Personal Branding

Over the years I have been the silent one in a crowd of unknown people or more the observant type in familiar territories, but never been an introvert of such. Always the extrovert! I grew up being pulled down by my peers and though I seemed strong willed, I never really thought myself as “Good Enough” which has made a huge impact on my life, and made it more complicated than it seemed. Those two words “Good Enough” defines people and their personalities as well as their reactions, and no matter how much people in your life try tell you otherwise, you always tend to see the worst first.

However over the years I have become more carefree to what everyone really thinks and has to say about me, but the matter still stands, were all human and will get affected about it some time or later. But it has taken the last three years of my life with all the experiences I have had to go through in the last three years to realize that there should never be a moment in ones life that “Good Enough” should ever be tested. Since starting up my own company, I have leant that I need to be one step ahead and I build on my own name. In other word become my own brand! If you think about it, we already are our own brands with upgrades as time passes. Everyone has their own style, ways and ethics. And this year I aim to become a brand.

Mark me as a brand, but don’t limit it to clothing, appearance and knowledge as these all lead to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable. Most of the famous people in the world are brands.  The term personal branding only came into discussion in 1997 by Tom Peters. Personal branding has continued to gain in popularity as a tool to manage reputation online, especially though social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. So in essence as said before – were already brands but how far are you willing to expand your brand power. Get to know me as Cyndi Strydom or as Novateur.

4 Main Rules on Personal Branding

1. Always be searching for your next big opportunity. Your brand will impact your company’s brand for better or worse. Being proactive with your career is critical to your success because if you aren’t marketing your brand, no one will know about it. Be discovered with your brand!

2. Your brand will impact your company’s brand for better or worse. Your reputation can help or hurt your career and/or company, which means that you need to be smart about what impression you make on the world. Your digital trail of negative publicity might creep back up on you later in your career if you aren’t careful. Bring positivity into your everyday lifestyle and involve yourself with positive people and events. Build on your personality to save those relationships.

3. If you have talent and you put yourself out there, anything is possible. Not too many people go from being homeless to being on every national TV show. You have a shot of making it big if you give yourself a chance to do so. Find your talent and get people to recognize you for who you are.

4. Soft skills are becoming more important than hard skills. Over 66% of people feel that verbal communication skills are more important than technical knowledge at 60%. There’s so much competition for jobs that technical skills alone won’t get you hired anymore. Train yourself in your profession and start working on your networking / social skills to help you reach your goal.

So how does one stand out above the crowd to be discovered?

One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they either brand themselves just for the sake of doing it or that they fail to invest time in learning about what’s in their best interests. The key to success, and this isn’t revolutionary, is to be compensated based on your passion. In order to find your passion, you need a lot of time to think, and you need to do some research online to figure out what’s out there. It’s about finding out what you want to do for the rest of your life.

Your self-impression = How people perceive you

The next step is to get yourself known – with use of social networks and simple instruments of business cards. There are many ways to get out there for people to get to know you. Here are some examples of ways that can be used ( i have added my branding and company information as well to give an idea) 

1 Facebook – over 160million people are on Facebook, but none of them have branded themselves the right way. Keep away from other people in your profile picture, or vodka bottles and photos like that.My personal Facebook profile i try to keep strictly friend orientated than a company name as i believe that more my personal site and requires a privacy setting, however Novateur Eventz has its own site and that is strictly business orientated.

2 Twitter – Your Twitter profile should have an avatar – carved out of your Facebook or Linkedin profile picture. Use a distinctive background and create links to your blog / webpage and so on.My twitter page is a combination of Novateur Eventz and Cyndi Strydom as one. Personal as well as work orientated. Gives people more of an overview of who i am as well as the work load i receive.

3 Linkedin – a profile combined with a resume / cover letter / reference documents and more. Use it to create your own database or promote yourself in the working industry among other corporate networks.Novateur Eventz is on Linkedin, however i am still learning to use this application properly in order to receive its benefits.

4 Webpage / Blog – If you can accept to be criticized – then you can start your own blog or a basic front page. Use your name and explain who you are. Those who blog are higher ranked on the “to be found list” than other channels.Novateur Eventz are on the blog site, though i tend to keep my personal (Cyndi Strydom) blog more alive as after all i am the face of the company for the people who get to know us.

5 Portfolio - Make your own CD to showcase the work you have done which can help convince someone of your skills.Novateur has a CD / DVD which we offer clients, as well as a portfolio of our work.

6 Wardrobe -Your personal style is tangible and is extremely important for standing out from the crowd. Select clothing that best represents you because it will be viewable through your pictures/avatars online, as well as when you meet people in reality. My style is rather sporty as i am involved with different sports however i have the corporate look as well. I enjoy looking and dressing up classy and always want to look good any time of day.

7 Business card - It doesn’t matter if you’re a college student, CEO, or a consultant, everyone should have their own business card. My business card has all the basic information on it, and people are recognizing the background of it where ever i go. Once had a lady at an event say she lost the business card, however she recognized the background and liked it from another webpage back to mine. So this can be a powerful tool.

After you spend the time on these parts of your personal branding options, it’s time to showcase it to the world, especially your target audience. Work on your communication skills and get people to recognize you. It’s the most difficult part of personal branding, but once you get the hang of it, you will start to see the difference.

So for the people who don’t know who I am, here is a little info about myself in my own personal branding way.Or it can be read up on in this blog.

As seen already I am Cyndi Strydom, and I live in South Africa. I have my own company called Novateur Eventz and this is my brand. People Know Cyndi from Novateur, but not many people know Novateur Eventz as such. So Novateur can be found on Facebook or Linkedin or Myself as Cyndi Strydom on Twitter / Facebook / Linkedin and Blog. I am still in the stage of branding amongst the corporate world, and so far for 2011 this seems to work.

Once you have your branding toolkit organized and your target arranged, the only next step is simply to get out there. So keep an eye out for Novateur Eventz / Cyndi Strydom. Might just surprise you one day!