It’s 2018 – undoubtedly, you’ve heard the term “brand.” Disney is a brand, and so is Coca-Cola – but what is it that makes them a brand? And what makes some brands so successful?
The term “brand” is difficult even for experienced marketers to define with any certitude because the term describes feelings more than specific assets or features. What is certain is that organizations must have consistent brands to attract and hold consumer attention — and workers should have personal brands that do the same with employers.
Called personal branding, the practice of developing a brand that reflects your knowledge, skills, needs and wants is so popular in the job market that it is almost impossible to find a good position without some branding efforts. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a marketing guru to understand the basics of personal branding. This guide will walk you through some easy ways to build a personal brand that will take you onwards and upwards toward the career of your dreams.
Understanding the Brand
Before you can build your personal brand, you need to develop a better grasp of what a brand is. The first, most important lesson is that brands are about feelings. When you regard a specific brand, say Harley-Davidson, you respond with specific emotions, perhaps nostalgia or envy. Businesses’ branding efforts are primarily about controlling these feelings, and that is precisely what you should strive to do when assembling your brand.
However, it is also important to note that brands are not static; all brands, including yours, will change over time or in different circumstances. In fact, brands often elicit contradictory responses from different people, depending on each individual’s experience with the brand. Thus, you shouldn’t break your back trying to force everyone to see your brand your way. Instead, you should do your best to provide high-quality work and establish a positive connotation with your brand. The better you understand branding in general and your brand specifically, the less effort you waste in creating a powerful, cohesive brand.
7 Steps Toward a Stronger Brand
Step 1: Decide what you want your brand to stand for. You should spend some time meditating on what you want your future to look like and what it will take for you to realize that image. Then, you should determine what type of professional is best for executing those career moves and resolve to build a brand around that.
Step 2: Chase the credentials that will lend credibility to your brand. Do you need an advanced business degree to succeed in your career? MB-no way! Still, an advanced degree could accelerate your success, especially if you are still relatively young and inexperienced in your industry. An online MBA could be exactly what your brand needs to show your professionality, experience and readiness for higher positions.
Step 3: Acquire brand assets. Brand assets are distinctive signs and signals of a brand: the Nike Swoosh, the McDonalds Arches, the blue of Facebook vs. the blue of Twitter, etc. Your personal brand needs assets, so employers and clients can distinguish your work and remember it. You can start with a website and various social media pages, unifying them with a cohesive color scheme and tone. Eventually, you might create your own logo and produce or curate content.
Step 4: Use your brand actively and passively. When you are applying for jobs, you should actively draw upon your personal brand. Your application should be filled with branded materials, so potential employers come to associate your brand with your work. However, when you aren’t applying for jobs, you should still keep up your brand. Allowing your social media, website, blog and other assets to accrue followers is a great way to add strength to your brand.
Step 5: Remain accessible, especially to your intended audience. Imagine your dream employer finds your brand assets online and decides to hire you for an opening position. Then, imagine that you don’t check your social media or associated email accounts for a few weeks. By the time you respond, that position will already be filled, and you will lose your opportunity for a life-altering career change. You must be reachable through your brand assets and several other ways.
