Is your personal branding & online persona up to scratch?

Published by Admin on 7 March 2012

Our New Media Breakfast taking place in Edinburgh on Thursday the 15th March is all about your personal brand and your online persona which, given the ongoing growth of social media both professionally and personally, is becoming of more and more importance. ?The event is open to both members and non-members of WeDO and is extremely worthwhile attending.

Jennifer Holloway of Spark Branding is our speaker and feedback from the Glasgow breakfast which took place 2 weeks ago was fantastic. ?Regardless of whether you’re a business owner, founder, employee or student, you will learn a lot from attending. ?You can book your ticket by clicking here? Tickets cost ?18 and include a bacon roll and tea/coffee as well as great networking networking opportunity.

In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from Jennifer’s website explaining more about personal branding

What is a personal brand?

Your personal brand is a mix of your values and beliefs, reputation and behaviour, skills and image, that come together and define what makes you?you. It?s what you communicate about yourself in everything you do and say.
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But it doesn?t stop there ? your personal brand is also how you?re perceived by others.? Or put another way?it?s what people say about you when you?re not in the room.

And they?ll definitely be saying something because you can?tnot?have a personal brand ? people will always have an opinion that?s created the instant their first impression is formed. ?And as you don?t get a second chance to make a first impression, you need to make sure your personal brand is saying what you want it to say.

Why a personal brand delivers

It all boils down to one thing: ?people buy people? and it?s your personal brand that?s helping them to decide if they?re buying into you.? Everyone can benefit from developing and sharing their personal brand, whether you?re:

a CEO whose personal reputation reflects on your company
an executive?seeking your next career move
a leader of tomorrow establishing your credentials today
a networker looking to improve your online presence
a semi-retired professional building your portfolio career
a newly promoted leader needing buy in from your team

?or just someone who needs a little bit more self-confidence

The benefits of your personal brand

You understand what makes you tick ? and what makes you stand out from the crowd
You have the confidence to be yourself ? not who you think others want you to be
You clearly communicate the benefits you bring ? sparking new opportunities
You make it quick and easy for people to buy into you ? and trust what they?re buying into
You help others to communicate your brand ? so they can sell your benefits to others

How to create your personal brand

Spark?specialises in personal branding for executives ?
not companies ? helping you to market yourself and build a reputation that enables you to be even more successful?just by being yourself.

To do that, we take you through three easy steps to personal brand heaven?

Step 1 ? Define your brand
Defining your personal brand is like creating your signature dish ? something unique that represents all that?s great about you.? Once?all the ingredients are gathered we pare them down to just the best ones, creating a personal brand that is authentically you.

Step 2 ? Check your brand
Your personal brand is also what people say about you when you?re not in the room so we carry out a 360? review, giving respondents a confidential, anonymous and trusted way to deliver their feedback.? And from what our clients tell us, this is the best bit because reading all the great things people think about you can really boost your confidence.

Step 3 ? Share your brand
Once you?ve defined what?s great about you, it?s important to let others know too.? There are plenty of opportunities to do that so we create ?brand messages? that match your personality and help you to blow your own trumpet at a volume that suits you, from your handshake to your voicemail, your online profile to your presentations.

If you enjoyed reading this blog then please feel free to share it with your online community and anyone else you think may be interested in attending the New Media Breakfast next week.