Your Personal Branding Means Nothing Without Consistency
Think about what the “big brands” do to gain your trust and confidence.
When you’re bombarded by a sea of choices, consistent branding speaks volumes. Those golden arches, tiny swoosh and green awning immediately bring familiarity when looking for fast food, sneakers or coffee.
Let’s translate that notion to your personal brand.
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But without a consistent message, your brand means nothing.
It can’t happen overnight, but the more you speak, think, write and care for your appearance, the more you’ll be delivering the same message to your audience.
You see, people are watching you, and their perceptions build a brand image in their minds.
Your audience will piece together these perceptions to form a context about you, which in turn, informs their ideas about your performance and potential.
Simply put, personal branding has everything to do with consistency, and it pays to spend some time formulating a strategic plan for yours.
The 1 key question
The one question you need to answer at this point is, “What is it that you consistently deliver that keeps others loyal to you”?
If you can’t answer this question, because you don’t offer anything consistently, that’s fine. Now you have a starting place.
Perhaps you don’t like your answer. That’s okay, too. You now have a point from which you can start to build a different brand message.
But maybe you’re thinking, Is this exercise worth it?
Well, it is if you want to differentiate yourself from others on a consistent basis, and let your strengths speak for themselves.
All it takes is being able to recognize a pattern or sequence – or the message that you regularly convey to the people around you.
And then defining yourself in such a way that the people around you understand your value.
That’s hugely important in the workplace and in order to succeed in your career.
Awareness
Begin by becoming aware of your actions. Every day, what message do your actions send to those you come into contact with? Are you conveying confidence? Irrationality? Trust? Power plays?
What does your mindset say about you? Are you negative? Encouraging? Do you see the positive in everyone and everything? The potential? The solutions?
It’s been shown that how you set your mindset at the start of your day will set the tone for your attitude throughout the rest of the day. What thoughts are you having? If you internalize success and a readiness to tackle whatever comes your way, you’ll exude that message.
But if you dread going into work or dealing with certain people, that’s the message you’ll be delivering.
In fact, you’ll get ahead at work if you only make one change: Improving your mindset.
Making a change
Research shows that people with a positive outlook get better life outcomes, from improved job performance to overall satisfaction to stable personal and professional growth.
Here’s the formula for harnessing your personal brand’s consistent message:
Your actions in the context of your environment and your mindset in the context of how you approach each day shape other people’s perception of you.
By taking a close look at your behaviors, actions and mindset, you can build a personal brand that holds great value for your potential and help you become even more fulfilled in life.
Where do you struggle in keeping your brand consistent?