How to Discover & Shape Your Personal Brand

Photos - Successful Journalists, Hume Johnson, Janice Budd and Ian Andrew; Reggae Artiste, Lymie Murray

Now that you understand the importance of personal branding whether you are a celebrity or not, the next logical step ought to be discovering and determining what your brand is. For some people, this will be easy because they already know what they stand for and what they wish to be known for.

But for the majority of us, the question, “what do you want to be known for” is a very hard question which requires deep and deliberate thought. It is not easy for these folks largely because from high school, their goals, directions, skills and interests have been fluid, changing or unformed. And nothing about this has changed for them since leaving high school 10, 20 and 30 years. Face it – many people still have not figured out who they are or what they want to do.

So let me ask the question of you? : What are you good at? What do you want to be known for – professionally and personally? You must be good at something!

HOW TO DISCOVER AND IDENTIFY YOUR BRAND?
Here is a simple exercise I would like you to perform. Take a sheet of paper ad write down some adjectives which you think could best describe the kind of person you are. Ok, if this is hard, you may want to clue yourself in by what others say about you; what do people say you are good at? A good suggestion is the testimonials widget on Facebook. Ask a few of your friends to write a few testimonials about you and use this to become clearer as to how others perceive you.

Or you could do what I do! Each time I am leaving Jamaica (to return Down Under), I host a mini farewell away party (mostly because living in Australia is tantamount to being out of space!) where my colleagues/friends would invariably eulogise me by standing and giving these speeches about me. I pay close attention to what they say. Given the fact that people very often talk only behind your back about you, these events would be the rare opportunity to gain real insights into what they think of you.

So stage a party … LOL! I am just kidding! The point is if you are unsure about your assets and reputation, use the praise, commendation or criticism leveled at you by others to clue yourself in. All of what you hear is a sum total of how you are seen, in short, the personal brand you are projecting. It may give you the first start point at correcting behaviours that aren’t helping your personal brand or honing those that have potential to draw benefits to you.

For example, do you have a reputation for being reliable? Can people take you at your word? Can they trust you to always do what you say you are going to do? Are you always late for a meeting, function, event? If you answered yes, then punctuality is not part of your personal brand. If you would like to be known as a punctual, reliable, disciplined person, then its time to make that extra effort to turn up on time, do what you say you are going to do, and if you can’t, say so in advance and mean it!

Years ago, as a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council, I was asked to take the minutes a few times in the absence of the Secretary. My notes were detailed and well–presented and I became known for that. I was later elected as Secretary of the Executive. You may have a reputation as a caring listener, someone who will give 100 % to a task, or an initiative-taker. You may be identified as a person with assertiveness and positive leadership skills. Maybe you are an excellent problem-solver, or a charming, easy going personality who knows how to deflate a conflict.

Ask yourself: what makes me different for stand out? For businesses, the same is true. Suppose everytime customers come to your food establishment, they find it dirty, flies all about etc. Wouldn’t you become known as that place where people are advised not to eat? The same is true of your personal brand. The idea is you will recognise your brand definition when it is aligned to your values.

So go ahead – NOW - Sum up in one word or a group of work what you stand for. So answer all of these questions honestly, listen to the feedback, take them on board, and revisit your values to uncover what you want to be known for. Experts agree that you will then how to align how you look, sound and behave to this new brand.

ALIGNING YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS WITH YOUR BRAND STRATEGY

Andrea Molloy in her book, “Work Happy: Get the Job you want, Love the Job You Have” stated what, to me, is perhaps the most profound statement on personal branding. She said: “While some celebrities are famous for being famous, in the real world, YOU NEED TO DELIVER RESULTS and be able to follow through”. She advises that you think about your track record and areas in which you are most competent. Are you renowned for promising to meet deadlines and then missing them? Maybe you are well known for being late to appointments.

The idea is to be able to ‘walk the talk’ and deliver on your promises. The more I read the literature on branding, the more it redounds to personal credibility; Walking the talk is not to live in theory of all this knowledge but to actually use it. It is doing exactly what you know is right. It is about becoming that respected brand that we talked about in the first of this series.

So ACTION TASK: Decide what you want to be known for? What is your personal brand and how can it potentially be expressed.

SELLING AND SHARING YOUR BRAND
So you have discovered your personal brand and you are ready to show “Me Inc” to the world. In the next few posts, I will pass on tips that I have picked up from personal experiences and reading books like Molloy’s on how to express your brand through how you look, sound and behave. Molloy maintains that “your brand will evolve over time as your knowledge and experience grows”.

It certainly did for me as I moved from being a broadcaster to the wider field of communications and later embraced fully the study and practice of politics. I have used my own developed perspectives on a range of issues, my gift of gab; a highly-developed penmanship, an innate political instinct and personal credibility of giving 100 %, being reliable, turning up on time and offering critique, and workable ideas and suggestions to high profile business entrepreneurs, politicians over a period of now 20 years.

What I have now is the “Hume Johnson brand”. It is by no means a celebrity brand. It is one crafted on my skills, experience and expertise as a broadcast journalist, academic, political analyst/advisor; and strategic communication specialist. If you flick to Simone Harris’ webpage on Facebook or her website www.simoneharris.com you will also see a superb example of an ordinary individual (not a celebrity) taking her set of skills, experience, interests, abilities, passion and values to create and sell a personal brand.

Of course, as you change careers, or move through lifestyle changes, experts agree that you will need to adjust and check in with your values. Some celebrities such as Madonna, Michael Jackson or Prince go for dramatic reinventions. In the same way, some companies would upgrade a product by improving the packaging. Jamaican artistes such as “Frisco Kid” and “Yogie” changed their names to “Ancient Monarchy” and “Courtney John” respectively to reflect amendments to their brand strategy.
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See also www.reverbnation.com/humejohnson for audio and video samples of my work.
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Build Your Personal Brand ; It isnt just for the celebrity or product

Branding is like breathing for today’s celebrity. It is their life. Without it, they are likely to suffocate and die, Well their career that is, although some celebrities would literally expire from lack of exposure. The same goes for the modern business corporation; they understand fully (hopefully!) that proper branding of their product is essential to success. But what about you – yes, you regular chum sitting at your PC - surfing the internet? Please - catch on to the idea that branding is not reserved for the celebrity. It is as much for the janitor sweeping the office as much as it is for the senior executive or the line staff.

I have been talking a lot with my colleagues in Jamaica about the “ReBrand Jamaica” project and the ‘nation-as-product’ concept. It occurred to me that many of the discussions/writings on branding focus on corporations, products and the celebrity person. But what of the average person who is not a celebrity? Is branding important for the ordinary professional? In researching materials for a series of career seminars with my communication interns at James Cook University, I have developed a personal view on this very important area of personal development which I will share with you over several posts.

First of all, you have got to know the now popular name for personal branding! It is called – get this – “Me Inc”. Got it? Amazing isn’t it. It’s all about me- Me Me Me Me Me Me Me! I mean YOU! You get the idea. It simply means that you are the one in charge of your own brand.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL BRANDING
Let me hasten to say that we are not here talking about a narcissistic selfishness and shallow attention-seeking behaviours for which some celebrities are known. Neither ought it to be dismissed as celebrity styling.

Andrea Molloy, author of “Work Happy; Get the Job You Want and Love the Job You have” says branding is the image you project to others – your individuality. Branding is thus fundamental in how we choose to present ourselves to others. It also refers to the sum total of your assets, skills, abilities, experiences and values. She says when it comes to getting a new job, lining up for promotion, being taken seriously, returning to work or running your own business, you need to stand out from the crowd as your own person.

I am attracted to this definition and philosophy on branding because it is more than mere image and instead a honest reflection of your identity and reputation. The idea is that of you develop your personal brand, you may get not only noticed for your talents and expertise, but you have a real opportunity to make a genuine first impression and of course be remembered once you left the room- for all the right reasons (Molloy, 2005)!

JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER - YES I SAID SO!

Face it - we live in an image oriented world. The media surrounds us and focuses our attention to as moving images and symbols. We have no choice to judge based on what our eyes can see. When you are attracted to someone for the first time, t is usually some physical aspect of them that we are drawn to. It is later that we begin to appreciate their other wonderful qualities. A friend of mine said once “you have to look good to attract people to your brain: Funny and cynical but this remark holds some profound truths. The reality is that we do lean heavily on that first impression to make judgments about others. Your brand thus influences how others perceive you.

Psychologists say when we meet someone our brain compiles all the information we can gather about image, body language, stance, posture, smell and tone of voice to make an impression. Most of the information is communicated non-verbally (55%). The words you say form only 7% of the message and your tone and voice 38%. This process happens in less than 30 seconds and often the clues we receive don’t add up.

The idea is that if you don’t look sound and behave the part, it’s not surprising that incorrect assumptions can be made about your ability to do a job professionally.

GET NOTICED

If you are like some of my own colleagues here on facebook, twitter and my space, you will draw on your marketing expertise and experience and brand yourself in the same way a company would promote a product. I am not suggesting you go make yourself into a superstar. What I am saying is LEARN to position yourself to capture the opportunities that may be passing you by.

Please, don’t take concept of positioning yourself well in the workplace and in the workforce for granted. It is important to recognise that selling yourself can mean you stand a better chance of getting that well-needed promotion at work; standing out above others for a sought after job. I give you an example; of the 600 persons turned up Downtown Kingston (Jamaica) in March 2009 for the 3 positions that Captain’s Bakery advertised, it would be the applicant who stand out (in a crowd literally!) or gets ‘noticed” (for their skill, talent, experience – brand) that would most likely land this position.

To brand yourself is about selling yourself. What about you that makes you a cut above the rest? Molloy in her book suggests that the next time you go shopping, you should take note of the brands which are most well known to you. It’s no accident she says that you can pick the next known brands because millions are spent on advertising their qualities.

Think about big names like Adidas, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Microsoft, Nike and Vodafone. How does your perception of each brand influence your buying habits? The idea, Molly states, is that “Just as global brands present an image of what they stand for, the same applies to us as individuals”. Well-known personalities, she continues, can give us insight into how branding works with people: “Life style guru Martha Stewart; The Body Shop’s Anita Rodduck; Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, David Beckham, Tiger Woods; Richard Branson and Donald Trump need little introduction. Despite Martha Stewart’s legal woes, her fans still look to her for domestic solutions. Likewise, Madonna and Oprah have brands so strong that they are known by their first names only”. Indeed – what the heck is Oprah’s surname?! Oh – Winfrey! Wow – I forgot for a second there – it is rarely ever used.

If we can consider some of the personalities such as the late Steve Irwin– Usain Bolt, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle; – each of them present a consistent brand and the sum total of how they look sound and behave express the type of person they are and determines how we perceive them.

Finally, it is important to reiterate that you aren’t required to be well-known (famous; a celebrity) to have or create your own brand image. It goes without saying however that branding will enhance and improve your reputation and what you are best known for. Don’t allow yourself to be misconstrued and misinterpreted by permitting others to determine who you are. Create your own narratives. In short - manage your own brand.