The Power of Personal Branding: Building Relationships and Reaching Global Audiences
You must think of yourself as a brand.
Branding is letting people know about you, your accomplishments, offerings, likes, and maybe your dislikes.
I think of branding in a different mindset than marketing. Or PR. I owned a marketing and PR firm that was quite successful. In it, we incorporated branding. Branding is different. Branding fits in with where we are in this current age. It’s not about marketing, trying to get someone to buy something; it is about someone getting to know the brand so that, if they are interested in something that you have, then they might want it as well, but the important thing is not that they buy, but that they know you. This focus is how I think you should view your so-called “marketing.” I believe it is healthier. I think it is honest. I think it is much cleaner. And, because you’re looking at relationships, it opens the doors to all sorts of wonderful experiences you never knew you would have or imagine. I know because this type of strategy – branding – has worked incredibly for me.
Why do you even need to brand yourself, though? If it’s all about relationships, can’t you go to parties and meet people? Or go to a business lunch? Yes. And I think you should. But how about all those people in other states and countries worldwide? How do you have coffee with them? You don’t. If you want to meet people globally – which is what I do – then you go to the Internet. It’s all about how big you want your circle of friends to be. For example, I live in Tennessee, United States. My most significant engagement with people this past week has been in Spain. How in the world would a Tennessee bumpkin have relationships with people in Spain? Well, I branded myself, and they liked what they saw. They felt camaraderie, and they reached out. Because of that, sometime this next year, I may be flying to Spain for a series of book signings. How is that for branding? I didn’t reach out to Spain. They reached out to me. But I did reach out to the world to let them know that Clay Stafford, the Little Who in Tennessee, was around, and they responded like Horton. And now I may be going to Spain to meet some new friends. Cool, isn’t it? Again, this is not marketing. Getting to know others and having them know you is branding. Letting people know who you are.
So, stop trying to get people to buy your books, book you to speak, or do whatever you do. Instead, share who you are—share yourself.
You must consider yourself a brand, just like somebody else might think about potato chips.
We’ll talk more about branding in the future, but for now, think about what I mentioned: who you are, what you have done, what you can offer, what you like, what you may not like, and what’s interesting about you that would make people want to get to know you.
Now, we’re talking branding.
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