Personal Brands Struggle With 3 Key Brand Building Essentials
Kick-off your personal brand with this simple framework.
For this discussion, we have defined a personal brand as the establishment of a reputation, relationship, and recognition with the public when it comes to you, your product, your service, and your one-of-a-kind identity.
Understanding The Power Of Personal Brands
Personal brands have become a hot commodity in the past several decades and have learned how to capitalize on their reputation, relationship, and recognition with the public. Perhaps the most recognized social proof of the power of personal brands is shown through the actions of the multi-billion-dollar corporate brand, Victoria's Secret.
The Problem: In 2021 Victoria’s Secret CEO Martin Waters publicly recognize, “We have lost relevance with the modern woman.” — CNBC
Victoria’s Secret brand management team implemented a strategy to turn this global behemoth around after drastically declining sales and a loss of trust and relevance with their primary consumers, women. They realized that their consumers had turned their attention to personal brands and valued and demanded product marketing inclusivity in exchange for their business.
As of 2021, the global lingerie company's new brand promise is to become a leading advocate for women.
But how does the largest lingerie retailer in the world, a company known for its annual fashion show with brand cultured petite-sized supermodels, (known as Angels) shift trajectory and regain the trust of its consumers?
The answer is to usher in personal brands. This is the undeniable power of a sustainable and profitable personal brand. The Victoria’s Secret rebranding strategy included co-branding efforts. Management recognized the value of personal brands and the opportunity for capitalization with partnerships.
The Solution: Victoria’s Secret partners with personal brands, Priyanka Chopra, Megan Rapinoe, and more. — Glamour
The benefit of a strong personal brand is being in high demand. Chopra shares with audiences a key component of personal branding.
At one time when mentioning the word brand, it would refer to a high-profile celebrity or a well-known mega-company. Since then, things have changed drastically especially with the rise of entrepreneurship. Today the word personal branding has become the norm and a necessity. Yet, some personal brands are challenged with getting it right. Here are the basics.
Personal branding is the art of becoming knowable, likable and trustable. — John Jantsch, Marketing Consultant, Author
Personal Brand Struggles And Building Essentials
- They lack brand clarity. — Brand clarity is understanding extensively the value you offer to your target audience. Begin with these questions:
Why did you start the business? What is your differentiator? What value do you offer? Who will benefit most from your offer? What impact do you hope to make?
2. They lack compelling brand messaging. — Engaging with audiences means nothing if it’s not resonating with the right people. Ask the following:
What problems are you solving for your community? How do they speak about these problems? Where are they having these conversations? Why do you care?
3. They lack a winning brand strategy. — To navigate the world of personal branding, you must develop a master plan. Here’s how to get started:
Decide on your overall brand goals. Brand goals should align with overall business goals. List resources to achieve the goals. Catagorize based on priority. Isolate ones that will require additional resources. Consider how to obtain the resources. List the top six to ten priorities. Add deadlines and begin.
Brand building essentials are the foundation of your personal brand, but it is only the beginning. Yet, by focusing on the simple framework (clarity, messaging, strategy), you will have begun the process to construct strong and powerful brand pillars to build upon.
If you are serious about personal branding, it is highly suggested that you hire a brand strategist after working through your basic framework. Although basic, the framework requires a great deal of consideration. Having the guidance of a brand strategist will reap a rewarding ROI. This is by far the most crucial and most beneficial investment. But do the research and interview several strategists to ensure a good marriage match.
However, beware, there is a difference between a Brand DESIGNER and a Brand STRATEGIST. Some brand designers identify themselves as brand strategists whereas the real representation is brand design strategy.
A brand designer or brand design strategist will focus on the aesthetics of a brand such as a logo, color schematics, graphics, imagery, and typography. All essential but not where the personal branding process begins. Alternatively, a brand strategist will focus on the overall brand implementation towards revenue generation, including clarity, messaging, and marketing strategies. Both are required but one precedes the other, hire the brand strategist.
Therefore, if the person you are interviewing does not discuss aligning your business goals with your brand goals and then discuss a concrete roadmap to help you achieve both with messaging, milestones, and monetization, it is likely they are a brand designer. Search until you find a brand strategist who will develop and manage the growth of your personal brand with value.
The reality is that we each are a personal brand. This framework is helpful for those intentionally desiring to establish a personal public powerful brand. How’s your branding journey coming along? I’d love to hear below.