleagues that you bring value and relevance and that professional or social affiliations with you are worthwhile.

Fail to proactively build and develop a personal brand that conveys integrity and competence and you risk being denied numerous opportunities in life.  Take control of the professional and social aspects of your personal brand and do whatever possible to create a destiny and legacy that have a positive impact.   Create a story that succinctly communicates your story,  or brand narrative,   to the world.  Portions of your brand narrative will be included in your curriculum vitae,  bio,  website,  press kit,  LinkedIn and Facebook pages.   As you write your brand narrative,  keep in mind three attributes that form the pillars of an excellent personal brand:

Authentic

The self you present to the world must reflect your expertise and experience,  core values and beliefs.   Have the courage to be your best self.   Emphasize the relevant.   Acknowledge your expertise and what you enjoy doing.  Be compassionate.  Pay it forward.  Keep it real.

Consistent

People want to know what to expect when they plan to interact with someone.  We trust that which is dependable and reliable.  Meet or exceed client expectations.   Keep your promises.  Monitor your choices,  for at some point you’ll need to respectfully decline certain offers because they do not appropriately reflect your brand.   As the late,  great Diana Vreeland,  former editor-in-chief at both Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Magazines once said,  “Elegance is refusal.”

Coherent

In line with Ms. Vreeland’s famous quote,   choose to live your brand and that means you must learn to say no.  Your lifestyle: the associations that you join,  social comrades,  causes with which you align and skill sets that you promote must all reflect your brand and fit within the narrative.   Surround yourself with people who respect and support your life choices and who do not undermine your goals and values.   Carefully manage your time and resources in ways that will open the door and welcome your preferred future.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Adding to Your Value-Added

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If you want to bill clients at premium prices,  you need to establish and present a brand that communicates your value-added as perceived by prospective clients.  In plain English,  you must make clients feel that you are worth the money.

A good brand is very seductive.  Brand loyalty leads people to pay $5.00 for coffee when they could buy perhaps higher-quality brew for $2.00.  It makes women covet $1000.00 + handbags so they can flash a certain designer label,  when handbags of similar quality and attractiveness,  but without the logo,  are available at less than half  that price.

As we continue to explore strategies to expand business,  let’s give some thought to building on authenticity  (see the May 28 post),  using it to strengthen perceived value-added and power of  the brand.  Increases in perceived value are generally more profitable than increases in the quality of services delivered.  Clients are known to pay more for what they think is worth more before they’ll pay for service upgrades.

Successful Freelance consultants deliver first-rate expertise and customer service.  As a marketing strategy,  we can attempt to make ourselves appear worthwhile to prospective clients in a number of ways.  One strategy can be to package ourselves rather lavishly,  handing out expensive business cards,  renting office space in the high-rent district and paying big registration fees to attend prestige conferences.  The premise is,  in order to attract big fish clients,  one must swim in the same waters.

Alternatively,  one may choose the high visibility route and invest scads of time on social media sites,  posting frequently, earning a high Klout score and showing up in the top ten of a Google search.  The premise is,  if one’s name is all over the internet,  then prospective clients will see it and one will then be considered the obvious choice when it is time to hire,  through the power of notoriety and perceived expertise.

Teaching,  speaking engagements and visible involvement in business and professional groups are a third strategy.  The premise here is that professional expertise is demonstrated through these activities and that builds trust and gives prospective clients the incentive to not only hire,  but pay a premium for services rendered.

Whichever strategy you find most attractive,  be mindful that your perceived value will be enhanced when you establish links with individuals and organizations that are admired and respected by your clients.  If you can arrange to be photographed with the mayor or governor,  it will raise your perceived value because you will be seen in the company of movers and shakers.  Membership in certain professional associations or social clubs may also confer significant value.

Professional certifications can do the same,  which is why a Certified Public Accountant can charge two or three times what an accountant with a degree but no special piece of paper can charge for providing nearly identical services.  The CPA designation allows a trust factor to kick in and it’s worth money.   According to Martin Reimann,  professor of Psychology at University of Southern California, the “right” affiliations and relationships bolster one’s perceived value.  They are endorsements of value-added.

My parents often told me when I was growing up that we are judged by the company that we keep.  I took that admonition to heart and picked my friends with care,  especially as I got older and there was more on the line.  The advice applies equally to our professional lives.  If it appears that we have the confidence of those whom prospective clients and referral sources respect,  we are more likely to be hired or referred and better able to charge premium prices for our services.  But it all starts with being authentic.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Authenticity is the Only Personal Brand

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The successful Freelance consultant is acknowledged as an expert and leader in his/her chosen field  by clients,  colleagues and competitors.  This Freelancer has superior skills that are accompanied by integrity;  s/he can be trusted to meet or even exceed expectations.  This individual commands respect because s/he is highly competent,  reliable and credible,  that is to say,  authentic.

Authentic is an adjective that’s thrown around a lot these days and perhaps suffers from overuse,  but I agree with leadership development specialists who assert that a truly effective leader is highly skilled,  trustworthy,  respectful,  communicates well and is unafraid to be him/herself.  A leader embraces the genuine self,  strives to develop and present  the best self and does not waste time trying to be someone else.  For those reasons,  leaders are often considered charismatic and they inspire great loyalty.

Les McKeown,  CEO of Predictable Success,   an adviser on organizational growth and author of  “Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization on the Growth Track and Keeping It There” (2010),  has shared three phrases that will telegraph your authenticity and leadership ability to others.   At some future meeting,  it will make sense for a leader to make at least one of these statements:

“I have nothing to add.”  The confident leader is not in love with the sound of his/her own voice and does not feel compelled to weigh in on every matter.  A leader intuits when everything that is relevant has been expressed,  respects the well-reasoned opinions of others and allows others to take center stage and shine every now and again.

“I don’t understand what you mean by…..”  Authentic leaders admit knowledge gaps and ask for information that will clarify,  so that they can grasp the subject under discussion and promote good decision-making.  They are not driven by a need to appear  expert in all things.

“I recommend that we…..”  A leader recognizes when it is time to make a decision,  whether or not all the facts are in hand.  Usually,  all the facts can never be in hand,  but a leader knows when we must move forward and either take advantage of an opportunity,   head off a crisis,  or cut losses.  An authentic leader takes responsibility to put resources and reputation on the line and make,  or advocate for,  a decision or action.

Role models can be inspiring and show us the way,  but at the end of the day we must be ourselves.  We must be willing to embrace what we believe in,  acknowledge our priorities and articulate our values and vision.  To do so takes confidence,  which is yet another attribute of a leader.   An authentic leader has no desire to present a false  “personal brand”  that may seem trendy at a given moment.  A real leader knows that authenticity is the only worthwhile personal brand and that its value is timeless.

Thanks for reading,

Kim