Defining Personal Brand as Important as What We Do for Clients
As PR practitioners, like the ones at Tech Image, we’re accustomed to creating personas and honing brands for our clients. But one doesn’t often hear about defining a personal or individual brand for oneself. I was enlightened on this theme at SmithBucklin’s recent Executive Conference, in which celebrated author and motivational speaker Kaplan Mobrey spoke from his book “The 10Ks of Personal Brand Building.”
More than ever, especially with the ubiquity of social media and the indelible digital footprint of the Internet, each person needs to understand the brand called “you.” The saying is for sure that people meet you before they meet you physically today by way of social media channels and Google searches.
That involves understanding what one is known for and projecting the desired attributes through a consistency in how one speaks, dresses, etc. If a person is known for something, then he or she is valued and needed.
One of the most profound things that Mobray shared with his audience on this day was knowing how to accept failure to advance one’s brand. It’s through our failures that we gain experience and that we learn to overcome.
He suggested having your own elevator speech, and knowing how to create your own opportunities. Knowing how to ask for what you want is a key skill. He shared an example of the time he tried to meet one of his employer’s executives but couldn’t run the gauntlet on the C-suite floor. Nevertheless, his determination was rewarded during an encounter with this executive on an elevator ride. During that short ride, he was able to express his enthusiasm for his work and secure a new employment opportunity.
His catchphrase, “Be inspired to live life by decision not by default” has real meaning for me now.
And that’s something that can easily translate to delivering excellent client service, too.
How do you define your personal brand?
