Craft your Personal Brand Statement that makes an impact
Make a statement. Literally. Make a Personal Branding Statement with this formula.
Our last blog covered the importance of niching down and standing for a special something rather than being a generalist and try to be everyone's darling.
So far so good. But the next question obviously comes up on how to actually then communicate it in a way that doesn't only make sense to others but capture their attention and makes you memorable?
This blog will help you craft your Personal Brand Statement.
PS - We love hearing from you and are super grateful for the questions you are sending in!
We do our best to cover them as quickly as we can but if there are questions that are burning for you but haven't been covered, please feel free to send us a message for another Q&A session which we run regularly!
First things first ...
What is a Personal Brand Statement?
Your statement is 1-2 sentences that serves you as your 'pitch' but without being salesy. It sums up what you are the best at (value), who you can provide the biggest value to (audience) and how you do it uniquely (USP).
Your statement is your unique point of difference and the promise of value you give to others.
It is what you will use for your personal summary in your CV, your LinkedIn profile, your website, your media kit ...
DONT' CONFUSE your Personal brand STATEMENT with your JOB TITLE.
A job title is what others use to categorise you and limits you to those tasks you are performing. This is why it is called a 'job'.
We go way beyond that and help you future-proof yourself by building a Brand that is sustainable, in your control and helps you pivot if required.
A personal brand statement is a punchy, catchy phrase that people will remember easily and associate with your value.
Eg: As opposed to simply saying “Maria is a Digital Marketing Manager", try "Maria combines creativity with commercialisation to help companies grow sustainably" or "Marrying digital strategy with creative marketing solutions"…
Why do you need a personal brand statement?
How many times have you been asked what you do? Do you feel like people really understand what you do or is it merely pleasantries? I bet you can tweak what you say and leave a lasting impression with that person, an impression that might just lead to business one day.
Just being another hairdresser or plumber is not going to allow you to stand out. When you don’t stand out, you will have to compete against everyone else on price which isn’t a great situation to be in. To be successful in today’s economy you have to specialize; you have to choose a topic and master it. Your statement will clarify exactly what you do, how you do it and for whom. By communicating this, you and your target audience will know exactly what you are capable of.
How do you write a personal brand statement?
Go back to your notes from clarifying your niche and review your career skills, achievements, attributes and characteristics and pick the ones that you feel truely describe you and you feel comfortable with if others would associate those words with you.These will form your unique selling points, or USPs.
From those key words and achievements, you should be able to come up with 1-2 sentences that will form your brand statement, covering insights into these three questions:
What value you provide (what problem do you solve) - this is not running reports and analyse data but more so I make sense of complex data and use them to make tangible recommendations
How you do it uniquely (your USPs) - rather than listing the tools and techniques you use, describe your approach, eg I simplify complex data by using analogies to describe the information so it is easy to understand for those who are working with it
Whom you do it for (your target audience) - this might be your preferred industry (eg FinTech), a certain type of people (no BS CEOs and executives) or a particular group with shared interests (time poor working mums).
Final Tips
Stay authentic
There is nothing worse than a statement that is full of flurry words, describing something you want to be one day or even worse, detracts from who you actually are,
Don't do guru, ninja, expert or fancy words that don't say a thing as it only distracts people from your actual value.
Leave it up to your audience to determine whether you are an expert or not by seeing your profile, your content, your engagement etc.
Short, sharp and spot on
Don't use technical or complex words that are only known in your industry as this could alienate your target audience. You want to make it easy for others to get it straight away what you do and even more important, make it possible to repeat what you do.
Share something personal
It's not about sharing with the world what you have for breakfast (unless you are a chef, a nutritionist or anything food related). It's about staying memorable with a personal attribute that supports your statement but also makes it easy for others to remember you.
It might be a quirky hobby you have, your passion for a certain sport, your involvement with a NFP or a habit that has served you well and is a bit out there (gotta love my 3.45am starts ...)
LET’S BRING IT ALL TOGETHER!
Where from here?
Now you have the insights in what it takes to craft your Personal Brand Statement.
Hop over to the blog where you will find more useful insights and resources to build your Personal Brand and Career!
You want more doing rather than more reading?
We got you sorted here too!
This is how you can fast-track your journey with us:
impaCCCt online Academy
If you want to learn what it takes to
clarify your high performance zone
communicate your point of difference and
capitalise on your Personal Brand in the comfort of your own home,
our 100% online Academy is the place to get started!