Brand Yourself to Fight the Bad Economy (264 hits)
What is your four-step process for building a powerful brand?
•Discover: In order to really understand who you are and carve out a career path moving forward, investing in self-discovery is critical. In fact, if you don't spend time learning about yourself, your values, personal mission, and unique attributes, you will be at a disadvantage when marketing your brand to others. Start by removing yourself from distractions and ask yourself, "Who am I?" and, "If I could do anything, what would it be?"
•Create: Your personal branding toolkit may consist of a blog, Web site, business card, résumé, reference document, cover letter, portfolio, or even a LinkedIn profile. Each piece has to be consistent with the next and reflect the brand you discovered in Step 1.
•Communicate: Now it's time to use everything you've created to let people know you exist. By attending professional networking events, writing articles for Web sites, and putting on your "personal PR hat," pitch bloggers and traditional journalists to start gaining attention and recognition for the brand you created in Step 2.
•Maintain: As you grow, mature, and accelerate in your career, everything you've created has to be updated and accurately represent the current "brand you." Also, you need to monitor your brand online to ensure all conversations about you are positive and factual. You can do this by using a combination of tools, including a Google Alert for your name.
