How To Build A Personal Brand PT. 2

These 8 laws of personal branding were outlined by a world renowned motivational speaker, author, and self development guru Brian Tracy.

Brian Tracy stated, “Your job is to do your job really well and continually think every day: how you could be better than you were yesterday.

Before we dive in I want to cover some basics again of personal branding. Your personal brand is how you present yourself to the world and how the world perceives you. Last week we covered this, had an assessment to determine your values, and a quick assignment to help you begin discovering your brand.

If you missed last week article, here it is for you to go back to review:

Your Personal Brand = Word of Mouth Advertisement

You are a brand, you are a business, and what you do matters everyday. Each day you go into the office you have the opportunity to build on your brand or damage it. Initially your brand will begin to build trust with others on one simple thing.

That thing is how well do you do your job and how well do you interact with others.

Reputation matters and those that think it doesn't wont see much progress in their career. Your work is the product and service you offer to your peers, colleagues, and bosses. Without good work you will not have much of a personal brand.

To establish positive word of mouth advertisement for your personal brand you have to have the mindset that everything you do builds or damages your personal brand.

8 Laws of Branding

These 8 laws if done right will help you build your personal brand to one that has influence, positive mouth of word advertisement, and authority for your career.

Law of Specialization:

What are you good at? What are your strengths? What can you deliver tangible results on? Your brand will not be for everyone but it can be perfect for a select few. Take time to search, find, and get in an area where you can consistently deliver results in. Talk about it, share best practices on it, and become known as the subject matter expert for it. When others think of this thing or area, they should think of you.

Law of Leadership:

Become respected in your craft. This is similar to law of specialization. The difference is you want to be known as a leader in your areas of competence. Leadership is influence, think on how you impact others in your areas of specialization. How do you help others expand, grow, and deliver results in your area of specialization?

Law of Personality:

Your personal brand must be authentic. Be self aware of who you are and build your brand authentically. There is power when you know who you are and what you are not. Remember your brand is not for everyone. You can build any kind of personal brand but rule of thumb is to make sure it is authentic to you.

Law of Distinctiveness:

How will your brand appear to others? How will you stand out among the crowd? This can be to how you dress, how you make others feel, how you communicate, etc. There are things about you that can make you stand out to separate yourself from the crowd. One simple way to stand out is to have a pleasing personal attitude with a can do spirit.

Law of Visibility

Do you have exposure? Do others know you exist? Your personal brand must stay relevant and in the places where people know you exist. You can do all the following above but if no one knows about your brand it won't do any good. Talk with others, network, and be in places to be seen by others. Find a good mix of creating exposure for your brand but not excessive.

Law of Utility

Here is why being authentic is important. Nothing destroys a brand more than bad character and not being trustworthy. Be who you say you are and do what you say you are going to do. Be the same person each day, people should know what they are getting from you day in and day out.

Law of Persistence

Building a personal brand won't happen over night. If you are just doing it to get a pay raise it won't last. Building your personal brand will last the majority of your career, it will change, and it will develop over time. The point of this is being intentional about building it and not just leaving it to chance. Always think on what key areas you need to stay consistent with. Think character, competence, and leadership (influence) here.

Law of Goodwill

Think impact here of your personal brand. When others come into contact with you, are they better because of it? Do your values resonate with others, that when people mention your name they associate it with positive things?

If you adhere to the 8 laws as described by Brian Tracy you will find great success in building your personal brand for your career.

Takeaways

After reading these, where are you going to start to build your brand? Which law will you begin working on to strengthen your personal brand or word of mouth advertisement?

One rule of thumb is this, think on “Your job is to do your job really well and continually think every day: how you could be better than you were yesterday - Brian Tracy.

Next week we will get into some key qualities that every brand should embody.