cartoon by @gapingvoid

There is an awful lot of conversation about personal branding these days – books, blogs, social media, webinars, conferences, etc. And a lot of what they all say is important.

I was talking with my friend Stephanie A. Lloyd about her 2010 plans the other day, and she was telling me some of her thinking about personal branding.

She helped boil down my thinking on personal branding to a mere three critical steps. And they aren’t complicated, despite so many people making this process harder than it has to be. They are:

1. The need for FOCUS and CLARITY on your specialty. You cannot be all things to all people. You must be clear about the one thing you can do to serve and help people. You can’t be known as a master of ten different things. A lot of people can’t really tell you the one thing they do well, because they don’t want to miss an opportunity by being too narrowly defined. Get over that fear. It will kill you.

2. The ability to clearly articulate what that is. You’ve heard people say that you should be able to describe your story in one sentence. As in, “FDR got us out of the Depression and helped win WWII.” If you cannot clearly articulate what your specialty or skill is, your personal brand will be muddled and confusing. You have to make it clear. You have to make it easy to understand. And if you have to explain in detail what you do, you’ve already lost.

3. Consistency delivering this well-articulated message both online and offline. Most people’s problem? They aren’t consistent in telling their story over and over. Or they say one thing on Twitter, and another thing at a Chamber mixer. Or explaining what you do in different ways, to different people. Or changing what you do again and again and again. I tell my political clients to stay on message. Same thing applies here.

The three concepts above aren’t rocket science. So what’s the hard part? Being disciplined enough to execute on these three points over time. If you can do that, you will be on the right path…and your personal brand will be one that resonates and helps you go-to-market with strength and clarity.

So ask yourself, “Am I really following these three key steps?” Be honest, and good luck. Got any other thoughts?

Today, I had the distinct pleasure to be a surprise guest on Dream Job Radio, hosted by Stephanie A. Lloyd. Being a radio show about talent search, we discussed two different ways for job search candidates to build and strengthen their personal brands using social media. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwJvi1oh3NI]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkbgwUskWkk]
See the original post from the He Said She Said blog here. And view Stephanie’s version on Radiant Veracity. And a special thanks to Lee Kantor and the RadioX family!

cartoon by @gapingvoid

As you know, we here at Intrepid are big fans of giving back to your community. Whether this is done as an individual, a family, or a business, it matters not because it is all important.

But, as I’ve written before, you know I firmly believe that giving back to your community is good marketing for your business too. Not only does it reflect well on you and your brand, and help the community, but the effort also [usually] exposes you to new people in your community – people that might not run in your usual business circles…

But today, I was inspired by this post from Stephanie A. Lloyd, my co-hort with He Said She Said. She wrote about donating clothes and linens to HopeATL, an outfit working to help those who suffered tragically with the recent Atlanta floods. Here is a quick video about their mission:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OocR2jUpsRc]
I am inspired, everyday, by people like Stephanie and by organizations such as HopeATL! I continue to be amazed by what people can do, and what they will do, out of the goodness of their hearts and souls. When I witness people giving back, I categorize them as the best and brightest – and the kind of people who make a community what it is.

But, for a moment, allow yourself to imagine what others will think of you when you “give back” to your community! What do you want people to think about when your name is mentioned? I observe people every day who have achieved great things in business. And many of those have been active in serving their community, and that is how I choose to view these folks. And, those are the kind of people I want to associate with, and do business with.

But I still get challenged with this idea. How do you have the time? I have no idea what cause to help or support. I will help out as soon as I can make enough money to cover the mortgage. Sure, I get it. This might not be for everyone. I’ve heard every excuse. If you think long enough, you can come up with some reason not to do this. But, as I am discovering every day, it doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part to make a difference in someone’s life. And to your community.

Still need to be convinced? Want a few more reasons to commit you and your business to a “giving back” strategy? Here are just a few:

1. Great PR for you and your business.
2. Exposes you to new people, new people that are not in your usual business circles.
3. Helps you build community.
4. Gives you important things to talk about on social media.
5. Great potential blog content!
6. Helps dramatically with your company storytelling!
7. Strong means to strengthen – and live – your brand.
8. Doing so helps you stand out amongst the clutter.
9. It will differentiate you from your competition.
10. It will give your customers something to talk about.
11. The opportunity to use your association with your charity, non-profit, etc. as a way to engage your customers and community, such as hosting events/promotions where percentages of the revenues are donated to a cause.
12. Allows you to do some real good for the local community.
13. Social media makes it very easy to serve your community – easier than it has ever been.

     

    What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What are ways you have given back to your community?

I am asked every day whether a person should build a brand around themselves personally, or around their business. That question, without knowing the bigger picture, is difficult to answer.

But, to be honest, I generally lean towards building a desired brand identity and positioning around YOU. People like to buy from someone they know, trust, and have a good relationship with. Obviously, this is more difficult if you are part of a larger organization…

What you MUST understand is this: you can’t simply create a “brand” out of thin air. You have to earn it. And the market determines what your brand is, because of the reputation you have earned in achieving it. You can say you are the “customer service” company, but if your customer service is poor, the market place will determine otherwise.

That said, here are a few ideas on things you can do to help strengthen the relationship your market, your customers, and your prospects – have with your brand:

1. Be honest. Always.
2. Do what you promise. Always.
3. Think about your customers first. With every decision. I mean every decision.
4. Have all stakeholders in your organization bought into the same, consistent organizational message.
5. And then deliver that message consistently.
6. Think service first, selling second.
7. Live your positioning. If you say you are a green company, be green.
8. Give back to the community.
9. Be yourself.
10. Admit fault. And seek to fix it.
11. Focus on the little things. They matter…
12. Strive to be perfect in every way. From big picture stuff to the mundane…
13. Be intrepid. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t play it safe.
14. Don’t embrace the status quo. You will die a slow death…
15. Seek to stand out. Make it easy for people to distinguish you.
16. But make it easy for people to know you.
17. Be accessible. Communicate well.
18. When using social media, truly engage with people.
19. Listen.
20. Live up to expectations.
21. Be sure your marketing tells a story…
22. …And pushes emotional buttons.
23. Provide a strong pre-purchase customer experience…
24. …but don’t forget the post-purchase experience.
25. Does your product or service deliver on what you promise?

You can make a choice to do nothing, and let the branding chips fall where they may. Or you can choose to earn your brand, and make the choice to strengthen your customer’s brand relationship.

What will you choose? And what other ideas can you share?

Be Intrepid.