Building your brand? Here are six easy steps to make that a reality

A brand is supposed to leave a mark. This was Mwenesi Musalia’s opening remark at the Standard Group Women’s Network Personal Branding for Success session held on Thursday March 12.

Most of us think of branding as a preserve of consumer products or large corporations but, as Musalia explained, it can be applied at a personal level too.

When you think of top celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Mutoko or Kim Kardashian, you attach a certain image to each of them. This image is what they want to be remembered by. It is their personal brand, unique to each.

To create a personal brand, you need introspection. You must look within yourself in order to create that image that you want people to remember you by.

Below are the rules Mwenesi shared that one should follow if you want to create your personal brand.

This first step involves taking the time to know yourself, what you like and where your interests lie. You need to know your strengths. “You can always build excellence from strength,” Mwenesi reiterated. “You can’t sell what you don’t have.”

One of my biggest takeaways was the importance of categorizing your target market. For many of us, our goals include financial stability and career growth. Your personal brand plays a big role in helping you achieve this. How? The image you create of yourself helps you curate influence which you can use in the workplace, or business, to help you reach your goals.

Your target market is divided into three: primary, secondary and tertiary.

i. Primary market is those who give you access to opportunities e.g. your employer or clients.

ii. Secondary market is those who cheer you on, your fans.

iii. Tertiary market is those who make you feel good about yourself. These could be your family and friends.

Your brand should target your primary market because those are the ones who will help you make it happen. Then your fans will cheer you on. Last on the list of people you should strive to please are your tertiary market. However, as Mwenesi pointed out, most of us want to attract the attention of our tertiary market more than we do our primary market.

Put yourself out there.  Don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard. Make sure people know you exist.

Once you know yourself and your strengths, work on them. Improve your talents. Become an expert in what you do. And when you put yourself out there, let people remember how good you are and how knowledgeable you are. This will gain you more influence, leave you feeling more fulfilled.

There are times when we get comfortable with doing just what is expected of us. However, in order for our primary market to remember us, we need to be phenomenal. “Be phenomenal or be forgotten,” Mwenesi said.

Keep pushing yourself to go above and beyond what your target market expects. Give them something extra.

Think of it this way, when you walk out of a meeting or deliver a product, you want to leave a lasting impression. You want your name to be the first that comes to mind whenever they need a job done.

“What extra thing can you do that will go above and beyond what your target market expects?” he emphasized.

Be willing to do this day in, day out. If you want to build your brand you have to keep at it. Everything you do needs to contribute towards the growth of your brand.

Your personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room. These words by Jeff Besos sum up what your personal brand is. What mark are you leaving?

Get more from Mwenesi by visiting his youtube channel Get Yours