Personal Branding: 4 Tips On Building & Maintaining Your Own Personal Brand

We all understand branding when it comes to well-known brands like Under Armour, UPS, Coca-Cola, etc. but have you given thought to your own personal brand? No matter what your occupation, the fundementals of building your personal brand remain the same.

Here are four points you need to remember when developing your own personal brand:

From SupplyChainQuarterly.com…..
Positioning
1.       A good brand has a position in the market. That position occupies a space that is unique and easily identifiable, often called the “market niche.” This is the area in which you excel.

Relevancy
2.       A good brand has to be relevant. It does you no good to have a brand as “the class clown” when that has no relevance to your career in a logistics firm. On the other hand, if you are a monologue writer for “The Tonight Show,” being the class clown would be highly relevant.
Consistency
3.       Your brand must be consistent. Whatever distinctive and compelling value your brand represents, you must provide that value consistently. For the supply chain professional, if your brand is “superior organization,” you must demonstrate superior organizational skills not just when things are easy, but more importantly, during the most trying times: for example, when a key team member is out on family leave, or when your firm is reorganizing or acclimating to a merger.

Brand Development
4.       Finally, brands need to be supported. They need cultivation and investment. When I was a child, I gave my dad Old Spice aftershave on Father’s Day. Back then the brand was well-known and highly visible. But it languished until a few years ago when it received the necessary cultivation and investment to reinvigorate it, launching a brand campaign that has won awards and boosted sales with a whole new clientele. Cultivation and investment are necessary for professional brands, too. For example, to maintain a brand of “innovation” in supply chain management, you must invest your time in keeping up with the latest advances by reading relevant periodicals, attending conferences, and cultivating your network of industry peers.

Logistics Manager, Hospitality Tabletop Supplier, Top Chef…..no matter your occupation, you better build your brand before someone else does it for you. 

To read the entire article on building and maintaining your personal brand:
http://www.supplychainquarterly.com/columns/20130621-build-your-professional-brand/