How to go about building Brand YOU?

Moving ahead with my series on Personal Branding, this article will focus on some actionable pointers that can help you sustain and grow Brand You!

Once you have been through the process of understanding who are and articulating your value proposition, the next steps are to get to the core of what you do to start building your brand. In this finale, we will look at how we can go about this process and what one can take as steps to start. Here’s a list you can use:

• Build your personal brand vision and mission just like you would for a company
• Ensure you are yourself, the core idea is to stay authentic
• Outline who your target audience is and who would be interested in what you say
• Focus on both online and offline assets and presence with your outreach
• Connect with mentors and partners
• Closely monitor your brand and the progress once you start
• Identify what your value systems are and set your priorities right
• Build your platform based on these and build on your strengths and what makes you unique
• Share and give knowledge and insights seamlessly, you grow more as you do

Does it sound like a lot to do? Just pick the ones that are essential to you and start with those. This is just a loose guideline to follow in case you are not sure of where and how to start. As you craft your brand persona, you can look at areas that identify with your emotional appeal – how you describe yourself and find your specialty.

It is good to acknowledge the fact that personal branding is not self-promotion or self-marketing. It is more of a profound knowledge and a clear and deep understanding of who you are and what it is that you stand for. It is about understanding what you excel in and about leveraging it and the associated attributes to build a brand for yourself.

As you start to put your work out there remember to stay true to your core values. Ensure you work and collaborate with the best and this will help magnify your credibility. Always continue to learn and experiment with different concepts and methods when it comes to your content. Communicate with people and understand the pulse of who you engage with.

Make an effort to know people for real and go beyond the everyday and the ordinary. Connect and reconnect with people and find your allies who will back you in your endeavours. Here’s a brand checklist for you to get together:

• Website
• Social Media
• Photograph
• Bio

Start working on these and then work towards making a mark:

• Create and curate your own content diligently
• Innovate and use fresh ideas
• Be the change and pick a social impact track that you are passionate about
• Speak up and stay away from anything fake or inauthentic
• Keep it simple, keep it fresh

We have a series of lists on what to do and how to go about it, but here’s a list of things that are don’ts and should be avoided:

• Lies and inflated resumes or profiles
• Posts that are promoting or are about drinking or drugs
• Provocative content
• Bad grammar, bad spelling, bad language
• Bias and discrimination
• Anything unprofessional

Strong personal brands also add value to corporate brands and employers see positive impact by hiring people who have a voice.

With this it is a wrap on the personal branding series. You can feel free to reach out to me in case you have any thoughts or want a conversation around this…

In the next column I will write about Businesses and Ethics, something very close to my heart. Until then, hope you build and craft successful personal brands!

Shreya Krishnan

Vice President - Marketing and Communications at Aon India Insurance Brokers

Shreya is a CSR Specialist and Corporate Grooming Consultant. Her interests lie in Activism, Dance, Theatre, Poetry, Blogging, Modelling, Acting. She considers herself an Earth Warrior and is an Event Anchor and Trainer. She is a Pageant Winner and public speaker.