Personal Branding: You Are What I Say You Are!

"I’ve asked preachers, doctors and lawyers. Socialites, pariahs, mothers and fathers… you may not find all that you’re after… in the end I hope it doesn’t matter.” -Against Me!

I cut my hair three weeks ago and decided to take the opportunity to focus on my personal brand as I prepared this new blog, “Marketing with Chris Teague.” How did a simple hair cut influence me to write this first blog post? It’s simple, really… Haircuts are a physical representation of how you choose to be perceived. Have you ever looked at someone’s hair and thought: “Wow, I’d never do that?” I’m sure you have, so the derivate from my new hair cut is this blog post on personal branding.

First, I need to simply let you know that branding is the action you take to communicate who you are. Since I am an entrepreneur, I will use the site, entrepreneur.com’s, definition of branding: The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. Let’s take this definition of branding and create a simple definition for personal branding: Creating a way to separate yourself from others. Granted, my definition is not the best by any means, but it will suffice for now… Personal branding is the practice of making sure people know who you are and remember you, which is an active process you can focus on everyday.

Now that you have a general idea of where I’m coming from with this personal branding stuff, I want to discuss the active components of personal branding. What are you wearing today? This question is not a perverse attempt to be curious at all, so let’s focus. Seriously, what you choose to wear communicates who you want to be for the day. I am wearing designer-looking jeans (without the price tag), a white and brown striped dress shirt, a brown sweater, a brown sport coat and brown dress shoes. What am I saying with this attire? With my jeans, I am communicating I am relaxed. With my matching dress shirt sweater, sport coat and shoes, I am communicating that I took time getting dressed this morning. My communication of taking time to get dressed also communicates that I woke up with a plan today. You may even think that I am organized because I am wearing an “outfit.” You see, I took action to make sure I communicated positive signals with my wardrobe. These signals are part of my personal brand.

Let’s move past my outward appearance of a nice hair cut and matching attire to what I say and do. What is it I can say today to make sure I communicate my personal brand? I know that people perceive me as a funny, outgoing and kind person. Knowing these characteristics make up my brand, I want to be consistent with my verbal and non-verbal messages. As soon as I walked into the building this morning, I smiled really big at everyone I saw, looking them in the eye as well. I actually prepared to do this before I even walked in. My mental preparation is part of the branding process: I purposefully created a perception for others to see. What did this simple gesture do? It sent a message of who I am. Okay, now time for the verbal communication. I always try to make it a point to say things in groups of three, so when I walked into the English class I teach at a local community college this morning, I immediately greeted my class warmly and told them three tasks we were going to do as well as three things they should take away from today’s lecture. Does this communication follow suit to how I prepared my attire this morning? Am I organized? The purpose of my actions this morning all lead to communicating my personal brand.

So, how do my colleagues in the marketing and business community perceive me? They should see me the same way everyone else does: Funny, outgoing and kind. However, I know that there is a professional side that my colleagues need to see, so I make sure to be aware of this side too. My outfit represents I woke up with a plan to wear what I am wearing. Yes, I am by no means in a suit and tie, but I do communicate organization and care to planning. When I converse with my colleagues I actively make a point to communicate three messages I want them to take away. You see, by consciously planning to say three things I want people to know during a conversation I am actively working on my personal brand; or, I am branding myself. Remember back to our definition of branding, your brand is the active process you take to communicate a perception to others. Your controlled perception is also what helps you stay on the minds of those you meet.

Well, that is all I have for you today. I now would like to open this blog up to you. Please email me your personal branding stories and so that I can share a few for next week’s post. Always, your comments on this blog are welcome. Please go out, communicate who you are and enjoy the activity of branding yourself! See you next week!

-Chris Teague: A funny, outgoing and focused marketer here to help you communicate how you want others to perceive you.