Small business: creating a personal brand

Richard Branson. Steve Jobs.

Both are well-known executives with powerful personal brands that automatically resonate in people's minds.

While these men are corporate titans, even small entrepreneurs can use personal branding to help boost their image and their companies', experts say.

"Personal branding is the process by which we unearth what makes us special and communicate that through various mediums to a specific group of people," explains Dan Schawbel, author of "Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future" (Kaplan; $14.99) and owner of Millennial Branding in Boston.

Unlike a corporate brand, your personal brand is transferable, Schawbel says. If you leave your company or start a new business, you take your personal brand with you. It encompasses who you are, your expertise and your very own brand story.

Telling a story

"Everybody has a personal brand story," explains Arthur Germain, principal of Communication Strategy Group, a brand marketing agency in East Northport. It reflects your background and talents, he notes.

When relaying your personal brand story, it helps to break it down within the framework of yesterday, today and tomorrow, suggests Germain, who offers more tips at brandtelling.com. In telling his story, he would say, "I started out in technology and business publishing and then moved over to marketing and public relations, and today I run a brand marketing agency."

It also pays to have an "X for Y" statement that quickly summarizes who you are, says Germain. Think ''LinkedIn is the Facebook for business,'' he notes, adding that his own statement is, "I am the storyteller for corporate brands."

"It gives people a framework for everything else you might tell them," he notes. Keep your story consistent, editing it along the way as necessary to reflect new experiences.

And commit to building your brand every day, says Bill Corbett Jr., president of Corbett Public Relations in Floral Park, a media relations and personal branding consultancy. Create a time budget for branding so you can stay focused and on track. Also, create a branding marketing program, adds Corbett, who offers more tips at corbettprblog .com. This goes beyond just having a social media presence to include how you'll get your branding message out, Corbett says.

Putting a plan together

Having a plan is key, notes Rob Basso, president of Advantage Payroll Services in Freeport and chief executive of Basso On Business, which helps small businesses achieve their goals.

Over the past two years Basso, working with Corbett, has put a lot of effort into personal branding including launching a monthly webcast at bassoonbusiness

.com where he goes into regional businesses to uncover challenges. Basso also does a monthly lunch series, "Working Lunch With Rob," where participants watch an episode of Basso On Business and discuss the challenges posed.

Such efforts have "not only raised my profile in the regional community, but the national community," says Basso, who has appeared as an expert on Fox Business News.

Media coverage is definitely a plus in building your brand, Corbett notes. Other ways to boost your brand include writing a book, creating a blog and having personal and corporate websites. It also doesn't hurt to find opportunities to pair with a well-known brand, even if it's just in a speaking capacity, says Schawbel, who recently spoke at Google in Cambridge, Mass.

"You're building a perception," he says.
 

Getting focused

Some personal branding questions:

1. Do you know what your personal brand is?

2. Do you have a plan for marketing your brand?

3. Do you have goals for your brand?

4. Do you have a clear personal brand message?

5. Do you know what to do if your brand comes under attack?

Source: Corbett Public Relations