Important Features of Building a Powerful Personal Brand

Nat King Cole sang, “Unforgettable, that’s what you are.” His music reflected a simpler, less complicated time. These days, being memorable is just one necessary component to building a successful brand.  In fact, there are seven important characteristics.  It’s important to include all of these elements to develop an powerful brand. If you create a clear vision that is energetic, alive and emotionally connects with your target audience, not only will your brand be memorable, it will also endure.

Utilizing these seven traits will solidify your brand and prolong its success. Leaving out any of these essentials could threaten or tarnish your brand and its potential for long-term success. Worse, you could risk losing your target market to your competition.

Here are the seven essentials:

Clarity: You must be clear about who you are, what you stand for and what you offer your clients. WHY do you do what you do? You have to be able to communicate this verbally and visually in a clear, easy-to-understand manner.

Honesty:  How congruent and aligned are you with the real YOU? In our hyped, cluttered world, people can smell a fake from miles away. They are yearning for transparency and real-ness. When your brand message is clear, authentic and aligned with your values, AND you walk your talk, you’ll attract a large following of the people you are meant to work with.

Remarkability: What is the tone and intention of your brand? Can someone see and FEEL your brand personality within seconds of engagement? It needs to teem with energy. It’s okay to step out of the box – in fact, it’s your uniqueness and point of difference that will set you apart. You’ve got to be willing to separate yourself from the “safe and comfortable” herd and be a little outrageous. Fearless, really. Seth Godin calls this your “Purple Cow.” Brown and white spotted cows are a dime a dozen, but a purple cow, now that’s remarkable.

Consistency: I see it all the time; entrepreneurs putting the cart before the horse, marketing to everyone and anyone, before developing a solid brand foundation. In order to be consistent with your brand message and your marketing, you first have to create your brand platform. Take the time to identify your brand attributes and target market, develop your compelling message and create your unique offerings of value. Once you have a clear foundation, then and only then are you ready implement consistency across all of your marketing channels – from your website and blog, to workshops, speaking engagements and social media platforms.

Distinctive Design: People make a decision about you and your brand within a few seconds of initial contact, so first impressions do count. We process through our eyes, so design has a keen emotional and memorable impact on the brain. Design will speak for you when you aren’t present and has the potential to stimulate a meaningful emotional response. Make sure that your visual branding elements are not only consistent across all media (business card, website, advertising, collateral materials, social media platforms etc.), but they are conveying the message AND the feeling you want your brand to evoke.

Social Engagement: Give them something to talk about. Use the obvious avenues to connect with your audience, such as your Website and on social networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. But get creative, too. Determine where the audience for your message is and think about unique ways to get them talking.

Emotional Connection: Emotions make the brain sit up and pay attention. In order to have a truly powerful personal brand, you have to understand how you make your audience FEEL. Someone once said, “People won’t remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.” This is the core of an influential personal brand. In order to resonate strongly with your target market, you’ve got to make an emotional connection. The most powerful question you can ask yourself is, “How do I want people to FEEL when they experience my brand?”

©Liz Dennery Sanders 2013