Our ability to connect and build relationships online is more important today than ever. As a result, personal brand statements are ever increasingly becoming powerful tools to communicate quality, uniqueness, and value. Take LinkedIn for instance, which boasts a professional network of over 1 billion people worldwide. An immaculately done personal brand statement here will make you stand out, and be remembered, rising above all the rest. But what is a personal brand statement? How do you get out the most of it as a leader?
Typically, it consists of one or two sentences that are catchy, captivating, and memorable. Each word represents an exciting contribution that, when put together, serves as a concise description of who you are and what you have to offer. It is essentially a culmination of your interests, skills, values, experiences, and goals that attempt to communicate your unique value proposition hence giving particular focus to what you have to offer.
Your brand’s success depends on how you communicate your purpose to others. A strong personal brand statement will open doors to speaking engagements, job interviews, promotions, good customer relationships, and overall organizational success.
A single sentence usually sums up a personal brand statement in its most basic form. However, it is essential to have different versions of the statement for different contexts. Conciseness here is the key. It should be longer than a slogan but not as long as a typical elevator pitch. Generally speaking, your personal brand statement is a clever catchphrase embodying what you want people to know, understand, or appreciate about you.
In the words of Norm Smallwood in the Harvard Business Review Press, 2016,
“A leadership brand conveys your identity and distinctiveness as a leader.”
It tells people about who you are as a leader, what you represent, and why they should follow you. If your brand reflects that you make a positive difference, outcomes to be expected can be mind-boggling. The new standard for leaders who wish to stand out from the crowd, connect and establish a rapport with their customers, stakeholders’, and employees, and decimate competition is through personal branding. It gives your very own unique selling proposition.
Here are some key places to use your personal brand statement:
Here Are Some Examples Leaders Should Consider When Crafting Their Personal Brand Statements:
Use metrics to quantify desired outcomes
It helps to pinpoint certain goals desired to be achieved by use of quantifiable evidence which gives proof of effectiveness and efficiency.
Justin Welsh – Building my one-person business to $10M in revenue. Posts and articles about the process.
Describe the particular services you offer
Mentioning to your target audience the results you can help them achieve is a good way to craft your personal brand statement.
John Eades – Helping improve organizational performance through leadership.
Emphasize strategies you could put in place to get positive results
Do this by starting your personal statement with actionable verbs such as I help, I create, I build, I facilitate, I turn among others. What this does is it shows passion and energy in helping clients solve their problems.
Nicholas Bocher – I teach finance teams how to use AI – Keynote speaker on AI for Finance & FP&A
Speak directly to your target audience
To develop credibility, establish trust, and make promises you can keep, you need to use words that can convince your customers, and clients that you can offer the best possible solution. This way, they will be curious to know more.
Schnel (Chartered MCIPD) Hanson – Helping professional women fall in love with themselves to gain clarity resilience and purpose in life.
Set your statement as a question
It is a brilliant idea to evoke emotions by throwing a few words into the statement that will elicit interest and leave everyone wanting more.
Austin Belcak – I Teach People How to Land Amazing Jobs Without Applying Online // Ready to Land Your Dream Job?
How Exactly Does This Work? The Following Actions Will Help Guide This Process.
To Create A Powerful Personal Brand Statement, It Is Important To Consider The Following 5 A’s & 5 C’s
Once you have a compelling personal brand statement, go ahead and use it whenever introducing yourself at networking events, add it to the summary section of your resume, put it under the bio section of your LinkedIn and other social media profiles, and use it as your personal email salutation signature. The more you repeat your message, the more it sticks. Remember, social media is a great marketing tool, so use it to your advantage!
Conclusion
Your personal brand statement is going to be useful everywhere you present yourself and your business. Consider it the cornerstone of your professional identity. That’s why it’s important to get it right. By using the examples and tips provided, you can develop a statement that makes you unique and truly captures the attention of your target audience. If you’re unsure if you’ve got it right, schedule a free consultation today and we’ll get it sorted for you.
