Irthe's Blog

I. PERSONAL BRANDING

With my brand, trade and retail marketing background - I would like to share some of my personal views on Branding here, starting with part I – Personal Branding, right where it all begins with indeed.

To me the essence of any Branding is adding value and creating differentiation strength authentically. The character of any Brand continues to be the same, but the way and the tools used to communicate, might change when you focus on Branding efforts and adding positive value. We as persons, teams and as companies have characters and promises that we all believe are the best in the world. But how do we create and communicate our unique Brand message into the market beneficially to all involved and to the balance sheets as well?

On a Personal Branding level - many of you have heard of Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Oprah, Martha Stewart, Tiger Woods and Kate Moss. Only by reading their names, associations grow within your brain, some good, some different to you then to me. They all have strong Personal Brands, founded by hard work and endurance, all with unique characters and inspirational to a niche target audience. Being bold (even during negative performances) created their Personality buzz into the market to a specific group of followers.

One thing is sure – all super brands have super brand leaders. Some are better known through the media, some less as they tend to work more behind scenes. Ever heard of Eric Schmidt (Google), John Donahoe (Ebay), Jeffrey Bezos (Amazon)? I guess a niche audience honors them big time, I just hope I got the facts right....the mass would not know their personal names, but does order frequently at their companies. I believe they strategically plan their personal branding as well, just less in the spotlight maybe.

So what is the deal about successful Personal Branding?

It starts with (re)defining your professional drive passionately – what do you like doing so much and why? Communicate your purpose, your personality and passions and find networks that are relevant to share this. Promote your unique talent and capacity and consider the value of exposure…. Personal Branding is not about direct Sales, it is more about being a valuable resource, showing care and creating excitement. Your Personality shapes your Personal Brand story; communicating your personal values, integrity, core beliefs and ethics brings your Personal Brand to life.

Everyone can be a Personal Brand machine, specifically with the Social Media tools at hand these days…. Better make sure you brand yourself – or google is going to do it for you. Take the driver’s seat and be market oriented – to whom are you communicating and what makes it relevant for each target audience? Powerful professional storytelling is what boosts any Personal Brand and most people tend to like positive success stories best.

But what when you hit a personal PR crisis? The damage done to a Personal Brand is more difficult to repair then the damage done to a Company Brand. Marketing slick videos from influential business leaders costs a fortune in general and most persons don’t have this budget or network. Once damage has been done – sing it out, remind everyone of your good values and reputation, reload new brand images, empower what you stand for and move on. In any case show dignity, as specifically when times are rough, one gets to know the true character. 

Personal Branding, just like Brand Energy in general, should create delight, trust and excitement to finds its way to your target audience. I believe strong and positive Personal Branding leads to strong and positive Internal Branding. If you might have some other views on this, please feel free to share?

Thank you and wishing you good business,