What´s the secret formula behind success of most recognized companies around the world?

Now a days we are immersed in a world full of information and, in this context, you may have something to contribute… do you have ideas and want to share them? The goal here is to be different and, if necessary, reinvent ourselves to be recognized, seek to be identified as who we really are.

Let's take as examples globally recognized brands, surely an associated feeling comes to mind, beyond the product itself. For example, “Amazon”, one of the most popular companies in the world ... What´s the first thing that comes to mind? Security, speed - and I am sure fans will think and I quote “Best company ever” whatever the word may be, I´m sure “ electronic commerce" was not the first word that came to your minds, which in fact is really what they do. 

And why does this happen? These companies have invested time, resources, creativity and money in creating a brand with history. The fact that we associate Amazon with “quickness” and not with the service they offer, is a result of the brand building behind it, whose objectives are to create emotional connections with its customers (this is what makes them differentiate themselves from their competitors).

Having said that, what does personal branding have to do with the examples I mentioned earlier? It does since the logic of work behind brands is the logic that we should apply to our personal brand.

 

 

At this point you are probably thinking: how can I do this? How does creating and working on our personal brand work?  Will we walk through the process that will help us differentiate ourselves with a unique value proposition that we will then communicate through our network of contacts (offline and online). Important things you should keep in mind: like it or not, we all have a personal brand. Now, ask yourself: are you going to let others create your image? Or are you going to be the one who defines, manages and, above all, enhances that personal brand with which you will stand out?

Assuming you leaned to the last option, don't be afraid! It is always difficult at first but here I will share with you a very easy step by step and some tips to help you build your personal brand. I promise, it's worth it :)

Step 1: Discover who you are

The first step is to define in a few words who you are, what´s your essence? Don´t worry, I´ll share tips that will help you on this path of self-knowledge. Ask your close network how they perceive you, what stands out about you and how they would describe you. You can use Instagram stories or Twitter to ask your network to help you describe yourself, according to what they perceive. 

Find a moment of reflection to answer the following questions:

• What skills differentiate you?

• What are you an expert in?

• What things do you do very well?

• What are your values? What do you believe in?

• What are you passionate about?

• What can you offer to others?

• What topics do they consult you on?

• What is your purpose? 

I decided to ask for help from my network on Instagram, asking everyone who knows me to describe me. My goal was to understand how I am perceived by others and, from there, start building my own brand. You would be surprised to know the positive perception you generate in others, without being aware of it!

Step 2: Create and develop your value proposal

Once you defined your essence and what you want to convey, it is time to work on developing your personal brand. How does that work? It consists on choosing what your purpose is going to be, what objective you are going to pursue: do I want to connect with the tech world? Do I want to connect with any specific community? What do I need to strengthen to be recognized by? 

You need to build the value proposal that will differentiate you from the rest. For this, I leave you some guide questions that will help you: 

• Who do you want to be visible to?

• In which community do you want to be / with whom do you want to connect?

• What aspects are you going to enhance?

• What do I want to achieve (personally or professionally)?

• For what aspects do you want to be recognized?

In my case, I decided that my purpose is to build a personal brand with a professional focus, with the aim of helping others to build their own professional profiles, helping those who need it in their training and growth. In step 1 I discovered that words like "entrepreneur", "happy", "responsible" define me and that is exactly what I am going to promote!

Step 3: Share your personal brand

Now it´s time to share with your network what you built! The key to success at this point is that your message is consistent with what you have defined before. Now is time to define the platforms (online and offline) in which you are going to seek empowerment: such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, communities, professional networks, among others.

If your purpose is to differentiate yourself from your professional profile, LinkedIn will be the network par excellence: update your profile in a creative and unique way. We are also sharing, tips in this note, below. They can also participate in conferences, meet ups, blogging ... all these helps!

As I mentioned before and considering that my purpose is to enhance my professional profile, my chosen network is LinkedIn. The note I shared with you has several tips ¡great ones! if your brand has a purpose like mine, it´s worth reading it ;)

Step 4: Work on maintaining your brand over time

The fourth and final step is of utmost importance: it´s not enough to update your LinkedIn profile or give a conference about your area of expertise… stay active! Be part of communities that interest you, share the information you may found and think can add value to others, strengthen your network, generate content to share your knowledge and above all, be yourself, stay authentic , seeks to generate emotional connections with others. 

What are you waiting for? Your personal brand is ready for you to embrace it :)