For part 2 of Presenting Perfection’s personal branding series, here’s a quick rundown on how to develop your own effective statement.
When thinking about your branding, it’s easy to get overwhelmed – where do you start? With a few simple guidelines in mind, though, you’ll be one step closer to building a statement that works.
Questions And Answers
The best way to start conceiving your brand – ask questions.
Even for small business owners, the results of self-questioning can be surprising. On a basic level, the foundations of the best personal statements are found in the answers to these questions:
- What are you best at? (value)
- Who do you serve? (audience)
- What makes you unique?
To start, you’ll want to pay attention the values attached to yourself or to your business. In large part, these values are connected to the emotional effect you have on people – how do you make others feel?
Descriptions, Descriptions
Moving on from emotional connections and values, there’s another critical part of any branding statement: letting people know what you do. You may want to consider a summary of your products or services.
Describing your field, industry, and even ideal customer can be a terrific way to build specific appeals to these areas into your statement.
Find Your Niche
No matter what you do, it can still be difficult to make your personal branding stand out. Part of an effective statement is positioning yourself as unique.
Here are a few questions to help get you started:
- What talents do I offer?
- What makes my perspective unique?
- What has brought my brand or company to this stage?
Like other parts of brand building, this part of the conception process is both a powerful story builder and great self-assessment tool. If you need more convincing about the power of the niche – check out these high-profile examples of brands using narrative in their branding strategy.
Tips
As you start to conceive of your unique message, consider the following brainstorming techniques:
- Create lists. Lists of attributes, goals, and even values can help you identify your “superpowers”
- Narrow down you audience. Think of an ideal customer – someone you’d want to connect your brand with.
- Stay true. Being honest about what makes you special will ensure your statement is effective.
- Get help. Seeking alternate opinions can help you see your brand through the eyes of others.
Get Branding Help
No matter where you are in the branding, development, or business building process, a well-versed consultant may be able to help. With more than 20 years of experience in the world of corporate communications, Kathryn Lancioni has helped companies and individuals across the country manage their message.
To get started or to find out more about how personal branding can help you, contact Presenting Perfection today.