Brand You - Invest In Yourself
“The best investment you can make is in yourself” says Warren Buffet
Consistency is the hallmark for every successful brand.
When you think of any major brand, you know that you will get the same experience that you have experienced earlier. If there is any variation, you will be seriously disappointed.
People continue to invest in themselves to propel themselves forward to gain acceptance in a society higher than the one they perceive themselves to be in. Moving ahead is human nature and this can be achieved by constantly investing in and educating ourselves.
From time immemorial, we have seen that the children of the rich and famous are sent to “finishing schools” in Switzerland to improve their abilities to be presented to the larger society. The concept of “presentation to the society” in a formal “coming out” party was necessary in the olden days for the young ladies to find a suitable match for marriage.
Good manners, good speaking skills, good dressing skills, ability to communicate at parties and ability to carry themselves in any community are all about adding to the value of the individual’s brand. Finishing schools cover personality development, dining etiquette, power dressing, business etiquette, social etiquette and public speaking.
Good social skills apply to each one of us as individuals, irrespective of whether we can afford to go to a finishing school. Our parents and our teachers, in their own way, teach us these skills as we grow from childhood to adolescence. Based on whatever knowledge they have; they teach us the first and basic ingredients of Brand You.
You represent your own brand. Each one of us assumes a brand value of ourselves. More often than not, this is a grossly exaggerated value we believe we have.
Ask yourself, what is it that your brand offers that others do not?
Here are few questions you can ask yourself.
Are you seen as a dependable person when it comes to taking responsibility in the workplace?
Do people remember you for your work ethics?
Do you have the ability to say ‘no’ when you are being pushed to achieve deadlines you know you cannot meet even before you have accepted the task?
If a task is assigned to you is your boss certain that you will get it done within the stipulated time frame?
Do you bring innovative ways of doing things into your workplace thereby saving time and money for your company?
Once you have a clear answer, hopefully a strong positive, to the above questions, you have started your journey to building yourself into a brand.
The next set of questions that you need to answer are:
Are you known and respected in your professional community, outside the four walls of your organisation?
Does your name come up when decision makers want an opinion related to your field of specialisation?
Think of the answers to these questions. Ideally the answers should be a strong positive.
Your brand must make an impact well beyond your workplace. In today’s interconnected world, communicating your message is easy but it is getting your message to be seen, heard and understood that is very difficult.
For you to achieve this you need to invest in yourself, using your knowledge and skills that you know best. More and more people are sharing their knowledge and their experiences through social media in a never before manner.
At the same time, negative social media posts also have a strong negative repercussion on your personal brand.
Social media has empowered everyone.
Everyone can now aspire to speak to the world, using their global voice. There are no restrictions on what you can say and how often you can say. You can address any one at any time on any subject.
You too can use the various social media platforms to talk about your personal brand and to make yourself seen, heard and talked about. While I have covered social media in much more detail in my book, I am giving below a few thoughts for you to think about to build Brand You.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give you an excellent opportunity to share personal experiences. These platforms help you to reach out and get followers beyond the people you know when you start to say things that interest a larger community of people in the world.
It is important to be original in what you say. Simply liking or retweeting may not get you the recognition that you are looking for.
LinkedIn gives you a very good platform to share your professional knowledge with your peers on a professional level. It is a group where you can judiciously select building up your contact base.
You will also be able to follow iconic professional managers and read their views on a wide range of subjects.
Writing a blog is one of the best ways to communicate what you feel about a subject. Given the opportunities available to publish across so many different forms of media, you can write on virtually any subject that you can think of.
Blogging can be a very impactful way of communicating your thoughts. Subjects can range from your work-related specialisation to a sport you love, to music.
Remember that what you say should be yours originally. Once you have written your blog, you can promote it through the various social media platforms.
Start speaking at industry conferences and at other forums. Speaking not only gives you a platform to express your ideas and thoughts, it also forces you to prepare well, in advance, on the subject of your speech. The easiest way to get your first speaking invitation is to put your name down in industry associations for panel discussions.
Conference organisers are always looking for good speakers!
Write a book outlining your thoughts and experiences. Everyone has at least one book inside them. The challenge in writing a book is first to get started and then, more importantly to finish what you started.
A well-written book will have several publishers waiting in line.
Even if you are not able to find a publisher, you have the ability to self-publish through several channels. If you have established a strong presence on social media, marketing your book will not be a major challenge.
The author is a Business and Executive Coach, a Storyteller and an Angel Investor. He hosts the highly successful podcast titled The Brand Called You. A keen political observer and commentator, he is also the founder Chairman of Guardian Pharmacies. He is the author of 8 best-selling books and writes for several online newspapers.
