Brand – Daisy Quaker is a Badass

How to find who your personal brand markets to, and who you do not

Here’s what your personal brand can learn from your personal dating choices. When it comes to dating we all have a no-go list. Sometimes it’s a physical thing, or a personality thing, but we have trained our minds to instinctively spot and notice our type vs. people who are not our type.

It’s not just a dating thing. We pick who our friends are, our partners are and in which company we want to be a part of. That’s a good thing, and something your personal brand can learn from. Professionally though that’s a different ballgame. We don’t want to shut down any possible opportunity that comes our way even if we may or may not be the right fit because we are scared we might miss an opportunity. I think we need to borrow fa lesson from our dating lies, our brand does not and should not appeal to everyone. If it does not appeal to someone we should not feel the need to water t down so it can fit. Sometimes it just won’t click, and that’s ok.

Why do we feel the need to water down our personal brand to appease everyone?

Whether you use it to grow your career, or business, your personal brand is your identity. It comes out in different ways via blogging, the language you use on social networks and even in your resume. Truth is you’re probably not interested in just about any job you can get or you don’t want a career in just anything. You have a dream or a passipon in a field that you thirst to make a name for yourself (otherwise your personal brand would not matter all that much). Yet, we are almost driven to tone down the things that make us quirky, or different so we can appeal to the masses.

Forget the masses, embrace your quirks

This is my rallying call. Don’t water your brand down by trying to make everyone happy and hit all the right notes. Focus on your niche whether it’s an industry you want to be a part of or a type of customer you want to attract. Focus on them and learn who they are, learn what they read, what language they use, the insider code they communicate with and even what their world view is. Focus on your type and just like in dating eventually you will come to a happy medium.

How to make your personal brand unique

Your tone

There’s a reason teenage girls would read Seventeen magazine, and anyone past the age of 21 would not want to. it’s not written for them. Likewise is your messaging targeting your main audience or is it too wishy-washy that just about anyone can hire you? Do you speak the insider language of the group you are marketing to (every group or “tribe” has their own narrative and common terms they use to identify themselves). If you learn and speak authentically to the group then people in the group will take notice and welcome you.

Your core values

“Dance to the rhythm of the madness in you.” If you have core values and are passionate about something chances are it might not gel with everyone. That’s OK. You are not trying to get everyone, just the people who see the world as you do. That’s your niche. That might not please everyone but it till give you direction and purpose. Ask your weeks why are you doing this? And remember that when the road gets a little murky, or your vision is a little jaded. Proclaim your core values the real reason you are doing what you do, think of it as a service to others, what value do you want your work to achieve. And use that to connect your personal brand with your niche, because other than that your personal brand statement is just a nice soundbite that is empty in value.

Be honest and upfront

Your audience will reward you for being who you are. Make connections with people by approaching them honestly. As you build your brand you are probably not starting at the top but somewhere in between, or on the lower rungs of the ladder. Be honest about that. You can make real connections when we allow ourselves to be a little vulnerable and admit we might not know a whole lot about our niche, target market, or how we will get from A to B, but we are working to figure it out. Give people a chance to root for your team and let them surprise you.

If you’re for everyone, then ultimately you’re for no one. Or at least that’s how the saying goes. Same way you’re hopefully not just dating anyone that walks by, your brand should not trying to hook any party that meanders along. Spell out who you are for, and who you are not for, and your path and decision-making becomes much easier. More on that next time 🙂

Content marketing, Professional Development

Creating your personal brand statement –An exercise

Complete this sentence. Writing exercises are _____________. I hope you answered fun, because we are about to jump into a personal branding writing exercise: Creating your personal brand statement.

Say it with me, “Yaaay!”

Why you need a personal brand statement

A personal brand statement is a clear statement of who you are, what you do and why you do it. It can give you direction, focus and a way to set yourself apart, and it helps the world figure out what you’ve set out to do.

It’s a big deal for corporations to have personal brands, but it’s also a big deal for you. So you’ve got to carve out a small chunk of time and dedicate it to creating your personal brand statement before you dive into building your personal brand.

So let’s get started in creating your personal brand statement

Who are you and what do you do?

This will help you find your personal brand identity. It’s not enough to say “I am a consultant” or “I am a businessman/woman” what does it really mean?

Remember when you were learning nouns such as teacher, or leader or coach? These are roles that give others a picture of you in a snap! So focus on finding a role that paints a picture, and don’t from being adventurous by using terms like innovator, storyteller, and artist. This might not make it into the product but it will set you on track.

Now, what do you do? I’m not talking about an “I work with companies to blah, blah, blah.” statement. That’s too generic. Make it something specific, clear, but simple. How does your identity + what you do =helping others? Remember simple is powerful. A personal brand statement example for a graphic designer might be: I’m an artist who helps businesses bring their creative visions and ideas into reality. So simple anyone can understand their big idea, ad what’s more they become curious.

Another approach might be to start with a phrase like “I want to help ……”

If you’re starting out, i.e. of building your business, starting your career or looking to move up in your in your field, a good starting point would be to talk about your goal.

“Help” is a keyword in this exercise because it approaches your goal as a service which not only gives the feel-good vibes, but it also attracts others that need the help you offer.

Why do you do it?

Without further ado, what makes you do what you want to do? What is your purpose?

Think about the big picture, the overarching goal, the main thing that drives your focus and just let your creativity and imagination run the show. Sure it might not give you something concrete at first but with refinement you will get a very clear way to explain what you do to others. Once again, avoid big words; keep it simple, honest, ambitious and real.

After some drafts I came up with my personal brand statement:

“I want to help people find and leverage their uniqueness to achieve success in their career or business.”

Now that was fun right?

I feel motivated and purposeful! Writing a personal brand statement is really a motivational activity, it allows you to close your eyes and imagine. Told you writing exercises are fun! Spend some time working on and thinking about your personal brand statement, write it up, print it and put it somewhere you can see the same way a business would hang up their mission and vision. It will help you as you go about building your personal brand.

But we are not done yet.

Once you have figured out your personal brand statements we can get started on creating by-line. I will publish the 2^nd part of the personal brand statement exercise –the tagline next week. Look out for that post next week or sign up to the personal branding mailing list to get each post delivered to your e-mail so you can always get your copy of personal brand building tips and advice.

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Content marketing, Professional Development

So what’s a personal brand?

I am an anomaly. I can stand in front of an audience and present or perform without flinching or butterflies, but give me a room and tell me to network and I want to bolt straight through the door. I don’t have a fear of public speaking, throughout high-school and college I performed alone on stage without a problem. But put me in a one-to-one situation and watch how quickly I lose my cool.

I suck at networking, and I even sucked at virtual networking.

When Twitter came out I hated it. The thought of sharing my thoughts with the world or chatting up a bunch of strangers was not my thing. It’s just a fad, I thought. Boy, was I ever wrong. So I had to start training myself to become more open and more willing to walk up to people virtually and strike a conversation, I’m still not that great at it, but its a work in progress.

Maybe you have it wrong about personal branding, too. If your idea of building a personal brand is boasting about how awesome you are at every opportunity then you are on the wrong track. Building your own brand is a lot more fun than that

What personal branding is (and is not)

It’s the sharing age and you could be a hot commodity

Who’s going to know how awesome you are if you don’t start showcasing your talent and skills? Building a personal brand in the tech age is all about sharing what you know. With your skills and talent you are a hot commodity to someone seeking help with a project or building a team.

Personal branding is about sharing what you know with the world. Referrals from one job or project to another are great but being found when someone is looking for someone with your skills is even better. It’s not enough to just do an awesome job at your company and ignore LinkedIn, Twitter and other networking tools. You have to spend time on creating your own brand too.

People that share what they know get further a lot faster than those that stay mum. So you’ve got to start thinking about what your skills and passions are and how you can use technology to leverage them. Creating your brand or building your reputation is super importnat if you are building a business, but it’s also important if you want to stand out in your field.

Share what you know even if its jut becoming an active member of a LinkedIn group, or guest posting in blogs in your field every once in a while.

Personal branding can help you get work or clients

Whether you are an entrepreneur trying to build your own business, starting out on the job market, or working in a company, building a personal brand can help you get the projects you want to get. It can help you get the right kind of attention without having to straight up brag about it

What do you want to be known for?

Remarkable people are those that stand out. If we were to meet today, how would I remember you?

It’s time to get in the business of building you. What your name and work says about you will set you apart in every instance. The more remarkable you are the more likely you are to be remembered, and the more likely you are to succeed. It’s not just about having a skill, It’s about being able to market that skill to people who need it.

What are you good at? what do you want to spend your life doing? how are you going to share how awesome you are at ____________?

Think about it this weekend.

Social Media

The New Currency and How It Affects Your Business

It used to be that money could buy you attention.

Spend enough on advertising ad promotions and you could badger people with your message, jingle, mascot, whatever.

Times are changing. The big guys can buy as many ads as they want, but with so many distractions one thing they can’t command as much anymore is our attention.

Yes, there are those that believe you just have to figure out how to advertise on the new media platforms, but in reality people tend to either ignore those ads or find them an irritating necessity to getting their free video, music or game.

How to Get Your Business/Products Attention

The new currency in today’s world is influence and trust, and it’s not automatically going to whoever spends the most. Instead it’s going to whoever can get the most authentic connection with people who genuinely care about what they are selling.

It’s marketing that’s not for the masses, there are just too many distractions. Today’s main target is the niche, because with just a small market of passionate fans you can go global.

Brand case study: BlackMilk Clothing

When leggings came back in style, you could get them for $10 at your local mall. They were not that hard to find. So how could an unknown one-man business from Australia, selling leggings at least $80 a piece, gain fans from all over the world in places as far and vast as New York, Thailand, Tokyo, Africa and Latin America?

Here’s how:

He grew a community of buyers through his blog that genuinely interested in and wanted to know about his products.
He included and appreciated this audience in his marketing which consists of uploading pictures of fans wearing the brand’s products through Facebook and Istagram.
He made his brand a cult item -avid fans were dubbed “sharkies”- and sold his products exclusively online. He even allowed the “sharkies” to sometimes vote for which pieces were brought back in the online store.

BlackMilk does not make products that cater to everybody, and it’s not trying to.

What the founder, James Lillis, understood is that the old method favored those with the most money to spend on mass advertising and promotions. He tried that and it failed. But with the right targeting he could get to the top influencers in his niche market gain their trust, and from there it trickled down to their followers who became his followers. Because of this people paid attention to what he offered, and trusted in his products and that brought in the customers.

The Empowered Marketer

Now more than ever you have a choice as marketer. You can beat the drum to an old tune and spend x amount of dollars advertising to get attention. Or you can grow that organically by allowing people to opt-in to your message and choose to hear what you have to say. You can build a geuine connection, and real interest by building a kid of trust that the old methods can’t buy.

It’s a new way of marketing that can apply to everything from a pastry shop to a clothing business. To command the loyalty and following that brands like BlackMilk have takes a more genuine and honest approach, not a catchy tune.

The top influencers in a niche market have something valuable that money can’t buy trust and loyalty. The takeaway for business, is to cut all the crap and tell genuine stories.

It’s that simple. But not that easy. Because it takes time, and effort and patience and the return on investment is not immediately clear.

But with the power that influence (convincing people to buy a product without having to advertise to them) and trust (genuine belief, connection and identity with your brand) have, it’s a currency that most businesses cannot afford to miss.

Tell your genuine story, appreciate your humble beginnings, and patiently grow your fan base one person at a time. Or find the people influencing your customers, and appeal to their genuine liking, and wait for the trickle down effect.

Trust and influence, that’s what buys you attention, that’s the new currency.

Image credit: Facebook-BlackMilk

This post is part of a series on Branding and Social Media for small business, follow me via Twitter or join me via E-mail to receive your fresh copy of helpful small business online marketing strategies.

Daisy Quaker is an internet marketing consultant, specializing in social media strategy, content marketing, e-mail marketing, connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Content marketing

How to Inspire Your Own Brand Cult

This post is part of a series on brand management, which will be published every Friday.

In Florida, I met a guy from Atlanta that had a tattoo of the Nike swoosh.

“Why?” I asked, more curious than amused.

“I just really love Nike,” he replied.

He was not very chatty, but I doubt this guy was in love with the corporate behemoth that has suffered many scandals in the past. And no matter how great the products are, I doubt that had inspired the permanent ink.

It’s not a unique case, even WordPress boasts a few tattooed followers, but it sparked my analysis about the intense loyalty to a brand that would inspire a customer to tattoo the symbol.

This love is like that found in cults, the difference is in business it means strong loyalty, a personal connection and even a voluntary brand ambassador.

So how can a small business owner inspire the kind of loyalty and love for their own brand?

Target the Ideal

The way a customer views themselves (self-concept) can give your marketing a direction or purpose. Customers will use certain products or brands as a way of showing who they are to others. These brands personality traits that have been socially established. By customers linking themselves with the brand it provides a way to show the world who they are.

So the challenge is to figure out, who your customers want to be. In other words, how do they wish to be seen? In psychology, there are 6 ways people view themselves (self-concept), 4 of these can help your branding efforts:

1. Actual self: This is who I am
2. Ideal self: This is who I’d like to be
3. Social self: This is how others see me (the reflection in the mirror)
4. Ideal social self: This is how I want other’s to see me (the flattering reflection in the mirror)

By giving your brand a personality traits of the “Ideal Social Self” you can speak to a desire in your customers, that would inspire a personal connection and customer loyalty.

Be a Flattering Mirror

Target your messages, visuals, and elements of your business to speak to the ideal self. How would your customer want to see themselves?

Case in point:

In Victoria’s Secret case it’s sexy, glamorous and feminine. The brand has succeeded in creating such an overall experience that communicates this ideal (a quick Google search for the word “Sexy” places them at no.7 at the time of this post). In a recent study customers who walked around the mall for an hour with VS shopping bags felt more sexy, glamorous and feminine compared to those with regular shopping bags.

So if your brand is trying to speak of luxury, or being tough and macho, or even feminine how do you communicate this?

Establishing a particular character for your brand is the key to starting a conversation with the ideal social self, and being a flattering mirror for your customers.

Figure out what the ideal self tor your customers is and describe your brand in a way that relates to this: (Company name) is ___________.
Describe how you get your customers to that ideal, but instead of talking about services, refer to the benefits (expect a post on this topic next Friday)
Craft your messages to cater to that characteristic.

There is probably more than one answer, but your target can’t be everybody because that would mean you have no personality. Aim for a distinct character trait that fits your target audience, but understand that you can’t appeal to everyone (Click here to see an earlier post on brand personality).

Need help? I can work with your business to figure out who you are, and how you should communicate that. In other words, brand strategy, contact me.