Brand personality is an important and differentiating brand element — the idealized version of personalities. When it comes to the person-brand, though, the situation is reversed. Just as a brand’s awareness, perceived quality, brand associations and brand loyalty are managed, here the aim is to adapt brand behaviors to human behaviors. Today, especially when it comes to businesses, it is impossible to think of founder brand personality, corporate culture and brand strategy independently of one another. Real benefit emerges when Strategic Culture Design, Person Brand Management and Brand Consultancy move forward as a whole.
Until now, the subject of the person-brand has always been handled at the level of celebrities. But today the situation is different: an employee, a middle manager and a senior executive are all parties to this subject — because, with the ever-growing influence of social media, individuals now have channels through which they can steer their own person-brands.
Below I share some tips on the person-brand approach, in the hope that they help you find success in both your private and your working life.
Before moving on to the tips, I see great value in underlining one thing: as I noted in my earlier article “How Does a Brand Consultant Contribute to Company Growth?,” good branding is made possible through a good process of research and understanding.
Assuming you understand yourself, your environment, your business world and your rivals well, here are the practical tips.
1. The person-brand approach is the process of spotting and seizing opportunities
At every opportunity you find, you must find a way to convey to your target audience the quality that sets you apart from your rivals. Maybe you do not have the chance to go on television and advertise; your channel is your social and professional circles. For example, do not waste the dinners you have with people from your business circle on idle small talk — steer the conversation into a frame that adds to your own person-brand.
2. You need to focus more on the abstract than on the concrete
Coca-Cola’s brand value is far more than its tangible assets like factories and machines. What makes you different, what makes people want to do business with you, is not your diploma or your work experience — it is the intangible difference you offer. You can use one of several strategies: being a leader in a field, being first, being innovative, being an expert, and so on. And a sincere story from your past can give the whole picture of you a strong shape.
3. What you are is not important; how you are perceived is
A cheese maker may produce the world’s most delicious, most special cheese, but if they do no communication about it, that maker will not be perceived as any different from an ordinary cheese producer. People are the same: you may be doing very successful work, but if you do not express it to the right people in the right places, you will not be perceived as any different from an ordinary employee. To shape your perception correctly, move forward with more focus. Rewrite your own story within this frame.
4. Sincerity and authenticity are the golden rule
At the foundation of the person-brand approach lie the two golden words above: sincerity and authenticity. With the person-brand approach, no one should hope to appear different from who they are, or expect to be convincing through affected behavior. The secret of this work is to bring the qualities you already possess to life with a certain plan and strategy — you have to plan these things and make what you plan real in practice.
5. Achieving differentiation is essential
If you cannot find your difference and own a space — if you own only ordinary, non-differentiating traits like trustworthiness, a friendly face and getting things done — your chance of success is very low. You need to set yourself apart from all your rivals with a strategy as unique as your fingerprint.
6. Focus is a necessity
The “I will do any job going” approach stayed back in the 1970s, in the days when there was no qualified talent to be found. Now it is not the people who do many jobs but the people who do one job well who are preferred. Think of today’s mega-brands: they are not good at anything, yet they produce in every field — and with each passing day some specialist brand wounds the mega-brands somewhere. The mega-brand era is over; we are in the age of specialized brands that do their work best.
7. A first impression takes two minutes, and visual-identity elements shape it
You have to impress your target audience, visually and verbally, within two minutes. According to one study, decisions in recruitment are made in the first few minutes. To leave the right impact in your relationships, shape your visual-image elements correctly, and do not hesitate to get consulting for this if you need to. Your shoes, your watch, your earrings, your car, the neighborhood you live in, the people you meet, how you spend your free time, the places you eat, the things you use — you have to plan all of these and bring what you plan to life in practice.
8. Success in a person-brand comes through consistency
If long hair suits you, keep it — after a while it becomes part of your visual identity. If blue suits you, use blue and its tones consistently in your visual communication. If you are perceived as an expert in one field, do not attempt work outside it. Do not use elements that will disrupt your perception if they do not serve you. For example, if your birthplace adds to your value proposition, use it; if it does not, you do not have to mention it.
9. Touch your target audience
“Touching the target audience” is a much-used marketing phrase. The heart of it is giving people an experience they will remember. Your phone conversations, your greetings, the way you see people off, your gifts — all of these should be memorable.