By Erika Kelland & Erin Molloy, Twine PR, with guest Lisa W. Haydon, President and Founder of Pivotal Coaching Inc.
What makes you you? What traits make you different from others? What do you bring to the table that’s helpful? How do you communicate? Which of your characteristics do you want to project and have others feel? What’s important to you?
You can maintain and build your personal brand by being conscious of these things and checking every one of your actions, decisions, investments, positions, and responses to ensure it reflects who you are and how you want to come across.
But why does this matter? We’re willing to bet your reputation matters to you. Guess what: your reputation and your personal brand are the same thing.
As a leader, entrepreneur, employer, colleague, and community builder, it’s important to focus on your personal brand. It helps others get to know you and know what to expect. It garners trust and credibility. With a consistent personal brand, we can better make decisions, trust our guts, and control what will be accepted and heard. Knowing who you are, and making it clear at every turn, gains respect and, therefore, a solid reputation.
Cultivating your personal brand doesn’t happen overnight; it’s more important to be patient and build your momentum naturally. It’s about being genuine and expressing yourself in a thoughtful way.
Whether it’s a job interview, sales pitch, public speaking engagement, internal meeting, social media presence, or a media interview, knowing who you are and how to best show up and stand out helps you to get results and feel good about them.
One way to showcase your personal brand is through thought leadership. Positioning yourself as a subject-matter expert who has something unique and valuable to share helps you and your organization succeed. People trust people. For more on this topic, along with our full conversation with our trusted colleague, Lisa W. Haydon of Pivotal Coaching, visit our blog at twinepr.com/blog. Here’s a little bit of what Lisa had to say:
How do you define “personal brand”?
Think about brands you trust. Recall memorable brand ads that have stayed with you. Like business brands, we as individuals hold the opportunity to convey, engage, and leave an impression through our personal brand experience.
No two individuals will develop the same brand. Each of us is distinct and can create a unique personal brand.
Why is it important for professionals to focus on their personal brand?
You want to invest and build brand to have it give you high returns for 40 to 50 years! Building the brand you want others to know you for involves strategy, management, and using it in the market. What takes 20 years to build can evaporate in moments. The good news is that if you are managing your brand, you can be proactive against brand-damaging situations.
How do professionals begin or continue to develop their personal brands?
Of course, a coach will tell you there’s work you can do! What’s missing to get you where you want to go? The gaps support your investment in “You Inc.” for the long term and the personal brand plan you need to build.
With every interaction, encounter, and reaction, we are creating a branding moment. Think about using feedback in a structured and regular way to really know how others are experiencing your brand.
Thanks for reading our stories over the past four issues of The Advisor. We’ve only scratched the surface! To learn more insights on how to integrate PR and communications into your daily business, visit twinepr.com.
Erika Kelland & Erin Molloy,
Erika Kelland and Erin Molloy are the partners and owners of Twine PR, a public relations firm on the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Twine brings together two or more pieces to form a stronger bond, which is the drive behind every client relationship and project. “We get to know you by starting all projects with helping you identify and define your direction and by analyzing and assessing your current and previous goals, needs, and results. Whether it is through public relations strategy and counsel, strategic planning, or experiential marketing and communications, Twine PR pushes beyond the smoke and mirrors to focus on what matters—you. Our approach is mindful of all business goals, and the integrity of your company is not only honoured, but strengthened.”