7 Ways to Strengthen Your Career Brand

It is not slickness, polish, uniqueness, or cleverness that makes a brand a brand. It is truth.

Harry Beckwith

When your name is mentioned what do people say about you? Their words are your brand. Positive words translate into a positive brand. Here are 7 ways to fortify your career brand:

1.      Be an expert: Work on your strengths, solve problems, and show others you are an expert in your field. Create awareness of your brand and attract others to come to you for guidance.  

2.      Achievements: It is wise to record and showcase your performance.  It is an effective way to support and substantiate your brand.

3.      Trust: A trusted brand is a promise. You are therefore able to deliver as expected. Trust consists of creditability, quality, and value.

4.      Differentiation: Do not be one of them.  Be able to stand out. What distinguishes you from the competition? One way to do it is to start a blog and impress others with articles with unique ideas on the subject that you are good at. Be relevant and meets the needs of others.  Conceive ideas that are valuable and useful. 

5.      Consistency: Always stand by your brand in what you do. Maintain a high standard and always perform your best.  

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6.      Getting noticed:  Promote your presence and connect with the right people online and offline. Project your brand positively and command a group of loyal followers. Communicate online with two-way dialogue. Create a web resume and manage your presence. Sign up with Google Alerts to monitor and protect your brand online.

7.      Gain more knowledge: Acquire the latest know-how and update your knowledge according to market changes and meet changing needs. Be ahead and stay ahead. 

       Your brand is what others perceive you. Develop a positive image and build a brand that others can count on.

7 Ways to Establish Your Personal Brand on the Net

Your personal brand is what others perceive you. What do they think of you when your name is mentioned? It involves your reputation and your trust online. Getting your personal brand on the Net takes time and you have to do the right things regularly and persistently. Here are a few things you can do to create a positive image and build a trusted personal brand on the Net.

1.      What do you stand for: It is linked to your interests, passion and core values and what you believe in. This will translate into your purpose in life. You will do what inspires and motivates you. 

2.      Start a blog: This is an excellent platform to establish your brand and advocate what you believe in. Focus on your niche and write consistently to build relationships and establish trust. This is also a place for you to interact with others who share your ideas. 

3.      Write an eBook: This is yet another effective platform to establish and reinforce your brand. Writing an eBook relating to your niche is the way to show your expertise and strengthen your brand on the Net.  

4.      Promotion: You have to promote your brand online to get noticed and gained wider audiences. Join Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linked to connect and relate with like-minded people. Get involved in more places on the Net and be more visible. Two good places are Pinterest and Scoop.it. Pin about things relating to your niche and scoop mores ideas that you are interested in.

How established are you on the Net? Type your name or the name of your blog and see how many pages are shown on the search engine result pages (SERPs).  More pages mean wider exposure and awareness on the Net about your brand. It also creates a positive impact on searchers online.   

5.      Be part of niche communities to sustain your brand and image:  Be a member of niche communities. I have joined Money Crasher’s Top FB Blogs and TotallyMoney Top Finance Blog. My articles are featured in Alltop on the topic about life. You should do the same and be a part of greater forces. 

6.      Continue to learn and update your knowledge: Learning, doing and experiencing are the ways to be more knowledgeable.  Be selective to look for information on the Net. Knowing is one thing. Working on what you have learned is the way to gain wisdom. 

7.      Monitor your influence: What is your Klout score? It is a way to measure your influence online. Be creative and be influential online. Do more things for what others want from you and get them to be interested in you.   They will like you, retweet your tweets, + you, talk about you, be your followers and your subscribers.       

Branding is not just for big corporations. You have created your brand when you are present on the Net. Create a positive image and build a reliable personal brand.  

3 Business Concepts to Promote Yourself Effectively

There are three popular business concepts that are very useful to promote yourself and create a trusted brand:

·         4 P’s of Marketing (Product Price Place Promotion)

·         USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

·         SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats)

Product

It is about the services that you can provide for others. What can you offer to others? The USP comes into the picture. What are you good at and competent in? What can you do better than others? What is your expertise? What are your interests and passion? In fact, this is your “strength” part of SWOT analysis.  Highlight your strong points is the key to project a positive image of yourself.

Price

This is what you get in exchange for your services. It can be in the form of salaries and wages or fees you charge as a doctor or an accountant. The more valuable services you can offer, the higher the reward you will get. It is prudent that you sharpen your skills and make yourself more valuable and unique in the eyes of the public. This could be the “threats” part of your SWOT analysis because there are people, who are equally if not more capable, willing to accept a lower and competitive fee.    

Place

It is to strategically place yourself where the demand for your services is most needed. If you are a financial genius, Singapore is the place for you. It is one of the top international financial hubs of the world. This is the place to exhibit your talents and be handsomely compensated. This, in fact, is the “opportunities” part of your SWOT analysis.

Promotion

In this area, it is a double-edged sword. If you do it wrong, it can be your “weaknesses” in your SWOT analysis. It is important that you send out the right messages and are able to honor your promises. It is better to under-promise and over-deliver. It is less stressful for you and easier to protect your reputation. It is also a pleasant surprise to your clients.     

Are you taking advantage of the business concepts to promote yourself?

10 Effective Ways to Promote Yourself

This is a competitive world and people are too busy to take note of you. Therefore, it is in your own interest to promote yourself. Promoting yourself is to build your reputation, get trust from others. It is also to let others know you are there so that you can get ahead and grow your career.

1. Keep your boss posted: You may be a competent worker, but don’t just work quietly. You must keep your boss informed regularly about your work in progress. When your boss is aware of what you do, it is easier for him or her to decide in your favor when there is a promotion or a career-enhancing assignment.

2. Learn something new and share: After you have attended a course or a seminar, prepare a summary of what you have learnt and pass a copy to your boss and circulate it to your co-workers as well.

3. Update your profile at social networking sites: Your profile at the social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn needs to be updated constantly. Highlight your achievements, courses taken, or movements in your career.

4. Write articles: One effective way to promote yourself is to project an image of authority in the field of your expertise by writing articles of your niche. Build a blog and start writing and inform others through your social networking sites whenever you publish a new article.

5. Contribute ideas: Contributing original and unique ideas at work is a great way to impress others and create a positive image of yourself.

6. Offer solutions to problems: Similarly, taking an initiative to solve problems at the workplace is another marvelous idea to create a positives self-image.

7. Networking offline: Get to know more people in your industry and introduce yourself. Give your business card when you meet someone so that your new acquaintance will know what you do for a living.

8. Publicity: Volunteering to do public speaking and engaging in media interviews are some of the sure ways to let others take note of you and remember you.

9. Obtain testimonials: What others say about you is more convincing than what you tell the world about yourself. Collect and keep appreciation and thank you letters. Provide links to other blogs that say a positive thing about what you have written. These are proof of what you are capable of.

10. Showcase your accomplishments: Nobody knows what you have achieved. It is up to you to keep others informed of your successes in a subtle way.

To establish oneself in the world, one does all one can to seem established there already. ~
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Be Noticed Be a Successful Brand

Personal branding isn’t optional. Brand yourself is vital to your personal success and survival.  ~ Rachel Quilty

1.    Promote yourself: To promote yourself is to get noticed and to let the world know you exist. It is good for your career and employment opportunities. It is an effective way to differentiate yourself and stand out in the competitive marketplace.  

Even individuals need to develop a brand for themselves... Whatever your area of expertise, you can take steps to make people think of YOU when they think of your field. ~ Accelepoint Webzine

2.      Build your brand: Your brand is the manifestation of your vision, passion, and purpose in life. It is your goals and what you stand for. Your brand should be your unique selling point. It is in an area of expertise that you are very competent in.  

The best positioning of your personal brand you can have among your prospects and clients is that of an expert; the authority in your area of expertise. ~  Rachel Quilty,

3.      Your profile: Your profile is more than about who you are. It is more important to talk about what you can do for others and what solutions you can offer to solve their problems. It is about what you can give to others.

4.      Create values: It is important to build a trusted brand right from the very beginning. Making a promise to deliver and deliver what you have promised is the way to build trust. Sincerity and honesty are important attributes of your brand.  

Your personal brand is a promise to your clients... a promise of quality, consistency, competency, and reliability. ~ Jason Hartman

5.   Blogging: One great way to promote and market your brand and get noticed is to start a blog and write articles on a niche subject that you are good at. Showcase your expertise and attract the attention of others.

6   Social networking: Are you on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook? Upload your profile and get connected with like-minded people. Get to know others so that others will get to know you. 

Branding gives you an exceptionally effective way to broadcast who you are to your target market quickly and efficiently. ~ MultiChannel News

     Be connected offline: Your business cards are vital tools to promote your brand. Show your full name, address, website, email address, and contact numbers. Write articles for newspapers and magazines to spread your brand around.

If you don’t get noticed, you don’t have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks.
Leo Burnett

Effective Ways to be a Successful Personal Brand

How do people remember you when your name is mentioned? You may be the finance director of a company but you are referred to as the whistleblower. That attribute is your brand. People remember you for what you do and it is more than your job title. How do you build a brand for yourself?  Here are the ways to do it:

1. Self-assessment: Who are you? What are your core values and passion? What are your talents and accomplishment? What do you want to stand for? What you are today is what you have done until now. Get to know more about yourself

2. Establish your brand: Express yourself clearly and distinctly what you want to stand for. Your brand should be in the area of your expertise and what you are interested in. Write an elevator pitch to identify yourself. This is my  example:

As a writer/blogger, I write and post daily on my blog articles about self-improvement relating to health, work, money, family, and relationships. Read my articles and get motivated to transform your life for the better.

You can even add a tagline. One good example I still can remember is the American Express Card –  Don't Leave Home Without It.

3. Target audience: Who are your customers or your audience? Here is my audience snapshot as taken from Alexa:  allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com is visited more frequently by users who are in the age range 35-44, have children, are college-educated and browse this site from home. When I know my readers I am in a better position to write for their needs  

4. Develop your brand: One good way to develop your brand is to start a blog and write articles to enlighten your audience. Create a Facebook profile and a LinkedIn profile to project your brand. It is also important to work consistently to promote the image of your brand such as the way you dress and the way you talk. Your business cards should also reflect your brand identity.  Be sincere and respectful when you interact with people.

5. Sustain your brand: To keep your brand fresh it is important to innovate and come up with unique and original ideas. You need to monitor your performance and adjust accordingly so that you are going in line with your brand. Always be clear, consistent, and constant about your brand

Building a brand is about building reputation and trust. Gaining trust is about your promise to deliver and what others have experienced according to their expectation. Getting trust can only be earned. The most important thing is to know how others perceive you. A successful brand gets you fulfillment, satisfaction, and happiness.

7 Reasons to Do It Your Way to Establish Yourself

Have you heard of an evergreen song sung by Frank Sinatra? It is called My Way.

Here is the beginning of the lyrics:


And now, the end is here


And so I face the final curtain


My friend, I’ll say it clear


I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain


I’ve lived a life that’s full


I traveled each and ev’ry highway


And more, much more than this, I did it my way.



Regrets, I’ve had a few


But then again, too few to mention


I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption


I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway


And more, much more than this, I did it my way


Yes, in life you should do it your way to create your own image and here are the 7 reasons:


1. You are special: As a unique individual, you are one of a kind, created by God. It is therefore you should do things differently in your own way.

2. Inspiration and aspiration: Your goals and objectives are determined by how you have been brought up and your personal experience. You follow your own dreams and not others.

3. Your talents: You are from different background. You are brought up differently. Your upbringing and your education are not the same as others. You are molded differently. You have your own ideas that are different from others. Show your passions and your true self.

4. Personal value: You have your own belief. You know what is important to you and you pursue it with your heart and soul.

5. Don’t copy: Don’t follow the crowd, don’t be second best. Do it your way. Like writing articles, be unique and original, and contribute your personal ideas.

6. Refreshing: Project an extraordinary image; make it an attractive trademark of yourself. Show your best to the world of what you can do. Develop your brand for long-term success.

7. Build your self-esteem: Appreciate yourself for the ability to develop and establish your own brand. By doing it your way, you have created a positive self- image


Use your imagination and creativity to conceive a totally different idea and unleash your talents to the world. Develop and establish your brand your way.

7 Top Tips to Develop Your Personal Brand on the Net

Personal branding is just like the branding of products. You know there is a need for such a product. You create one with a good first impression. You consistently make improvements to the quality of your product. You also constantly advertise and promote your product to create a positive image in the eyes of consumers. Personal branding is no different. The best thing to create your personal brand is to start a blog. Here are the top tips:


1. Expert in your own field: What are you going to write about in your blog posts? It should be a subject that you are knowledgeable about. You can also start writing about something you are interested in, you will slowly develop over time to be an expert in your own field.

2. Serve a need: Do your articles provide solutions to the problems of the readers or provide a need for the general public. The most important thing is to write for the readers. Find out the interests of your readers and write accordingly.

3. Quality: Initially you may not write well. Don’t worry; keep writing every day because the quantity will develop into quality. Readers are interested in compelling articles that are short and sweet. Write in simple language and use short paragraphs with bullet points. The most important thing is that readers must find your article useful and also easy to read. There is no garbage and it is written right to the point

4. Consistent: Aim to write and post an article a day. Just like doing business, your shop should open daily as expected by customers, or else they will go somewhere and never return. According to Blogpulse, there are more than 126 million blogs on the Net.

5. Long-haul: Think very long term. To be successful, think of years instead of months. Be consistent and persistent. Just write and write. The Internet is a level playing field and you are competing with many other better bloggers.

6. Ongoing improvement: Improve in every aspect of your blog. Write more unique and original articles, make your site easier to navigate. Avoid clutter and let your readers find your articles easily.

7. Image building: Create a good first impression and do not allow your blog content to deviate from your niche. Do guest posting and connect with others at social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Build a community of followers and following others in various networking sites as well as your own site



Be on the alert to protect your reputation on the Net. Create Google Alerts to find out what others are talking about you. Take immediate action if there is character assassination or data misuse.

Looking after Your Personal Brand – 8 Crucial Tips

Personal Brand

The financial crisis means cost-cutting. Cost-cutting means retrenchment. How do you maintain your position in the office so that you still can keep your job? Here are some relevant issues that you must look into to sustain and strengthen your personal brand: 

 1. Personal Packaging: Always dress smartly and appropriately. If you don’t you are perceived by others that you don’t care too much about yourself. A smartly dressed person tells me that he is full of confidence and very sure of himself. 

 2. Personal finance: Don’t get yourself into unnecessary debt to the extent that people are looking for you at your office to demand outstanding payment from you. Manage your personal finance well. If you don't, how will you manage the finance of the company when you are the CFO? 

 3. Update yourself: Keep abreast of the latest development in the area of your expertise. Learn new things and gain valuable knowledge so that you are on top of things.

 4. Positive image of yourself: Behave yourself in such a way that people can count on you to get things done. Make yourself likable by getting along well with others. 

 5. Promote your brand: There is no better way to advertise your personal brand than by having a blog. A blog gives you an opportunity to write articles on subjects relating to your expertise. When you are in a management position, write about topics on effective management. Who knows you may be noticed and get yourself hired in a better position. 

 6. Maintain your trustworthiness and honesty: Your honor is very important to you. Don’t ever make a wrong move or your future will be ruined. People notice others more of what they have done wrong than right. Uphold your trustworthiness and your honesty. These virtues are indispensable at work. 

 7. Health and fitness: Project yourself as a person full of energy and vitality. The only way is to exercise every day to maintain the youthfulness in you. 

 8. Personal network: Be connected online and offline. Sign up with LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter and be connected to those with similar interests. Extend your web of influence by joining trade associations and enlarging your circle of friends. Build yourself into a trusted brand. 

A trusted brand will go a long way in your career. Happy branding!