If you are looking for a blog post that gives you all the answers, you’re going to be sorely disappointed in this one. As I was reading a post over at PeiProfit.com on branding, it got me thinking about how and why it is important to build a personal brand. And as I thought through the “how’s” and “why’s” I found I was asking myself more questions than I was answering, and therein was the learning for me.
Below is a list of questions I came up with when thinking about building a personal brand. Possibly I will follow up with some answers, but for now I think I will just leave you with questions.
Questions to Ponder When Building Your Personal Brand
What is my passion?
What is my purpose?
Am I unique?
What am I already known for?
Am I influential?
Can I gain influence?
How am I perceived?
Can I alter the perception of me?
What makes me authentic?
What is my vision for me?
What is my mission?
What does my brand say about me?
What do I want my brand to say about me?
What am I doing to strengthen my brand?
Am I missing something? Please add it in the comments section.
Photo credit: Stéfan's photostream
Similar Posts:
- Four W’s of Branding
- Your Brand is Not…
- Building Community – With Gary Vaynerchuk
- Seven Things Your Brand Is Not – And One That It Is
- Building Your Brand By Branding Yourself
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Matt,
Love the new avatar! Hey I think a list like this has a lot of great information. It should get people to start thinking and moving towards the brand they’re looking for.
These days, without a decent brand, you’re sunk!
George
Great post full of questions we need to ask! I stumbled!
As I close the door on some bitter stuff from last year, I am building a new business from the ground up. Even though I am a seasoned entrepreneur, with several successes behind me – I find your blog interesting and stimulating – thanks! and thanks to Vegas Will for pointing me towards you!
Happy New Year!
I always thought that a Mission Statement can help define a company IF DONE RIGHT. In my opinion the Mission Statement should be bigger than the company itself.
A great example of this is Sony’s Mission Statement in the 1950’s:
“Become the company most known for changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese products”.
I won’t comment on their proprietary ways now, but I like like that Mission Statement.
@CanadianRedhead
Thanks for the kind words! If Vegas Will gets any more accolades on this site, I may have to start paying him =)
@Tumblemoose
A strong brand is so important. It gives you so much leverage, that I would agree with you “without it you are sunk”. You are working on a great brand over at Tumblemoose.com, a good example of what we are talking about here.
Glad you’re liking our new mascot.
Matt
@Will
A personal mission statement is also important. We need to remind ourselves of what we stand for and where we are heading just as much as corporations do.
Matt
@Tom
Thanks for the stumble. Let me know if you come up with any answers to those questions.
Matt
Thanks SmallBizBee – I found this post from Twitter. We have a lot of work to do this year on our own personal branding. It’s daunting but exciting.
@CandlesOffMain
Hey, glad you found us! Personal branding may be daunting, but think about it this way…you’re going to be with yourself forever, so you got time!
Matt
Great questions that we should all think about–not just when building the brand for the first time, but many, many times as we strengthen it. Over time, additional questions might be: Is this brand still a good reflection of me/my product? Is it out of date (look/feel/logo)? Is it easy for people to remember? (ie too hard to spell or pronounce? If they can’t say it, they won’t tell others about it.) Is it easily recognizable? (the logo stands for the brand and people know what it means).
@Alisa Bowman
Great point…brands and brand relavancy change over time. This is not a “set it and forget it” type of thing here, you need to continue to build your brand as it evolves.
Thanks for coming by,
Matt
Aww Matt, Thanks for the mention here. Glad that post and Victoria Beckham managed to spark off some good thoughts!
@Ben Pei
That’s why I’m constantly reading other blogs, to get some fresh ideas from somebody else. Thanks for getting me thinking about this one.
Matt
Who, what, when, where, why and how? You hit them all, and they really do make you think about yourself in a more reflective manner. These are all questions I have been pondering lately in order to better evaluate my own personal brand. I now use a site personavita.com that has really connected with all those questions and more. I am really seeing what my brand is now.
This is a wonderful example of what your ‘morning mental briefing’ should sound like.
Heck, work some magic with this and some cool typography design and you got yourself a ‘morning questioner poster’.
Great stuff my friend.