“Without a brand, you’re just two clicks away from obscurity.”
That’s the message I’ve been sharing with audiences across North America for the past five years. I’ve been on a bit of a mission to transform the way people think about personal branding to accelerate business growth, build trust and establish thought leadership.
The message has evolved to include a book I’ve co-written on the subject titled, The Road to Recognition. The book is a practical guide to personal brand building in the age of digital media. It’s filled A-to-Z with personal branding insights from the experts, some of which you’ll see below in an infographic.
What’s the ROI (return on investment) of personal branding?
When people ask me that question, I often respond with the questions that lead me to my own personal branding insights. “What’s the value of your reputation?”
When your name is said, or you walk into a room, what baggage comes with you? I truly believe that everyone creates a personal brand by the very act of living; the problem occurs when that brand is not acting in the best interest of our professional success.
Personal branding is the process of aligning your actions with your goals. And if your goals are business focused, your brand takes on market value. If people recognize you in a crowd, you have market value.
If people know who you are without needing to be directly told, you have market value. If people seek you out because of your expertise and reputation, you have market value.
It’s the difference between being perceived a commodity or a valued asset.
The benefits of personal brand building are as varied as the goals you set for your yourself. As your brand equity increases so does your ability to impact more than just your personal success. Strong personal brands have the power to add value to the team, organization, community and the broader world.
Goals determine the impact a powerful personal brand can have on your success.
How to benefit from personal branding
The equation is simple: personal brands are built on reputation, reputation is built on trust, and trust is created by action.
The activities that we do on a day-to-day basis allow us to accelerate our brands and create distinction in the marketplace. When a business leader or real estate professional grasps that she can proactively impact the perception that others have about her ideas and her business, long before a face-to-face meeting, the aha moment occurs, and the benefits far outweigh the effort.
Personal branding is a road. Your challenge is to steer. The following personal branding insights should help.
From the book by Seth Price and Barry Feldman: The Road to Recognition
Seth Price is a nationally acclaimed speaker, the VP of Industry Relations at Placester, author of “The Road to Recognition“ and host of The Craft of Marketing and Marketing Genius podcasts.