Be Intentional With Your Brand

by Kevin Conroy Smith 07-04-2011 12:12 AM

Guest article by Kevin Conroy Smith of the Kevin Smith Agency.

When it comes to your personal brand your shoes and their color send a message. Every detail sends a message. When figuring out your brand, remember this: what makes you weird, makes you unique and therefore makes you stand out. Visual identity plays a significant role in the way you present yourself to both people you know and people you have not yet met.

In the past, the visual part of your identity was the way your business card or resume looked. With today’s age of social technology, where the first thing people do when they meet you or hear your name is Google you, visuals have become an even more important part of your brand.

You must find ways to tell your brands story with visuals. When it comes to the web, you are judged solely on what people can observe. Here is something to think about: if I were to ask you to tell me about one of your friends from high school that you haven’t seen in years but were friends with on Facebook, what would you be able to tell me about them? My guess is that you would know a lot about them. Based on what? That message you are sending your “friends” and “followers” is crucial to your brand identity because that is the only message they are getting in some cases. Do you know what message you are sending?

Here are ten key tips to get started:

Set a mission statement for your life.
Write down your mission.
Find 10 key "words" that describe your mission/vision.
Set "brand guidelines" for your social networking sites.
Once a week review your online presence (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and make sure it is aligned with your mission.
Do a brand audit once a year to review your brand in depth.
Research the platforms you use to promote your brand (Facebook, etc.) so you understand how to be most effective.
Make sure that your business mission is aligned with your personal mission.
Set daily activities to achieve your "mission" long-term.
Be intentional with every single thing you do. EVERYTHING!

Kevin Conroy Smith motivates audiences across the nation on how to achieve success on their own terms; by defining who they are and staying true to themselves. Kevin is a Chicago-based entrepreneur and personal branding speaker & expert that has been featured in a #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller, "The Orange Revolution: How One Great Team Can Transform an Entire Organization." To find out more about Kevin and his projects, visit his website http://kevinconroysmith.com or follow him on Twitter @KevinSmithChi.

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