Leadership and Personal Branding from this morning's FastComany Now.
Personal branding has been in vogue since the late 80's when Tom Peter's first introduced the concept of "Brand YOU!"
The idea evolved into the concept of a Free Agent (book) that grabbed the corporate world in the late 90's but the movement fizzled.
More recently the idea of social networking combined with technological advances and support from career advisory services has offered support for the idea of differentiating and rebuilding awareness for Brand YOU! and the Free Agent - Kirsten Dixson and William Arruda have a recently publication Career Distinction - following are nuggets from their article Don't Seek. Be Sought -After; Marketing Ladders newsletter.
Be Visible
1. Know who needs to know you.
You must identify all the people who need to know you. This way you're sure that they will be able to find you immediately when they need the skills you can offer. It would exhaust your resources to become visible to everyone. So you must figure out exactly who your target audience is. Make a list of job titles of people who will be instrumental in helping you reach your career goals. This should include hiring managers, executive recruiters and people who influence them.
2. Get in their face.
Once you've decided who needs to know about you, you must make yourself known to them. You need to be a household name among this target group of people. You can live in total obscurity as far as the rest of the world is concerned, but among this critical constituency, you want to become a mega-star. I call it being selectively famous.
3. Don't go into hiding.
Once you are known, you must be ever visible. Just as celebrities seek out appearances on talk shows and articles in magazines to stay in the purview of their fans, you too must keep the visibility constant. This strategy takes planning and a commitment to stay connected.
Be Valuable
Hiring managers, executive recruiters, and potential business partners need to know that what you have to offer is both relevant and compelling. And it needs to be available from you and only you. So it's your job to demonstrate the value you contribute. Visibility alone will not make you sought-after.
Be Unique
When you can find something just about anywhere, people rarely seek it out. It's when something is rare that it becomes sought after: supply and demand. So you need to know what makes you unique. And among those items that put you in a class by yourself, you must determine which will be the most compelling to your target audience. Are you the most ethical CFO? The creative ad guy who believes that all ad campaigns need stringent revenue metrics? The IT executive who is the world's best business communicator?
Be Courageous
Sometimes, you must be willing to take a stand and risk offending some people. All strong brands are eager to share their point of view. Being courageous ensures that your message gets heard above the noise. If you are singing the same tune as everyone else, your voice will be lost in the choir. Sing your own song, and sing it loudly. Be heard!
Be Consistent
People need to know what you stand for. Avoid the temptation to repeat the message of the day. Unless you're Madonna (who has built an empire around reinvention) you need to stick to your guns. As advertisers know, it's repetition that ensures the message is heard and understood.
Tips to Becoming Sought-After
- Build a large and relevant social network, adding people regularly.
- Maintain your network by regularly giving to the members. A network has no value to you if you let it go cold. Build network strengthening activities into your daily "to-do" list.
- Increase your virtual visibility. Buy your domain name, build your online presence through a website or blog, and interact with like-minded professionals through social networks and relevant web portals. Make sure you show up in Google when people search on the keywords for which you want to be known.
- Increase your physical visibility. Take every opportunity to speak publicly. Publish articles. Consider writing a book. Constant communication is critical.
- Take leadership roles in appropriate professional associations. And if the right organization doesn't exist, create your own.
