HOW TO MEASURE THE VALUE OF DEFINING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Time well spent?

If the whole idea of figuring out/ developing a personal brand is new to you, it can feel daunting, and like it’s going to take up a hell of a lot of time. Time you don’t have if you’re trying to run a sustainable, profitable business, right?

Wrong.

Taking some time to figure out, develop and define your personal brand will have HUGE impacts across your business and your personal life.

Whut? Ok, let me line it up for you here.

Taking the time to figure out your personal brand means that you’re figuring out your strengths and weaknesses, it means that you’re clarifying your position; as a person who owns a business and the position of your business.

By doing that, you’re increasing your clarity and getting a stronger sense of direction in your business.
And what does that do?

Well, that increases your confidence – by putting a thoughtful presentation of yourself out into the world you’re immediately seeing your brand strengthen. You know why you’re doing what you’re doing.

The next thing that happens is that you build trust and credibility – because your confidence and clarity has increased, your standards have increased. And people can see that.

They can see how you have a clearer direction, how you’re acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses and they can see how your standards are increasing. And when that happens, you’re building your tribe, your community.

So by taking the time to create this image of yourself online (and offline), you’re standing out because you’re showing your uniqueness and you’re showing your personality.

And ALL of that amounts to this final impact of the process; which is, it increases your perceived value. And what does that mean?
It means that you can charge the prices that you need to for your services or products in order to have a sustainable business.

So that’s how you measure the impact of figuring out your personal brand, it’s directly on your bottom line!

Really?

Ok, so just in case you don’t believe me, I’ve compiled a couple of articles that back me up here – nothing like a quick internet search for confirmation bias, right? 😉
But seriously, you do need to ask yourself, honestly – Is “Personal Branding” Just an Ego-Driven Waste of Time?

It depends on what business you’re in:

… there are aspects of personal branding that make sense. One thing that personal branding gets right is that the nature of work is changing. People are moving from one job to another more frequently, or striking out on their own as freelancers and entrepreneurs. In this new world of individual free agents in the workplace, how you present yourself is an important consideration.

And it also depends on what you’re selling, and how good you are at what you do…

There must be substance or content that underlies the marketing, or your customers will resent you for lying about the product.

Life Enhancing

On the flip side, this article from Entrepreneur A Strong Personal Brand Will Enhance Your Life, No Matter What You Do for a Living

… it is important to understand that everyone has a personal brand, whether you want one or not. It is defined by everything you do, from what you wear, to how you compose emails, to how you conduct yourself on the phone.

It’s not about self-promotion.

Done properly, a personal brand can be much more (or less) than just self-promotion. It can be a personal – and private – exercise in establishing confidence, credibility and courage as well as help you define priorities and focus on those aspects of your life you enjoy most.

This post, titled 7 Reasons Why Your Personal Branding Matters, starts at the very start – it’s about authenticity.

To be on-brand, you have to do the inner work to be true to be who you are so that your outer self – or what people see before they even speak to you – is aligned. Be true to your personality, spirit, and your unique character.

Keeping it real

I really like this guy’s video – he’s saying what I’m saying, so yes, I agree with him. But also, listen to the way he’s saying it. If you know who Gary Vaynerchuk is, then you’ve definitely heard his wannabes online too. Big booming announcer-style intros, high energy, fast paced. That works for Gary V, he owns it. This guy though, he’s not Gary V and he owns that.

A final note

A short word of warning here before I leave you to all of this: don’t spend too much time on this either. Don’t get into the space where it becomes all about your personal brand and stops being about the work you’re creating. Authenticity is such a cliched word now, I hate to use it but it’s so important to remember… This is not a magic pill, but doing this work in a structured and time-defined way can benefit you and your business.

So tell me what you think; personal branding – a useful exercise or a waste of time?

All images by Firechild Photography | Personal Branding Photographer Dublin, Ireland