“All of us are selling ourselves, every single minute of every single day…each one of us is building our own ‘brand of me’ and saying ‘buy into me, put your faith into me, give me this shot, I will make it happen.’”
-Kimora Lee Simmons
Whether or not you realize it, you are selling yourself to everyone, everyday. This is known as personal branding, the process by which we market ourselves to others.
Melissa Dawn Johnson, Brand Identity Strategist
I recently interviewed author, brand identity strategist and CEO of Velvet Suite Marketing Melissa Dawn Johnson about personal branding. Here’s what she had to say:
Mocha Writer: What is personal branding?
Melissa Johnson: I define personal branding as the process that allows you to come to your authentic value. The principles of Brand Me is about returning to who you are and why you are here.
MW: Why is personal branding important, particularly for women?
MJ: It is critical. In a time where only the first three seconds matter in an encounter, [a time where there is a lot of] technology clutter, knock-offs and competition, you need to know how to market, manage and protect your value and learn the life skills to be profitable.
MW: What are the benefits of branding oneself?
MJ: To be in demand. As we talk about on brandmelive.com, it is all about knowing your worth, giving and getting your value in every facet of life. I believe it gives you access to profit as well as peace of mind.
MW: When should an individual begin building their personal brand?
MJ: Building your brand starts from birth. It is a life skill and value that says ‘I have worth, and I will live a life that reflects my unique value. Because I am valuable, every interaction is meaningful and relevant.’
Here are four personal branding tips learned from corporations (from Personal Branding Blog, written by Pete Kistler):
- Unique selling point. Just as companies have to discover what makes their products different (aka their unique selling point), you have to do the same. What makes you different or better? How do you stand out? Kistler suggests doing some soul-searching and asking a few friends and colleagues what single quality stands out to them.
- Competitive analysis. Businesses postion themselves effectively against their competition, and they analyze how similar businesses are acting to determine what works and doesn’t work. You should use your competition to your advantage as well. See how others like you portray their brands. For instance, if you’re a graphic designer, check out the work and websites of other graphic designers to see how they display their abilities. Then take the best aspects and combine it with your own style.
- Values. A company’s values guide its decisions, and your personal values work in the same way. Your values are the principles that form your work habits and how you interact with others. To discover what values are important to you, take a look at your personality traits. Find out the ones that guide you and concentrate on those that will be essential to your success.
- Impressions. An impression is when you look at a logo, ad or other visual media related to a company and that image gets embedded in your mind. Every impression reinforces the connection between a company and its brand promise for an individual. What does this mean for you? Whenever you met someone, you need to strengthen the connection between your face and your skills and abilities– you want your name to be seen positively by as many people as possible. So, take pride in everything you do (blog comments, emails, school projects) and connect it to your brand.
Read the entire article for more info.
See more about Johnson and Brand Me by visiting the website, brandmelive.com. Also, check back here next week for more personal branding tips.
Great post! I really the point about taking this mindset: “Because I am valuable, every interaction is meaningful and relevant.” That’s a great way to frame your interactions as You, Inc.
Thanks for the shout out to my post about personal branding lessons we can learn from corporations!
- Pete Kistler
CEO, Brand-Yourself.com
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