What is a Personal Brand?
A Personal Brand is your unique profile, reputation and image. It’s how your audience comes to know of you, what they perceive you stand for and what they think you do before they meet you. It’s particular to you and identifiable only to you.
Personal Branding anchors your reputation online, in the media and on social media. When you have a strong Personal Brand, you become the authority and thought leader in your field.
With a robust Personal Brand, you become a leader in the mind of your audience. This is why an audience will choose you over others. A strong, authentic Personal Brand makes you the leader your audience seeks out.
What is a Personal Branding Statement?
Your Personal Branding Statement is a short, catchy and memorable mission statement of who you are, your WHY, what you do and who you do it for. It’s more than an ‘Elevator Statement’ – think of it as a ‘mini power story’.
Your Personal Branding Statement is the articulation of your Brand Proposition. Both business and personal brands have unique value propositions that demonstrate the benefits an audience derives from the brand when they interact with it. In the business world, a brand proposition is a summary of why a consumer should buy a company’s product. There’s an equivalence in a Personal Brand, except instead of a product, you’re communicating your unique identity, values and skillset. Your brand proposition should include your unique selling proposition, which includes benefits no other brand can provide.
Your statement should be no longer than a short paragraph and should focus on distilling the essence of who you are and what you currently do, as well as your ambitions and the change you hope to bring about with your leading, authoritative voice.
Why do you need a Personal Branding Statement?
A personal branding statement gives you the opportunity to stand out against your competitors and peers. It allows people to truly understand what you do and leaves a lasting impression in the minds of recruiters, headhunters and potential employers.
It gives your audience the chance to get to know you, your niche specialties and unique point of difference. A powerful Personal Branding Statement communicates exactly what you are capable of to your target audience.
How to craft a Personal Branding Statement
It is often difficult to condense the essence of who you are and why you do what you do in a short paragraph. You want your statement to be impactful and powerful – and don’t want to risk this to simply meet a word count limit. Each word in your statement has to earn its place – there is no room for waffle, repetition or ambiguity. Your ‘WHY’ is at the very epicentre of your Personal Branding Statement and should be the focus.
Start by writing a list of your key professional and personal attributes on a piece of paper and pull out what makes you unique. These will form your USPs, or ‘Unique Selling Points’.
Looking at those USPs will help you to form a 1-2 sentence statement that answers three key questions:
- What problem you solve
- How you do it uniquely
- Who you do it for
Authenticity is Key
When crafting your Personal Branding Statement, it can be easy to get carried away and fill it with yet to be realised ambitions. Today’s audiences are digital natives, highly discerning and critical. Your statement should carry merit and credibility but be careful not to over-exaggerate or brag.
If you want to attract and retain a loyal audience, start with demonstrating integrity, authenticity and shared values. Remember, the aim of this statement is to inform and inspire, not intimidate with complicated missions.
Elements of a Personal Branding Statement
To create the most compelling and effective Personal Branding Statement, you should break down the elements of ‘who you are’ by considering the following questions:
- What’s important to you?
- Why do you do what you do?
- Who do you do it for?
- What positive change will you drive one you have an established leadership position?
An example of a powerful Personal Branding Statement can be seen in our work with celebrated interior designer, Delahrose Roobie Myer:
Interior Design Alchemist Delahrose Roobie Myer has an evocative style. She specialises in ‘Design for Wellness’. Delahrose is masterful at creating holistic visual beauty, spatial and energetic harmony. Her bespoke interior design and interior styling creates environments that support people’s wellness. Delahrose combines principles of visual beauty with esoteric energy (with astrology and feng shui) to create more energetic flow.
How to use your Personal Branding Statement
Your Personal Branding Statement can be used on any channel you use to market yourself to employers, employees, recruiters, headhunters, your peers or potential new clients, customers or partners. This could mean at the top of your professional resume, on your LinkedIn page or professional website.
You can refer to your Personal Branding Statement in an interview, at networking events and face-to-face meetings.
Different channels will require different lengths, so it’s important that you are able to condense your Personal Branding Statement where required.
The Power of Personal Branding
Creating and implementing a Personal Branding strategy is the best way to raise awareness of your public presence, control your image and build your reputation.
Your Personal Branding Statement should centre around your WHY, and articulate why you do what you do, who you do it for, and what you intend to do with your authoritative voice. No longer than a short paragraph, think of it as your ‘mini power story’; this statement should authentically communicate your essence to an audience who don’t yet know you, building your authoritative leadership position in your chosen field.
To learn more about creating a Personal Brand, book a free consultation with our specialist team.
Vim + Zest Personal Branding is a specialist Branding and Marketing agency for people and organisations that matter. We help leaders to create impact to build a better world.
