Brand Yourself Before Everyone Else Does

“You too are a brand. Whether you know it or not. Whether you like it or not.”

- Marc Ecko

I listened to an episode of Impact Theory and the guest spoke about the fact that big corporations may become obsolete in the near future. With this, we as individuals need to be prepare to create our own brand.  Branding is no longer left for likes of Coca-Cola and Nike but also needs to apply to the individual, and you know what, why the hell not. 

Many think that branding is all about having a logo, specific colors and typography, and yes, they are part of branding…but there’s a whole other layer.  A layer that could truly help you better understand who you are and thus represent your true authentic self with greater ease.

Brand Attributes and Personality

These are the characteristics and values that cannot be seen from the surface. This is the bedrock, the core that defines who a company is. It allows for them to know what decisions, opportunities and directions to pursue or pass by.  You need to ask yourself, what do you stand for, what are the characteristics and traits of yourself that you hold dear and what would you never compromise yourself on?

Benefits – Rational/Functional and Emotional

“Whatever your area of expertise, you can take steps to make people think of YOU when they think of your field.” – Accelepoint Webzine

In branding there are two types of benefits, rational/functional and emotional. For the rational/functional portion of your personal brand, what are your concrete skills, work experience and training and/or education?  Are you well versed in certain processes, a quick learner, detailed oriented or apt in time management?  For the emotional benefits, what is it about you that adds to those who you come in contact with?  Are you open-minded, a good listener, humorous, steadfast, able to be counted on or can you read a room?  Know the strengths that you bring based on the skills and talents you’ve learned and acquired.  Also know that how you affect others, and the positive impact you have in relationships (business and personal) are highly important as well.

Brand Mission/Purpose/Vision

A company is only as good as their purpose and without one they won’t make it, period.  Their mission has to connect to something larger, a true reason because though the goal of a business is to make money, that will not keep the troops aligned and moving forward in the same direction, especially through tough times. What is the legacy you want to leave behind, who are you becoming, what is your purpose for being here?  This is what I often refer to as your Life Mission Statement.  Make it no more than three sentences, that you could repeat upon request.

Brand Voice

“Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood." Leo Rosten

A company needs to think about communication with intention much more so than we do for ourselves.  From spoken communication, the tonality, tempo and pitch to written words and phrases it all gets taken into consideration.  What if you did the same for yourself?  How would you want to be heard, and what are your intentions behind how you communicate?  Do you want your communication to come across as honest, strong and empathetic, and are you currently communicating in a way that supports those ideals? 

I hope that by reading some of the components of branding you understand why applying the same thought and careful consideration to yourself would be beneficial. There is only greatness to be had when you truly understand who you are, what skills you offer, how you benefit others, what you’re striving for and the intention behind the words you use. 

Just like branding a cow, this type of deep introspection can burn, but it’s much better for you to do the branding than someone else.