Personal coaches and consultants have been touting the importance of maintaining a strong positive personal brand for years.  What is it and why should you care about it!

Brand is quite simple, it’s a word, image or title that is immediately identified with a series of attributes.  Basically those attributes become the identity associated with the word, image or title.

For example:

• MacDonald’s – fast, cheap, efficient, tasty (arguable I guess) honest, clean, standardized, etc.

My desired brand web identity might be something like:

• Kerrzone – smart, witty, interesting, clear, accurate.

Personal brand identity is basically just a brand that is associated with your name.  Like all brands, it is hard to build, easy to destroy and potentially of great value to you (if it is positive and you leverage it effectively).

What do you own that is used more by everyone else than by yourself? – your name.   Others might use it, but as the owner you really care how they use it (or you should).  Do people view your brand positively or (probably outside your hearing) are they saying – sleazy, lazy, obstinate, stubborn, obtuse and so on.

SELF AWARENESS

The foundation for a strong personal brand starts with self awareness.  In a corporations case they use tools like social media, surveys, focus groups and marketing studies to determine what people think of them.  Individuals don’t usually have access to nor a desire to use these kinds of tools and so need to rely on self-awareness to assess (and react to) what others think of them.  Self awareness lets you uncover your identity and decide if you want to change it.

If you are aware that others view you as sleazy, lazy, obstinate, stubborn and obtuse and you are good with that, there is nothing to do.  Self awareness is about managing your image proactively not by default or re actively.

In essence the way you behave is what determines how others view you and overtime this creates your personal brand.  This brand is not something to be squandered.   Think about how important it is for you to manage your brand, whether in a business or personal context you are far more likely to achieve your goals when others view you positively.