The Personal Brand You
When you think of a personal brand, what comes to mind?
The University of Calgary held an event on branding for its alumni living in the Toronto and surrounding areas. Derek Hassay, RBC Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship Thinking gave us notice that he was going to talk about personal branding and how to connect your personal brand with the University of Calgary, and he actually did that. This got me thinking because I thought it was quite clever what Professor Hassay did, and that anyone can do something equally clever, if he or she understands more than the fundamentals of the field. Hassay knows a lot about marketing, and as a result is able to make unusual and effective connections.
Brand: A product, organization, place or person’s perceived image.
Logo/Trademark: Captures and communicates the brand. It identifies, it doesn’t explain. A logo’s meaning is derived from the entity it represents; not vice versa.
What Logos Have the Power to do
- Simplify decision-making
- Provide assurance
- Afford status
- Facilitate connections
- Inform/Educate
- Challenge
- Protect
- Inspire/Encourage
- Remind
- Celebrate
Brand Equity: The tangible and intangible elements of a brand both generate and influence value. This value is referred to as brand equity – goodwill.
Personal Brand: Your personal brand is an aggregated assessment of you – an attitude, emotion, or perception held by others based on their interactions with you.
Note: It takes as little as 1/10th second to make a first impression.
Personal Branding: Similar to impression and/or reputation management. Personal branding clarifies and communicates your unique qualities and is a means to distinguish you from your peers.
Your Brand is the Product of
What you…
Where you…
Who you…
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What others…
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The personal brand is easy to create, hard to maintain, and difficult to change. You could be locked into who you were.
How to Build Brand U
- Know yourself: What makes you distinct, what are your current skills and values?
- Invest in yourself: Improve your skills through training and professional development.
- Be comfortable with who you are and want to be.
- Smile. A positive attitude and disposition helps people.
- Present yourself as you wish to be perceived. Dress the part. Inconsistency kills good brands.
- Communicate clearly and concisely. Listen more. Great communication requires practice.
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Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.
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