If you don’t show up on Google, you don’t exist – Daniel Choudry.
Many people think that personal branding is just for celebrities
such as Jose Chameleon, Beyoncé or the Late Mowzey Radio (RIP) and some prominent
business and civic leaders living within us; yet every one of us is a brand.
Personal branding, by definition, is the process by which we market
ourselves to others. As a brand, we can leverage the same strategies
that make these celebrities or corporate brands appeal to others. We can build
brand equity& superiority just like them. In this life, we are often rewarded in direct proportion to the
value our brands holds.
To build this powerful brand
does not begin after we finish University education but rather starts right
from when we are young at elementary education level.
If you can flash back to your elementary school days, you will
remember how some of your peers were more recognized; more appreciated, more
loved than the rest. They were the famous one, the ones who were very
confident; the ones that took leadership positions and a lot more that you can remember! Do you think that was by
accident? No, it wasn’t; these
individuals understood the value of confidence and the value of becoming recognizable within that community. Possibly you
still remember them by names today; and if they made right choices with their
career, then they might still be the
famous lads today.
As a University scholar; your role must be beyond excelling in the
assessment exams and scoring the highest CGPA but have little to No
recognizable traits that position you in
the memories of your peers ten years from
now. Your brand (how you market yourself) should be in a way that makes your
peers appreciate your strong points (an expressive communicator, an exciting public
speaker, a leader, a great resource in discussion groups) and so on. Ultimately
after the University; it’s not your grades that will be remembered (as much as
getting those high grades is significant for career placement), but your
recognizable traits that leaves a substantial mark on your peers which they can
remember ten years after your University
years.
So having understood the value of building a strong brand; what do you need to do to develop your personal Brand?
- DISCOVER YOUR BRAND! WHO ARE YOU?
Brand
discovery is about figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life…
It
involves
- Setting goals; what do you want out of life? Be it in career,
relationships, business, and societal involvement. Set yourself clear goals and
then become the person that can attract those things you desire to have. - Writing down a mission; where are you going? What is that ultimate
happy place where you will feel fulfilled and contented with your contribution
to yourself, your family and your community? Is
the way you are living now going to help you attain your Life’s mission.
I would highly encourage you to read more about life mission and ensure you
build your brand around becoming that kind of person who attracts your life’s
mission/purpose. - Vision; what is the Ultimate Prize. How does that Ultimate point
of Bliss look for you regarding influence
in your community, your country, your continent and the World over? Personally,
my Vision is to touch the lives positively of at least 2 Billion people minimum
with my purpose and work on Earth as long as God gives me a long life
especially in the World of selling their brand, ideas, and products. - Personal brand statement. That
unique few words that govern your daily works and life. I am the
Ultimate Salesman/Sales Warrior. Everything I do is to dominate this territory
of selling and have the World benefit from my rich wealth of experience and
knowledge in this field.
Questions
for you
- What are your goals?
- What
makes you unique? - What are your passions?
- How are you currently perceived?
- How are you perceived in
your personal relationships? - What do your online profiles say about you?
- What does Google say about you?
- What do you want to achieve?
- What is your industry sector you intend to make your career in?
- What is your market and target audience for your brand in your
career line?
- CREATE YOUR BRAND & STAND OUT!
Come up with marketing tools to promote and make your brand
visible.The sum of all the marketing material you should develop for your brand
is called a Personal Branding Toolkit.
This kit consists of the following elements that you can use to
highlight your brand and allow people to view
what you’re about easily: Business Cards, Email address, Hardcover profile, DVD pitch about your
strength, LinkedIn profile, and so much more. Ensure your brand makes the right
kind of Noise for the Universe to be drawn
to it.
Questions
for you
- Create your new professional photos for your new personal brand.
- How can you show your knowledge and story online?
- What name and slogan do you want to be known as?
- How will you stand out both online and physically within the
community you belong? - What is your strategy and
long-term goal in regards to your brand?
- CREATE YOUR TOOLS: THE KIT
- Business
card:
It doesn’t matter if you’re
a college student, a University student, CEO, or a consultant; everyone should
have his or her business card. The card should contain your picture, your brand
statement, as well as your *preferred* contact information and corporate logo
if necessary, and you got one.
- Resume/cover
letter/references document:
These are typical documents
that you need for applying for jobs and when you go on interviews.
Be sure to prioritize each
document with information custom to the
target position. Take your resume online and add social features to it to
make the Resume of a Superman, promoting
your brand to the world and making it shareable.
- Blog/website:
You need to own yourname.com
or a website that aligns with your name in some fashion. As a University
student; it’s so important that you start building your online community
presence and value proposition. Today, top recruiters first look for you online
before they even consider looking at the
physical credentials that you have sent to them seeking opportunities
for work. Be present online and be seen doing some thinking and putting your
thoughts on any topic of interest on your
website or blog post which you can personally create.
Depending on who you are,
how much time you have on your hands and if you can accept criticism, you
should either start a blog or stick with a static homepage.
Those who blog will have stronger
assets than those who don’t because blogs rank higher in search engines and
lend more to your expertise and interest areas over time. It’s a great place to
refer people to check out your thought process.
- Facebook
profile:
Over 1 billion people have patterns, but almost none of them have branded
themselves properly using this medium. Be sure to include a Facebook picture of
just you, without any obscene gestures or unnecessary vodka bottles.
Also, input your work
experience and fill out your profile, while turning on the privacy options that
disable the ability for people to tag you in pictures and videos (allowing
people to see the ones tagged of you).
Facebook is an excellent platform for you to create and
make an impact in your community. As you interface with this medium, ensure you
are churning out positive content that makes the World a better place. Often we redundantly use this platform to post
nonsensical content. Always remember; People buy you first before they buy what
you have to offer. If I personally go to
your Facebook page and realize you are redundant with your post, the chance of
you impressing me is gone. Make your social media presence count.
You can visit and like my
page to learn a few things at Daniel Choudry Pacooto
- Twitter
profile:
Your Twitter profile should
have an avatar/link that is carved out of your Facebook picture and used in
your LinkedIn profile for consistency purposes. You need to use a distinct
background, fill out your profile and include a link to either your blog or
LinkedIn profile.
Even at University now; your
brand matters, so you must begin building it the way you want the World to
receive you. Do not compromise because you “think” you are still young and have
a lot of time! Twitter has some incredible potential employers who you can
follow and engage in opportunities.
Ensure you learn how to tweet and tag and generate organic followership to your
page. All these you can learn. Check out my twitter handle @choudrydaniels
- Video
resume:
A video resume is a short video of you talking about why you are the best for a specific job
opportunity.
You
get about a minute or so to communicate your brand and can send the link, once you upload it to YouTube, to hiring
managers. And this can start for you right now. The phone cameras today are
beautiful and can record for you a fantastic video for a start. Begin practicing it now and get ahead of the game
- Wardrobe:
Your personal style is tangible and is extremely important for standing
out from the crowd. Select clothing that
best represents you because it will be viewable through your
pictures/avatars online, as well as when you meet people in reality. Look the
part that gives your personal brand the
highest mileage.
- Email
address:
Don’t overlook your email
address as not being a significant part of your toolkit. Most people use email overall
social networks, and when you connect
with someone on a social network, you are
notified via email, so get used to it.
Your email address poses a
great opportunity for your brand. I recommend using Gmail because of
the acceptance of Google and since GTalk allows you to form tighter
relationships with others. For your address, use
“[email protected].”
Questions for you
- Are you going to be online?
- Are you going to be at networking events?
- Where does your personal
brand need to communicate to get the most impact?
- Who can you interact with online?
- CREATE YOUR CONTENT: COMMUNICATE
What’s next?
After you spend the time on these parts of your personal branding toolkit, it’s time to
showcase it to the world, especially your target audience.
Don’t be fooled by the myth that if you build it, they will come.
Unless you’re the luckiest person on earth, you’ll have to communicate everything you’ve created to others.
Task for you
Create a quick, simple, and memorable statement describing who you
are and what you have to offer.
Pick 2-3 social platforms and post that quick CV on it.
Each sphere adds to your brand and personal reputation.
Create original content that expresses your personal brand online and on social media.
Thank you and wishing you the best!
Daniel Choudry P. is an International Sales Expert, Author of Best
Selling Sales Books and the Founder of Daniel Choudry Sales Institute where he
trains people sales skills and gets them job opportunities in the Corporate World or help their businesses generate Revenue.
You can get in touch with him on [email protected];
www.dcsalesinstitute.co.ug
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