A lot of people now appreciate the significance of personal branding, having realised its potential impact on their career and business. However, it does not matter whether you realise it or not, you are definitely a brand. You can brand yourself or leave people to do it for you, depending on your level of awareness.

In the era of social media, many people have taken to different platforms for self-expression. While some engage them as outlets for fun, gossip and other forms of leisure, others have harnessed it to build professional reputation.

Even if you do not have a social media presence with which you are creating and promoting a personal brand, you live in a physical world where people have an impression of you in their minds based on their experience from interacting with you- personally and professionally. And you are branded based on this impression.

This is why you should not leave your brand to chance; be deliberate about planting in people’s minds what you want them to think you are. Be the definer of your own identity.
A brand is made up of two components: assets and essence.

Your assets are those visible and audible properties that help people identify you and differentiate you from others.

These include your name, unique slogan (both of which you may trademark), unique colour and style of dressing among other things. You may not think these are necessary, but some people do and it serves them well. And sometimes you do not realise the brand assets you possess. Some people do not know your name, but they know you by your hairstyle, colour, voice, walking steps. All of these things say something about you. It is just like the products and services you pay for which you identify by assets such as logo, graphics, social media image and collaterals.

The second component is your essence.

This is what shapes people’s decision on whether or not to engage with you. It comprises the virtues that define your personality. It is the soul of your brand, which can make or break you. Your assets are what makes people identify you, but your essence is what determines people’s judgement of you.
Now the question is this: how do you take advantage of branding to advance your course and achieve your goals?

The simple answer is this: Identify one major concern in the market you serve , then develop a unique strength to address it. Just like every product should have a USP, you should also have a core area of strength that constitutes your primary promise.

Now pay attention;

This does not contradict the need for a combination of benefits for customer satisfaction, but something must stand-out in people’s experience with you which expresses a fulfillment of your “brand manifesto”. If you are a vendor example, your major strength and USP could be timely delivery at all times, which may be rare in your market. For example, Volvo has from the on-set has invested in safety, and it is marked by that in the world of automobiles. This addresses a dire concern for automobile users and has formed its brand identity for ages.

Yours could be that you are resourceful at work- that no matter how impossible a task seems, you are the go-to guy and the lender of last resort when the day must be saved.

But you may ask, what if the major concern or pain points you are considering may have been commonly taken care of by many other contemporaries of yours. What you can do here is take it a step further. You can merge two attributes to become one. That means that if many brands already promise timely delivery (and are true to it), you can add lower cost to it, then it becomes “timely delivery at lower cost”.

There is always a way to stand out. You have to think hard, find the gap and fill it.

What is your brand essence? Find it, develop it and be consistent with it.