Md Consulting

Interesting article regarding the First Steps To Building Your Personal Brand. Read the full artcile here (source : Forbes) 

With the surge of social media, you have not only the ability, but you now have the need to manage your own reputation, both online and in real life. Why leave your professional reputation to chance, when you can be your own PR guru and manage your image?

The most impirtant think is to be authentic. That’s also the case for real brands for which I’ve developped an approach called “close contact marketing” inspired by KARATE I practice.

Here-below, 6 rules of close contact marketing, and also the Slideshare.

Your first task: Developing your “brand mantra.” Basically, this is the “heart and soul” of your brand, according to branding expert Kevin Keller. Here are four simple steps to creating your mantra:

1. Determine Your Emotional Appeal

 Make a list of words that best describe these features of your personality. Hint: They can be as simple as Disney’s “fun.”

Questions to Consider:

• How do I make people feel?
• How do people benefit by working with me?
• What words do others use to describe me?

 2. Determine Your Description

Your next step is coming up with a descriptive modifier that brings clarity to the emotional modifier, identifying what or who your brand is for. In Disney’s case, it’s “family.” In Nike’s mantra, “authentic athletic performance,” “authentic” is the emotional appeal, while “athletic” tells you what the brand is for. As an individual, yours might be an industry (“healthcare” or “education”), or it might be a tangible skill (“creative” or “strategic”).

Questions to Consider:

• What field or industry am I in (or do I want to be in)?
• What are the words I would use to describe my work?
• Who is my target audience?

3. Determine Your Function

Lastly, write down what, exactly, you do (or will do). It might be something that directly relates to your career: writing, graphic design, or financial planning, for example. Or, it might be something more broad, like Disney’s “entertainment.” Are you a manager, a creator, an organizer? A connector of people?

Questions to Consider:

• What service do I have to offer people?
• What do I do that makes me stand out from everyone else?

4. Put it All Together

Finally, look at your three lists of words, and see how you can combine them into a short sentence or phrase—no more than five words. Your brand mantra should communicate clearly who you are, it should be simple and memorable, and it should feel inspiring to you. You might be a “dependable, strategic planner” or “a creative professional connector.” Or, your mantra might be something like, “motivating others to do their best.”

5. Build your online Brand

Use your mantra and build your online brand, as well as how to live your brand, every day. Be also ready for your Perfect Pitch: How to Nail Your Elevator Speech