THE BRAND CALLED YOU!

No matter who you are, you have undoubtedly purchased product brands—from clothing to furniture, technology, and more. As a consumer, you are also personally branded by the various corporate brands you support, whether it be the McDonald’s arch on your cheeseburger wrapper, the Nike swoosh on your shoe, or the Apple logo on your iPod. Throughout your life, you have made decisions among competing brands, choosing some brands over others, and along the way you have built up attitudes, impressions, and beliefs—without even noticing.

What does this all mean? As an individual, you must acknowledge that you are a brand. And who better to market your personal brand than you. This means that at the end of the day, the success of your personal brand lies in your hands.

THE POWER OF BRAND YOU

Personal branding is about unearthing what is true and unique about you and letting everyone know about it. As a brand, you are your own free agent: you have the freedom to create the career path that links your talents and interests with the right position and the ability to move both vertically and horizontally, now and throughout your career. You can even switch career paths when you feel it is necessary.

You also have the opportunity to stand out and make a name— through your brand—for yourself. The fact that owning a website is so easy gives everyone a chance to develop and market a personal brand that shows the world who they are and what they’re capable of. For instance, on the Web, you have the opportunity to promote brand YOU by joining a social network and using your page as a billboard to advertise your talents and goals.

Thanks to technology, you can reap the same rewards as the billion-dollar brand names, from Trump to Gucci, through effective marketing. Creating a brand isn’t just about technology, though. By focusing on delivering results, being remarkable, and learning new skills to adapt to our ever-changing world, you can make your brand memorable, and opportunities for success will follow.

What It Means to Be You, Inc.

We need to keep certain unspoken guidelines in mind when creating You Inc. Successful personal brands need to be authentic, have a good reputation, and be discovered by the right people.

Authenticity Is Required

Why do you need to be real? Because everyone else is taken and replicas don’t sell for as much! To be a brand means to be authentic. Marketing spin is counterproductive; people filter it out of their minds and send it into a black hole, never to return. If you are presenting yourself as a marketing manager for a Fortune 500 company when you are really a cocktail waitress at a nightclub, you obviously aren’t legit. You will notice that many individuals who label themselves as “experts” or “world-recognized” professionals are exaggerating.

What is Personal Branding?

“Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence.”

The Brand Called YOU!

Those who pretend to be someone they are not run the risk of being exposed. Just as good romantic relationships are based on genuineness, openness, and a willingness to be up front from the start, in business, your relationships depend on authenticity. Authenticity showcases exactly who you are and what you can deliver. For example, if you brand yourself as a freelance writer, you should be able to back that up with a portfolio of solid writing samples. There is a misconception that branding is all about changing who you are in order to fit others’ expectations. While image management is typically just that—a product of conscious manipulation— personal branding is about sincerity.

Being authentic also includes maintaining open communication and assuming accountability for your actions. Dishonesty will attract more attention than honesty, and the truth always comes out eventually. Rather than constructing a false image and working hard to maintain a deception, you should pay attention to what is truthful and amazing about you and work hard to make the most of it.

A company fails to maintain authenticity when it uses false advertising or when its sales force persuades prospective customers to purchase a product they won’t enjoy. Would you trust someone who sells you an ugly jacket by telling you that you look gorgeous in it? Each salesperson needs to carry an accurate and truthful message, because that sales rep’s customer interactions are a reflection of the corporate brand. Any malpractice must be cleared up and the proper spokesperson should apologize immediately. As your own best salesperson, you need to represent brand "You" authentically.

The Author

Dan Schawbel is the leading personal branding expert for Gen-Y. Fast Company calls Dan a "personal branding force of nature." Dan has introduced a whole new generation to personal branding, as he opens up new opportunities and strives to elevate the practice.

His Personal Branding Blog is consistently ranked in the top 100 marketing blogs in the world by AdAge, and has achieved syndication from Forbes, Reuters and Hoovers. Dan publishes Personal Branding Magazine, is the head judge for the Personal Brand Awards, and directs Personal Branding TV. He has written articles for major magazines and online resources such as BrandWeek Magazine, PRWeek, About.com, T & D Magazine, Advertising Age, and The American Marketing Association.

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