[vc_row margin_top=”-40″ padding_left=”40″ padding_right=”40″ type=”3″ bg_position=”top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_cover=”false” bg_attachment=”false” padding_top=”25″ padding_bottom=”0″ parallax_speed=”0.1″ css=”.vc_custom_1399373744721{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]
Do you spend enough time marketing your personal brand?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][dt_gap height=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]This is the first part in a three-part series of posts taken from an article I wrote that was published in Marketing Mix.
Imagine if we spent as much time branding and marketing ourselves as we do the products and services we sell.
Companies build brands to ensure that buyers create a connection with their goods and services and are motivated to purchase these. In many cases, companies spend a lot of time, money and energy building and marketing these brands. But often, before you sell anything – your product, service or company – you sell yourself first. Think about it: would you do business with a financial planner that is rumored to be in debt or a personal stylist with terrible dress sense? People need to buy into you as a brand before they buy into what you’re selling, and if that’s the case, it makes sense to brand and market yourself first.
When you brand yourself, you develop a reputation that precedes you and you are perceived to be more desirable and powerful. Sound appealing? Thankfully, the principles and techniques of marketing are a good place to start.
Firstly, you need to understand your target markets. Who are the groups of people you should be targeting to profile your brand? Think broader than your company, to your industry specialisation, your network and your prospects. Once you have identified your target market, define what their key needs are and how they derive benefit from being associated with you.
Having defined your target market, it is important to think through what specifically you want to achieve for your personal brand in the target markets you have identified. These specific objectives will play a huge role in determining the strategies you employ. Objectives invariably relate to career success, business results or personal recognition.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]