The Power of Personal Branding Society for Technical Communications Career Day March 20, 2004

p. 2 Agenda What is Personal Branding? Why is Personal Branding So Important? The 10C’s of Successful Branding Your Vision and Purpose Your Goals Your Personal Attributes Your Values Your Passions Your Target Audience Communicating Your Personal Brand Your Brand Identity System Personal Branding: A Work in Progress Note: This presentation is based on the E-Book, “Three Steps to a Winning Personal Brand” by William Arruda of Reach Communications. (

p. 3 What is Personal Branding?  It is a way of clarifying and communicating what makes you different and special  It is using your unique attributes to separate yourself from your competitors  It is NOT a logo or tag line  It is NOT a bunch of marketing activities and products

p. 4 Why is Personal Branding So Important?  Business is becoming more competitive and more global: All companies compete for the same customers  People buy from people: Ultimately, it is the personal relationship that makes the sale  A strong personal brand can be the tipping point when a buyer evaluates your product or service  A compelling personal brand provides the guidance you need to shape your strategy, and adds enormous value to your business  Understanding your personal brand helps you define a direction for your business, and keeps it on course during difficult times  Helps you stay focused on how you and your business create value  Ultimately it leads to profound personal and professional satisfaction

p. 5 The 10 C’s of Successful Personal Branding  Correct: Reflects the personal attributes of its creator  Concise: Can be captured in one or two sentences  Clear: Explains what it is and what it is not  Consistent: Its promise and message never changes  Constant: Always visible and accessible  Compelling: Appropriate, interesting, and relevant to its target audience  Clever: Highly differentiated and unique  Connected: Is part of a network of partners, colleagues, and customers  Committed: Shows that that the creator is in it for the long haul  Current: Based on market needs today, with room to evolve

p. 6 Your Vision and Purpose Vision: The act or power of imagination; Unusual discernment or foresight Exercise Think about one world problem you would like to see solved, or one area of life that you want to see transformed or improved. This is your vision. Purpose: Something set up as an object or end to be attained; Intention; Resolution; Determination Exercise Imagine yourself at your own funeral. You can hear what people are saying about you. What are they saying about what you accomplished, how you touched their lives, how you made a different to them and the world? Their comments suggest your purpose.

p. 7 Your Goals Goal: The end toward which effort is directed  Your personal brand needs to be tied to your goals  Your goals will help you decided how to prioritize and focus your efforts Exercise: Your Ultimate Goal With your vision and purpose in mind, identify one goal that you could define for your business that would help you fulfill your purpose and realize your vision. Exercise: Your Supporting Goals Think about the smaller (but essential) goals that will help you achieve your ultimate goal. Assign a timeframe for each goal, and group them into short-term, medium- term, and long-term categories to prioritize them. Write down the tasks required to reach your goals.

p. 8 Your Personal Attributes Attribute: An inherent characteristic; A natural quality  A successful personal brand reflects your unique attributes.  Building a successful brand begins with knowing who you are.  The goal in personal branding is to highlight the positive brand attributes, and minimize the negative brand attributes Exercise Ask five or ten friends, acquaintances, peers, teachers, etc. to list five adjectives that best describe you. Identify which are positive and which are negative. Put an asterisk next to the attributes that came up most often. These are the personal brand attributes that you are expressing most consistently. Resource: The Keirsey Type Indicator creates a detailed self-profile.

p. 9 Your Values Value: Relative worth, utility, or importance; Degree of excellence; A principle or quality intrinsically desirable  Values in our lives tend to show up in our behaviors that others see when we are not conscious of them.  Values signify what is important to us.  Personal values should play a crucial role in your professional life. Group Discussion/Exercise: Brainstorm a comprehensive list of values that you live by or have encountered. What values do you accept for yourself? What values do you reject? Document your own values. Circle your top five values.

p. 10 Your Passions Passion: Intense, driving feeling or conviction; A strong desire for, or devotion to, an activity or concept Passions are what make you willingly get out of bed at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning. Passion comes across in the tone of your voice when you are talking about your interest with others. Passion is felt internally, and shown externally. Passions are a source of strength. Exercise Document the activities or causes that can willingly get you out of bed at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning, and make you feel energized. Circle your top five values.

p. 11 Your Target Audience So Who Are You Reaching?  Your target audience includes your ideal clients, and those that influence them.  The people to reach are those whom you would most like to work with, who would benefit most from what you have to offer, and who would be easiest to attract to your business. Exercise Identify as much information as you can about your target audience. Use the prompters on the next page for ideas.

p. 12 Your Target Audience Psychographics  What do they do in their spare time?  What do they like to read?  What movies/TV shows do they watch?  What associations do they belong to? Demographics  Age range  Gender  Career/job position/title  Income  Location  Education

p. 13 Communicating Your Personal Brand Your Personal Brand is about understanding what is truly unique about you - your strengths, skills, values, and passions – and using those attributes to differentiate yourself. How to Communicate Your Brand: 1.Use power tools to remodel your brand image. 2.Be a refined individual. 3.Seek out opportunities and new business. 4.Become an expert. 5.Extend the reach of your message. 6.Speak out. 7.Take action.

p. 14 Your Brand Identity System A Brand Identity System is essential for effective brand communications  Personalized stationary  Business cards  Thank-you notes  Voice mail messages  templates  Web sites  Print marketing materials (brochures, case studies, etc.)  A portfolio or resume that communicates quality  A strong logo

p. 15 Personal Branding: A Work in Progress These exercises are just the beginning.  You must constantly assess your brand and the value that it is bringing you and your customers.  You must continually find new ways to achieve your brand-building objectives. Measuring Your Brand Effectiveness  Conduct a focus group with individuals who will provide honest feedback  Request feedback on your communications tools.  Greater input results in stronger output. Evolving Your Brand  Reflect product, service, and company changes  Keep current with your customer requirements and competitors

p. 16 Thank You! Marissa Levin CEO, Information Experts