How To Create Your Personal Brand
Today I’m featuring a guest post by my good friend Everett Nolan. This guy is one of the best networking, party host, artist/motorcycle riding/ladies man I’ve ever known. His list of accomplishments is long, but you can check out his site at Social Construct.
:: IDENTIFYING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND::
Using it to meet high end influential leaders and to become one yourself!
I’ve been networking at a natural capacity for years. I left high school and got on a freight train, rode around N.America in search of answers more relative to life and firsthand experience. Travelling in this way meant making friends and secure associations as a key means of survival. My main need was a place to stay, once situated- work.
I enjoyed exploiting the contrast between vagabond and professional, being the proverbial hand up Mona Lisa’s skirt. Through being that “good, easy going, charismatic guy” opportunities opened up. Sleeping on roof tops out of the public eye, I advanced into the entertainment industry. Volunteered for a major Pop-cultural gallery in Toronto and worked my way into an assistant curatorial position within a year with no education. As more and more opportunities presented themselves I realized what I was doing was marketing myself and I was great at it!
15 years later, I turned that realization into a career in marketing and event coordination based solely on will and a comprehensive, keen eye. In the last three years I’ve turned to teaching these skills. Skills key to personal development, empowerment and success.
Longtime friend of mine, Tony D asked me to introduce myself and express some of my knowledge on Personal Branding and self-marketing in order to bring to your attention some of the key physical, intellectual and psychological benefits available through Personal Branding.
The two key aspects I’ve incorporated into my success in social and business life are networking and marketing.
Marketing is like LA. It’s like a gorgeous, brainless model in LA. It’s like a gorgeous, brainless model on cocaine having sex drinking Perrier in LA. That’s the best way I know how to describe it.
– Max Barry, Syrup
(July, 1999)
While previous self-help management techniques focused on self-improvement, a new concept (which has been inherent since the 1930’s) in marketing coined as personal branding suggests a different approach that embraces self-packaging as a more lucrative avenue for success. Incubated amongst the generalized apathy of the MTV generation, the concept is further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; relating but not limited to body conditioning, clothing, physical appearance and areas of knowledge, leading to a uniquely distinguishable, and ideally memorable, impression.
“Who was that masked man?”
In the 1930’s The Lone Ranger radio show hit the air stunning audiences with his heroic mystique built on a strong fictional-personal brand. This brand inspired children and adults alike through character intrigue based on a variety of individual aspects accentuating the show’s hero along with various other branding techniques. Kids dawned masks, cowboy hats and played Texas Ranger, men found a new heroic role model and the American Nation State was all the better for it.
Detroit radio station owner and programming producer George W. Trendle utilized Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture along with a vocal introduction to the Lone Ranger enterprise setting the audience’s emotional intrigue and expectation This, along with the development of The Lone Ranger’s fictional-personal brand founded success the same way your individual personal brand does for you…(!)
Amongst these musical and oratory branding attributes, the producers and writers incorporated key personal character signifiers and dramatized slogans: a black mask, Token powder blue, white and black wardrobe, silver bullets, and a horse named Silver made up the branded character aspects of this classic fictional-personal brand. (The epitome of personal style through image for first impressions…the dapper man.)
This applied mysterious intrigue involves a variety of aspects creating a basis for individuality, identity and personal recognition; all key aspects in presenting yourself, standing out and leaving a positive, if not intriguing, impression. The benefit of all of this is a memorable impression, an impression lasting that people want to be around, want to associate with whether business related, romantic or associative to a variety of potentials!
Hollywood holds a good example for personal branding. It’s been noted that actors and actresses cultivate certain idiosyncrasies within their personal identities: from Christopher Walken’s vocal fluctuations to the stammer of Hunter S. Thompson.
Madonna started out as an A-student and as a member of the cheerleading squad in high school; she later dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She worked as a waitress at Dunkin’ Donuts and with modern dance troupes.
Today she is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records.
Through the clutter of content, in the physical-social embodiment, just as in radio or television programming, your objective is to signal expectation in your audience – be it embodied as an interesting idiosyncrasy, positive eccentricity, wardrobe, facial hair, tattoo(s), mode of transport, pattern of speech etc…
Developing an image through curating a personal brand invokes outside intrigue in promotion to oneself. This is key in networking, as networking is key to success in both social and business circles.
Though the mainstream implementation of the personal brand focuses on general aesthetics and signifiers, from your name and how its spelt, fashion to what kind of saddle you ride- the root of it all stems from personal cultivation and psychological conditioning. You have to be your “brand” as we’re dealing with your identity here which is directly related to your psychological foundation and personal interests. Before you can begin to successfully network yourself and your personal brand you have to be it.
The first step is understanding your weaknesses and turning them into strengths.
If you have trouble public speaking, learn. If you have trouble with crowds, fall back and find an angle and approach that makes you comfortable.
-Consider your name, its spelling and how it represents you. In rebranding your title never steer far from the truth- incorporate an interesting spelling, combine initials or use your middle name.
-Stylize your personal interests into your wardrobe. If you’re into old word heritage, dash with a “retro-sexual” aspect and carry a pocket watch.
– Recognize your niche. In relating to your target demographic your concern is first discovering your demographic, its inherent interest and purpose of exploration.
-Keep your interests open minded. All knowledge is of value, from interesting antidotes to relating common interests with potential contacts.
-Adapt and interact. Be positive and easy going, but don’t be a yes man!
-Go out and make friends despite of appearance and association. Opportunity comes from everywhere and anywhere, but get to the point in deciphering mutual value as to not waste your or anyone else’s time.
-Be calm, approachable and enjoy yourself 😉
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Be creative and have fun!
