The Making of The CEO of ME Incorporated - The Brand YOU

Hey everyone, its #CAREERWEEK and in this mood we bring you an interesting article on YOU. 
Do enjoy it.

The Making of The CEO of ME Incorporated - The Brand YOU

Have you ever asked yourself "who's the boss?

Ever wondered how you can take over your boss's post?

Now that you have landed this promotion,

Now that you have obtained that degree/certification... what is next?!

Competition in today’s business world has grown even stiffer, making it really tough to stand out and shine through the clutter. Results and lots of extracurricular activities alone won’t guarantee that.  So, one of the best ways of staying ahead of the pack in today’s business world is to stand out, have a unique brand amongst peers.

Bottom line, It’s about bringing who you are to what you do and how you do it. It’s about making your mark by being your-best-self. It's about what you're known for and how people experience you. Now that is personal Branding and if you don’t know, you already have one.

How to prove it, Ask your friend, colleague or just a neutral person what they think when they see you or hear your name.

Many of us are somewhat ‘digital natives’. We are citizens of 2, 3 or even more digital/social media communities - LinkedIN, facebook, twitter, Instagram, Blogs etc. All of these are some of the composite part of your personal brand. They speak volume about you, have shaped people opinion about you.

So if ever wondered why some people do not take you seriously, you need to check what it is you’re churning out physically, socially, or digitally. Good news is this, while you may not be able to do much about what you’ve already put out there, what is sure is that you can manage it better to make people see about you what it is that you want them to see.

I will be sharing with you in the next few editions tips on how to put the shine on your personal brand and get world to see you as you want them to. It’s a big deal and you need it Now.

“Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of specialty or profession, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer of  “The Brand Called You”

Sounds like a huge task?  Well, not quite. If AY the comedian, Dbanj ,Don Jazzy, Genevieve Nnaji, David Beckham, etal., can do it, how much more you?

Don’t get me wrong, personal branding is not only for celebrities, business men are in fact even more into it. Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Tony Elumelu, Ibukun Awosika, Christopher Kolade, Peter Obi, Demola Aladekomo etc., are top professionals who have also built successful personal brand, if they did it, then it speaks volume of the importance of personal branding.
With the right brand you attract the right people and open up opportunities that would have passed you by. Need I mention that whether you like it or not, whether planned or not, you are a brand already, so the real question again is "what sort of brand are you?"

So here are my tips to building your personal brand.

1. Know Yourself to Grow Yourself

Socrates the great philosopher said, ‘Man know thyself’.

Do you know how others see you? Is there a gap between how you view yourself and how those around you do? The first step to grow yourself is to know yourself and this involves both internal reflection and gathering external feedback.
 A Personal Brand Survey enables you to gather data regarding your attributes, skills, competencies and strengths that define your brand. The process begins with a self-assessment and is followed by requesting feedback from others so you can compare how you view yourself with how you are currently perceived. The results will enable you to identify areas that you want to accentuate and areas you want to diminish as you define your personal brand.

2. Articulate your VPs

The foundation of your brand is called your “VPs” – vision, purpose, values, and passions.

Vision: Your image of what you see possible for the world – your desired future.

Purpose: Your role in turning your vision into reality.

Values: The ideals or operating principles that determine how you conduct your day-to-day activities. Your values are true to you and you do not compromise them.

Passions: This is what motivates and energizes you. Your passions get you out of bed in the morning, but as a leader always have ‘pure unadulterated tenacity’ to drive your passions forward.

3. Define your Target Audience

When branding yourself your job is not to be ‘famous’, but rather to be ‘selectively famous’. In other words, identify the people who need your leadership and communicate your brand only to them. This target audience are the only ones who need to know you. They are the ones who will ultimately make the critical decision to follow you. Once you know your target audience, do everything in your power to nurture them.

4. Tell Your Story

You have a unique story to tell and that story is what makes your brand authentic. Of course others can relate to your story because it may be similar, but it is never exactly the same. Each story is unique.  Focus on those things that make you unique and capitalize on them. Perhaps your credentials and experience got you into your current role, but your character and story is what will compel people to follow you.

5. Create Your ‘Brand Statement’

What do you want to be known for? Having an answer to this question defines what your target audience can expect from your leadership. Remember, this statement is NOT your title! It is also not your personal mission or life purpose. It is a memorable 1-2 sentence statement that is solutions oriented. Here is a great template to use when crafting your brand statement:

I want to be known for being __________ so that I can deliver __________ to __________.

It is vital that you truly identify with your brand statement. You need to live and breathe this every day so take the time to make sure it best represents who you are and what you can do.

6. Build Your Brand Communication Plan

Visualize your brand communication plan as the wheels on a bicycle. Without wheels you cannot move! This plan allows your brand to move forward.

The center of a wheel, the hub, keeps the spokes together. Likewise the center of your plan is the core leadership message you want to communicate to your target audience. Your communication vehicles, or spokes, radiate out of your core message and provide the support to keep your plan together. These may include presenting at conferences, joining professional organizations, using social media, creating a blog, writing an article or book for publication, etc.

Select a mix of vehicles that you will enjoy doing and will actually enable your personal brand to reach your target audience. Remember, a broken spoke makes a wheel wobble and lose its strength. Select vehicles that you are strong at, or at least ones you are happy to make stronger. Schedule these ‘spokes’ into your calendar and commit to executing and repeating them.

7. Follow the 3 Cs of Branding

Now that you know what you want to be known for and have a communication plan in place, remember to always follow the three C’s of branding – clarity, consistency, and constancy.

Clarity: Always be very clear about who you are and who you are not. By knowing your unique promise of value you are identifying what sets your apart from others. This is what differentiates you and allows you to attract brand loyalty among the people who are compelled to do business with you.

Consistency: Once you are clear about your promise of value, consistently demonstrate your brand promise everywhere. This includes your social media profiles, your website, your business cards, your communications. Everything.

Constancy: It is not enough to be clear and consistent if you are not always visible to your target audience. Strong brands are constant. They are always there for their customers, prospects, and those who can help them achieve their goals. Be visible or run the risk of being forgotten!

Still talking on building ‘a brand called YOU’, in this blog post, I share the last 3 tips and do hope you find them useful tool in the quest to becoming the CEO of Me Incorporated.

8. Live in the Inquiry

Regular maintenance of your personal brand is necessary so live in the inquiry and always ask yourself if what you are doing or saying is on-brand or off-brand.  Is it contributing to your message or distracting from it? Google yourself regularly to see if there is anything off-brand.  Ask for direct feedback from your community or do another 360Reach personal brand survey to check if others see your brand in the same way you have been presenting it. If you find yourself going off-brand, take a moment to stop, assess what has happened, and get back on-brand as quickly as possible. By being on-brand your credibility is maintained.

9. Adapt and Adjust

Your brand isn’t static. It should evolve in response to the different expectations you face at different times in your career. 
Have the self-awareness to evolve your brand and if necessary even reinvent your brand.

10. Rinse and Repeat!

On a yearly basis go back to Step 1 and start again. It is important to establish the habit of re-assessing your personal brand and creating a new plan for the year.

Has your vision or purpose changed? Do you have a new target audience? Are you no longer living your brand statement? Was there inconsistency in how your communicated your brand?

You can log on to http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/ or 
http://www.careerealism.com/personal-brand/ to read up more on the tips shared and generally on personal branding.

Was this write-up helpful to you? Please drop a mail at corporateaffairs@chams.com