Corporations invest time and money to craft and sustain their brands. As a result, some brands become indelibly written into our minds and memories, woven into the binding of the story of our culture.
McDonalds. Coke. Nike. Microsoft. Apple.
These companies, and others like them, are adept at reading and interpreting the realities of our social world and positioning themselves through messages that connect with their customers.
But branding is no longer just for major companies. It’s not even just about business.
Branding is personal.
Your brand is who you are. Your uniqueness. What you have to offer.
Your brand highlights the qualities that differentiate you from others. Your brand tells a story, makes you memorable.
In the same way that corporations spend time and energy to define their brands, individuals need to carefully and thoughtfully consider how to present themselves to others.
What decisions will you make about branding?
If you want to lead others, your branding decisions are even more significant. What are you leading people to accomplish? What is your philosophy of leadership? What can you contribute? All of this — your beliefs, your values, your personality, your hopes, dreams, and goals — can be expressed in and through your personal brand.
On a smaller scale, your personal brand will become recognizable to others, especially those in your sphere of influence.
Join the conversation!
What consideration have you given to developing and expressing your brand?
What story does your brand tell?
What do you hope to indelibly impress in the memories of the people you influence?
This was originally posted at Mountain State University LeaderTalk and is re-posted with permission.
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.
I really needed this post. At the moment I do not have answers to the three questions at the end. I mean, I know that it all exists for me but I have not been able to articulate it. This has impacted my influence significantly. This post has prodded me to make sure that I take the time to do this. Thanks.
I agree that deciding how to communicate your brand to others can be difficult. I think the tricky part is that you are not “creating” your brand but choosing how to highlight your unique strengths and abilities. To me, this is different from corporate branding. Companies can create and recreate themselves on a dime. You are who you are, and branding lets that shine through.
Thanks for this lovely well written post.I specially liked the last part in which you spoke of leadership and its link with branding.Branding needs to be done in a strategical manner.Great post.