Ready…Aim…Spot your target!
We are working from the book Personal Branding for Dummies (A Wiley Brand).
Your target audience are the people you want to know about you. Now, that can vary from goal to goal. I am a writer (soon to be author) and my target audience are readers. Avid, rabid, veracious readers. You may be a new hire in a company you wish to some day hold a corner office in. The goal is to figure out how to be seen in a positive and influential light.
1. Who needs to know about you and what you offer?
2. Who will bye your product? (you or an actual product)
3. Where do you want to sell your product?
Creating a personal brand is a self-driven process. As I have shared before, no one will focus on you better than you. If you don’t like what is out there about you or your product then there is more work to be done on your horizon.
Dream about the perfect client- no, really- create the fantasy. See yourself with your goals within reach. What do you see? What do you need to get there?
- Example: I am a writer. My first (of many) book is coming out this year. My dream- my goal- is to walk into a coffee shop and see people reading my book. What do I have to do to make that vision a reality?
o Make myself known locally as an author.
o Market the book that is coming as if my life depends on it- cuz it does.
o Brand myself in a way that makes people comfortable around me and willing to chat about all thing’s books.
o Market some more.
o Speak with the local coffee shop owner and see if they would be willing to host a book signing or book club for the upcoming release.
…and so on.
It won’t happen if I can’t see it in my mind. I can draw the picture with great detail. I can smell the coffee and hear the murmur of conversation around me. Now I know what I want, and I have a list of what must happen to make it tangible.
No brand? No planning? No idea what you want? Then you will never draw the perfect target audience to you. Think about branding like a job search. When you go into an interview you want them to see you in a certain light. You want this possible future employer to see you as someone they need in their ranks. How do you do that? You brand yourself. You dress the part and speak the part and show that you are exactly what they need. Now- do that every day. That is your brand.
I gave a presentation at a job I once had, and it was about reaching for something you want. I spoke of finding someone you held in high regard and emulate them. Mine happened to be a woman fairly high up in the ranks of the company. I explained how I dressed similarly to her to be seen in the same light. I spoke of treating people as I saw her do. I did the same to garner the same level of respect. I modeled myself after the person whose seat, I wanted to sit in. I did advance well in that company and was proud of how I branded myself based off of learning by the successes of another. If you know where you want to be, and someone is already there- how did they get there?
So, when they ask you in an interview, “Where do you see yourself in the future?”- look at their chair and say, “That seat looks pretty good to me.”
Have a save and wonder filled 2019!
And remember to…
Find joy. Be joy. Enjoy.
Other places to find me:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TiciaRani
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nella-Warrent-1863744137235991/?ref=bookmarks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ticia-metheney-22181476/
New Ink. Used Ideas. 