By Piluka de Echegaray, image expert
Understanding what exactly “personal branding” is will make it so you can assess your transcendence, purpose and importance.
The way in which you’re seen by others depends on several factors. These include how you look, your actions, your behaviour, and how you communicate in all areas of life, both personally and online.
And, of course, how you see yourself provides the most important feedback when it comes to feeling secure and that security will be what makes you attractive.
The concept of personal branding involves seeing yourself like a company brand because that’s what it is.
Good personal branding will bring the desired results and the success sought. So, designing a good strategy while thinking about your pre-defined goals will be key to your success.
It all begins with setting some objectives based on the public you wish to reach, the product you must sell, etc. Once you’ve set some goals, the first thing you must do is deeply analyse your personality, attributes and appearance.
In line with those goals, you should assess which of your characteristics shall be emphasised to guide and boost the message you’d like to transmit.
When it comes to good personal branding, nothing can be made up. Everything must be based on reality. And you shouldn’t send out any messages that have nothing to do with you. There are two very important reasons for this. The first is that there’s no point in deceiving anyone as that would turn into a future deception with all the effort and energy wasted. However, if the messages you’re sending out define you perfectly, it will all be much easier and will only attract people and circumstances that are appropriate for you.
And the second is that the message you send out is not only for third parties. It’s a message you will also constantly receive, not only for a short period of time, but rather all the time. And if that message is not realistic, the only thing it will do is bring down your confidence.
So, this personal analysis work is what’s most important. And defining and choosing what you must demonstrate and transmit is essential.
Once you’ve defined what you must say about yourself, you can begin building your personal branding.
The messages must be absolutely clear and there should be no more than three.
For example, in my case, it would be good to send out messages of mastery, seriousness and positivity. And each person should choose their own messages carefully.
One personality feature that defines me very well and I also think is worth showing is my positivity. When you talk with me, implicit in my verbal language are a number of expressions that reveal this and, above all, my intonation when speaking. It’s not like I do so in a forced manner as it just comes out naturally. But I do it conscientiously to be able to work on it and adjust it towards my goals.
Yet my intonation when writing is more difficult to reflect, so I make sure the last thing people read when I sign off is always the same in order to keep that positivity I’m known for in there: “Cheers”.
Once the goals are defined, the analysis has been done and the messages determined, you’re ready to draw out your style. The style that defines you and shows off the best version of yourself. You choose your own style when dressing, you choose the font that best defines that style when writing and take care with all communication. You think about the type of language you should use in all communications. The colours that will embellish them and be suitable for them, etc.
In other words, based on the style created, you unify everything about you: your look, behaviour, the way you speak, the way you write, everything. Looking after all the little details will lead to flawless results.
When online, you should take into account all aspects and not just professional ones as what you consider to be personal will also count.
Always remember that your personal website is part of your personal branding. Your LinkedIn profile is too. But never make the mistake of ignoring your accounts on Instagram, TikTok or any other social media you use. Because nothing that has to do with you, even if it may seem to be outside the professional arena, is exempt from being included as part of your personal branding.
When it comes to creating proper personal branding, success lies in looking after everything and never leaving any ends loose, as well as understanding that everything around you is a part of you and is your best form of advertising.
It goes without saying that being good at what you do is important, but I’d even dare to say that knowing how to demonstrate it is even more so.
So, building a proper reputation and taking care with all the details is guaranteed to create powerful personal branding so all your effort will be worth it.