EOA SELF-EMPOWERMENT
brand, the stronger your bargaining chip. Freelancers can demand better fees, and fulltime employees can ask for a better salary,” says Rice. Emotionally, you’ll also be more respected in your community and seen as a more reliable source by friends and family. So, if there’s no difference between your personal branding and big business branding, it makes sense to use these good branding rules in your own life.
6. BE DIFFERENT
1. BE CONSISTENT
Speaking of being seen and standing out – creativity is key in achieving these objectives. Rice says, “It pays to be more creative than the norm. Don’t just write and post on your blog, for example. Be more creative.” Think about a more interesting way to get your work across or make your personality known.
2. BRAND YOU 24/7 Don’t think that you can spend some time ‘living your brand’ and other times relaxing. “Everything about you builds your brand. How you dress, the company you work for, your friends… and you need consistency among all those elements,” explains Ikalafeng. “For example, you can’t say on your Twitter page, ‘views expressed don’t represent me’. Everything represents you. You must be the person you want to present to the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” He adds, “That doesn’t mean that you must show everything to the world, but you must choose what relationship you want with the world – and that must be your compass in everything you do, wherever you are.”
3. SOCIAL NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK Remember, what you say and do on your social media platforms can have wide-reaching consequences. Be aware, warns Ikalafeng. “Social media has transformed the meaning of a network. It’s expanded your network exponentially, but it’s diluted the quality of that network. If your network is not filled with experienced people but just random contacts, it’s no good. Generally speaking, word of mouth is still a trusted reassurance.” Be good at what you do and let people talk about it in real life.
4. KEEP YOUR PROMISES If you say you’re going to do something, do it. “Your promises are linked to your professional, personal and social ambitions,” says Rice. “You’re expected to keep them by the people you’re talking to.” Letting people down will lead them to think you’ll let them down again in future and they’ll steer clear of working with you.
5. NEVER OVER-PROMISE When you think about what you can offer a client, ensure that you can deliver before you commit. “Make sure that what you’re promising is something you can live up to,” says Rice. “If you’re intending to make a promise that is clearly not true, then it’s best to reconsider and keep quiet. All you’ll do is alert people to your lack of authenticity – and that will decrease the value of your product.”
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7. GET CREATIVE
8. HAVE CONFIDENCE Great brands know their worth and value, and have internal confidence. “Have confidence in your decisions and in yourself. Once you achieve this, you’ll be amazed at how it enables you to be unapologetic for how you present yourself,” says Ikalafeng, his own confidence undeniable.
9. COLLABORATE! No man is an island. Don’t be afraid to align your personal brand with others. “Great brands collaborate,” says Ikalafeng. “Ask yourself: Who can I work with to magnify my impact?” That goes for building your own business as well as reaching personal goals. Think about who will inspire and motivate you – and stay close to them.
10. WORK TOWARDS HAPPINESS It might sound cheesy, but good brands are happy brands. Your ultimate goal should be happiness. “You want to build your brand to find internal happiness, and not purely because you want to be wealthy and famous. Those are by-products,” says Ikalafeng.
CRISIS-MANAGE THAT!
So you forgot the branding rules. Perhaps you let someone down, you weren’t consistent, or you went against your values on social media when you thought no one was looking. Here’s how to crisis-manage a brand mishap, according to Andy Rice. 1. Explain the problem Tell everyone, “Here is the problem and here is everything you need to know about it.” Don’t hide and give as much detail as you can about what went wrong. 2. Be available to give reassurance Now that the truth is out there, be constantly available to answer any questions. Put out your contact details and answer your phone! 3. Be accountable and apologise Once you’ve owned up to what went wrong, apologise to those who were affected. Accept that you’ve messed up and publically acknowledge it. 4. Be transparent Be open and tell people how you intend to fix the problem. And then, mostly important, do it. E
WORDS: KIM GARNER. IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK.
Good brands are consistent in all aspects of their life. Ikalafeng explains, “Look at Richard Branson. We love that he is a maverick; that he challenges the status quo and he presents that consistently in his social and business life, whether he’s bungee jumping or challenging British Airways to a space race…” Decide on your values and stick to them, at work and at play. It will also keep you happier, says Ikalafeng. “Writer Freyer Stark said, ‘There can be no happiness if the things we do are different from the things we believe in.’” Make your values clear and stick to them.
Sure, you’re focused on building your brand, but so is everyone else. If you want people to know you, you have to work out what differentiates you from the rest. “Your brand needs to be relatively different from the rest or it won’t be seen,” says Rice. “Differentiation is key to being seen.”
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2016/02/03 7:34 PM