Did you know that you can make your personal branding a source of income? Surely you have heard about the importance of knowing how to sell yourself to achieve goals. To do this, we have to work on our personal brand if we want to obtain any benefit, be it financial or professional.
We are aware that at first, it can be difficult to position yourself in the concept of the personal brand. That is why, in this article, you will learn everything you need to know. Do you dare to invest time in yourself?
We know what brand means; we can all identify a product and its creator when we see it on television or hear it on the radio. The personal brand is exactly the same but taken to the concrete terrain of the professional profile. We must be aware that our brand is registered from the moment we are born. So we could say that the personal brand is our trajectory. Everything that has made you who you are and that you are recognized or “unknown” in the field in which you operate.
The personal brand is the mark we leave on others and the memory they have of us. Whenever we intervene in a specific situation, we leave a trail. Although this trace is perceived in as many ways as people present, we can work on it and focus on it in a way that benefits us. With the information that we make available to you, you will know what influences our personal brand, how to improve it and concrete actions to work on it.
First of all, we must answer the question of Why give importance to the personal brand? Obviously, because it is a subject that is very up to date. Exposure on social media may be the biggest reason for this. If you are not in the networks, you do not exist, as they say. With them, we project an image, our relationships, our behavior, the attitude in our day to day, how we dress, our reputation. We have always been exposed, but never in such a direct and constant way as now.
Today, we can say that the product is the staff itself. The personal brand will make us competitive and understand the importance of making a difference thanks to our values and virtues in order to leave a mark and be remembered.
First of all, another concept arises in which it is necessary to stop. Personal branding is that imprint we leave on others, and personal branding is the process of creating our brand. It is about making conscious the mark we leave and taking the necessary steps so that this is the one we want to leave. In other words, it is about the management of all those elements that contribute to the construction of our brand.
As we will see, although the personal brand is very present in the professional field, aspects that go beyond training and knowledge are involved in this. How could you differ from a person who has the same studies? You will find out below.
# 1 what we say
# 2 What we do
# 3 Our attitude
We must be aware that our discourse has a presence both online and offline. Our personal brand is reflected in everything we publish on each of the networks, both in text, video or audio.
Within what we express in any environment, we also include the image we project. Our physique, how we dress, the design of our website, the choice of our profile photos.
Acts define us much more than words. We give more weight to what a person does, and not so much to their words. We must be consistent when we say that we are one way. This will then make us act in line with what was said. A person can say that he is very responsible, but if he never fulfills his commitments later, what do we end up with? Obviously with the latest.
Our attitude determines what we say and do. It is not the same to speak while sad than happy, for example. How we say things and how we do them is a determining factor in our personal brand.
To delve into these three points, we propose a series of questions that will help you establish guidelines later on:
Once you have the answers to these questions, you have to define:
All these questions fall within self – knowledge. It is not about creating a false image of yourself, but taking advantage of everything you have that makes you unique. To do this, you must first achieve personal satisfaction knowing your virtues to exploit them and also your defects to change them.
Due to social networks, it is easy to fall into the temptation of wanting to show an improved image of ourselves, perhaps even giving free rein to our alter ego. But we can’t base our personal brand on a hoax, and it’s not about that. If you think that you are not yet ready to focus on your personal brand, don’t be in a hurry, invest time in discovering who you are and what you can contribute and then bet on your personal brand and be able to maintain that project for life. We assure you that it is worth it.
An interesting exercise that can give you a new perspective on yourself is the following:
Send Whats App to your friends or acquaintances. We recommend a minimum of 50. In the text, write the following. “This is a feedback exercise. If you had to define how I am in a single word or phrase, what would it be? “
Make a list of all the answers. You can divide them in two: one for those answers that you already expected and another for those that would never have crossed your mind. The first would be your free area, that part of you that you already know and that others also know.
The second would be your blind area, that part of you that you do not see, but others do. If any answer is repeated several times, it is surely a part of you that you do not know.
We all have a blind area, and if we want to improve our personal brand, we have to work to reduce it. Here we can identify very well if we are consistent and really do what we say. The larger our blind area, the more inconsistency. The larger our free area, the more coherence and better relationships with others. Our free area grows as our blind area decreases.
Definitely, the first step to building a good personal brand is self-awareness.
Once we understand that everything we do influences our personal brand, we can conclude that we continually sell ourselves. Hence the importance of relating in a professional, strategic and dynamic way on key occasions.
As we have seen, self-knowledge is the first phase that we must address, along with it is self-acceptance. Both are the backbone of the action of selling ourselves. Once our strengths and weaknesses have been identified, we can learn to highlight or minimize aspects that define us.
It ranges from our friends, family, acquaintances to the competition, society, social networks, etc. We must know how to behave in each of these environments. And it must be done from within our being, not like a clay figure that at any moment can lose its shape due to not having a solid base. Public relations and customer service are vital in this matrix. As for public relations, these must always be commercial, to generate positioning and profitability. And when it comes to customer service, the premise must be a willingness to serve.
Knowing ourselves in all areas of our life makes it more fulfilling, and we are able to develop in any situation. We must ask ourselves what is interesting about a person when we meet him or what makes a person attractive. In this way, we can do this exercise on ourselves and be aware of what makes us unique. Resorting to personal marketing makes us close down myths, beliefs and models that have been sold to us, whether emotionally or intimate.
This area is the one we will focus on the most. But we must be aware that to reach it we have to go through the previous reflections.
Personal branding is important both when it comes to getting a job and keeping it. We must take into account the points to respect when looking for a job such as the rules of courtesy when introducing yourself.
At this point, it should be noted that the labour market has changed along with the hierarchy, the environment and the structure in the offices or outside them. The important thing is that you know well how the company works and adapt to it in your presentation, highlighting what is in your personal and can fit in with the business.
If we refer to maintaining employment, let us never forget our parameters of ethics, loyalty, teamwork and gratitude to the organization for our own growth. We are speaking badly of our company, damaging not only its image but also that of our personal marketing, which can close doors in the future.
Once we have done the personal work of self-knowledge, we must be aware of the competitive advantage of being present and developing online. For this reason, below, we propose a series of actions that will surely improve and strengthen your personal brand.
A blog will allow you to share your knowledge on the subject you have decided to work on.
Defining the social networks in which you are going to have a presence depends on the personal branding strategy you decide to start. While it is true that the most used are Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, they do not have to be exactly those. We also recommend that you take into account LinkedIn, Pinterest. If you don’t have time to update them, it is better that you choose those where your target audience is.
To have visibility, you must create a template where you plan the content that you are going to publish on each network and use tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Postcron or those of each medium to program the posts.
Track your competitors and benchmarks to observe, analyze and innovate in your personal marketing strategy. In social networks, as in the blog, it is also important to be constant in the publications; watch your spelling and be interactive with your followers.
If you are an expert in the sector, it will not be difficult for you to define the subject you are going to write about. According to experts, the fastest and most effective way to publicize your personal brand is by creating a book. Later we will see how they managed to improve their personal brand thanks to their Best Seller.
This point must be made both online and offline. On the Internet, it is advisable to participate in forums, groups, communities, social networks, blogs any medium where your subject is found is important to make yourself known.
At the offline level, attend talks and events of your interest, bring cards and do not hesitate to introduce yourself. Offer yourself as a speaker or teacher, for this create a presentation dossier with the knowledge and resources you can offer.
However, as stated, “The great secret of the success of a book is not only in those sales that the Best Seller generates. You know which one is? The projection of your personal brand”.
He decided to create a podcast; focused on promoting a line of business that allowed him to earn more income. Thanks to this writing, many authors contacted him, so he decided to offer publication and promotion services.
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