Personal Branding For Dummies

Personal Branding For Dummies

Released June 2012
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781118238189

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Book description

The fun way to create and maintain personal branding

Distinguishing yourself from the competition is important in any facet of business. Creating a clear and concise image, reputation, and status in the professional world provides an edge, whether searching for a first job, exploring a change in career, or looking to be more viable and successful in your current career. Personal Branding For Dummies is a guide through the steps of creating and maintaining a personal trademark by equating self-impression with other people's perception.

Personal Branding For Dummies covers everything you need to create your personal branding, including: using different organizations and associations to increase visibility and exposure to both clients and competitors; making the most of networking; tapping into Social Media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to showcase a personal brand; building a persona through websites and blogging; evaluating personal style and appearance; using conversation, negotiation, and sales techniques best suited to a personal brand; monitoring your brand reputation and successfully implementing feedback as it grows and develops, and more.

  • Tips on utilizing Social Media to showcase your personal brand

  • How personal branding can help advance your career

  • Guidance on creating a clear and concise image

With the hands-on, friendly help of Personal Branding For Dummies, you'll establish a professional presence and personal "brand" identity to keep yourself distinguished in the business world.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Title Page
  4. Introduction
  5. Part I: Why Is Personal Branding Important?
    1. Chapter 1: Showing the World Who You Are
      1. Discovering Personal Branding
      2. Figuring Out Who You Really Are
      3. Owning the Business of You
      4. Communicating Your Brand
      5. Thriving in Your Brand Ecosystem
    2. Chapter 2: Appreciating the Power of Branding
      1. Eyeing Corporations: Your Initiation into the Purpose of Branding
      2. Considering Elements of the Most Successful Corporate Brands
      3. Examining How a Few Famous Brands Create Connections
      4. Embracing the Idea of Marketing Yourself
    3. Chapter 3: Case Studies in Personal Branding Success
      1. Measuring the Brands of Media and Business Moguls
      2. Studying How Sports Figures Brand Themselves
      3. Creating an Entertaining Brand
      4. Putting Public Figures in the Spotlight
      5. BigLeague Executives: Mirroring a Corporate Brand with a Personal Brand
      6. Watching Famous Personal Brands Take a Dive (and Sometimes Rebound)
  6. Part II: Knowing Your Brand
    1. Chapter 4: Defining Who You Are
      1. Identifying What Matters to You
      2. Realizing What You’re Naturally Good At: Your Strengths and Uniqueness
      3. Figuring Out What Else You Bring to the Table
      4. Gaining a 360º View of Yourself
      5. Bridging Who You Are and What You Want
    2. Chapter 5: Spotting Your Target Audience
      1. Recognizing Who You’re Trying to Reach
      2. Researching Your Targets
      3. Aligning Yourself with Your Target Market
      4. Developing a Target Market Positioning Statement
    3. Chapter 6: Knowing Your Niche - and Your Competitors
      1. Owning the Business — of You
      2. Differentiating Your Brand
      3. Understanding Contenders for Your Target Market
    4. Chapter 7: Crafting Your Personal Brand Profile
      1. Compiling Your Personal Brand Profile
      2. Developing Your Unique Promise of Value and Personal Brand Statement
      3. Gearing Up for Your Personal Brand Strategy
    5. Chapter 8: Writing Your Story
      1. Why People Like Stories
      2. Using Storytelling to Illustrate Your Life
      3. Crafting Your Personal Commercial
      4. Practicing Your Pitch
  7. Part III: Communicating Your Brand with the World
    1. Chapter 9: Branding Your Traditional Communication Tools
      1. Setting Yourself Up for Success: Branded Job Search Documents
      2. Taking Your Message Public
    2. Chapter 10: Communicating Your Brand Online
      1. Determining Your Online Message
      2. Attracting Your Audience to a Profile Hub
      3. Setting Up a Website
      4. Becoming a Blogger
      5. Showcasing Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
      6. Bonding with Facebook: Key Factors for Building Your Reputation
      7. Getting Connected with Google+
      8. Tweeting on Twitter
      9. Publishing an Electronic Newsletter (Or Not)
      10. Posting Videos
      11. Podcasting
      12. Measuring Your Online Reputation
      13. Combating a Regretful Online Identity
    3. Chapter 11: Planning Your Personal Brand Communications
      1. Laying the Groundwork for Your Communications Strategy
      2. Setting the Strategy
      3. Achieving the Three Cs
      4. Establishing Yourself as an Expert
      5. Creating an Experience for Your Audience
  8. Part IV: Controlling Your Brand Ecosystem
    1. Chapter 12: Fashioning Your Image to Match Your Personal Brand
      1. Realizing How Much Appearances Matter
      2. Have You Got the Look? Focusing on Clothes and Grooming
      3. Branding Your Attributes to Look Like You
      4. Recognizing That You Are Always on Display
      5. Having Headshots and Other Photos Taken
      6. Quiz: Your Image Is Showing
    2. Chapter 13: Your Visual Identity: Making Your Mark on Your Brand Environment
      1. Writing an Effective Design Brief
      2. Leading with Your Personal Logo
      3. Choosing Fonts for Your Personal Brand
      4. Creating a Color Palette
      5. Selecting Images That Tell Your Story
      6. Building Your Brand Identity System
      7. Applying Your Visual Identity Online and with Media
      8. Branding Your Workspace
    3. Chapter 14: Focusing on Special Populations
      1. College Students: Getting on Brand Straight Out of the Gate
      2. Young Professionals: Conveying Energy and Professionalism
      3. The Middle Years: Strategizing for Success
      4. Branding a Second Career
      5. Executives: Presenting Confidence and Control
      6. Service Professionals: Selling Your Personal Brand to Each Client
      7. Entrepreneurs: Connecting Personal Brand with Your Business Plan
      8. Women: Highlighting Strengths
      9. Community Volunteers: Merging Mission and Meaning with Community
      10. Having a Personal Brand around the World
    4. Chapter 15: Building and Nurturing Your Network
      1. Defining Your Brand Community
      2. Starting the Conversation
      3. Hitting the Conference Circuit
      4. Using Social Media to Build Your Network
      5. Networking within Your Workplace
      6. Amassing Referrals That Can Sell Your Brand
      7. Expanding Your Network with a Mentor’s Help
    5. Chapter 16: Personal Branding in the Workplace
      1. Moving Toward a Personal Branding Mindset on the Job
      2. Selling Your Brand to Your Internal Market: Your Boss and Coworkers
      3. Aligning Your Brand with the Company’s Brand
      4. Standing Out in a Likeable Way
      5. Should You Stay or Should You Go?
      6. Succeeding During the First 90 Days of a New Job
  9. Part V: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 17: Ten Key Benefits of Personal Branding
      1. Granting Permission to Be Yourself
      2. Gaining Confidence
      3. Building Credibility
      4. Showcasing Your Specialty
      5. Leaving Your Mark
      6. Connecting You to Your Target Audience
      7. Distinguishing Yourself from the Competition
      8. Getting the Support You Need
      9. Focusing Your Energy
      10. Letting Yourself Be Lazy
    2. Chapter 18: Ten Ways You Can Sink Your Brand
      1. Letting It Go Stale: Taking Your Brand for Granted
      2. Neglecting Consistency
      3. Speaking Before You Think
      4. Exhibiting Bad Behavior
      5. Being Unresponsive
      6. Ignoring the Politics
      7. Having an Unprofessional Online Image
      8. Not Telling the Truth
      9. Being Inauthentic: Looking Like a Phony
      10. Losing Focus
    3. Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Demonstrate Your Brand
      1. Being Authentic in All That You Do
      2. Standing for Something
      3. Having Consistency in Your Communications
      4. Building Character Online: Creating a Signature Look
      5. Leveraging LinkedIn
      6. Going Viral on Twitter
      7. Facebooking the Right Friends
      8. Marketing Your Materials and Business Cards
      9. Engaging in Community Involvement
      10. Highlighting Your Brand Daily
    4. Chapter 20: Ten Things You Can Do to Continue to Build Your Brand
      1. Implementing Your Personal Brand Strategy Plan
      2. Staying Relevant
      3. Continuing to Evaluate the Competition
      4. Producing Genuine Value
      5. Working on High-Profile Projects
      6. Setting New Goals
      7. Aligning Your Time with Your Brand
      8. Keeping Up with Technology
      9. Nurturing Your Network
      10. Be a Confidence Emitter
  10. Cheat Sheet

Product information

  • Title: Personal Branding For Dummies
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: June 2012
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781118238189