Hoover ink PR      •     Thinking    •    Volume 5      •      Issue 6
 


Hello,

Personal branding, according to top business thinkers like Tom Peters, is becoming a necessity. What is your personal brand? I asked a few key colleagues about my own recently as I was preparing this month's newsletter. So, we'll talk about how to develop your own brand, we'll sneak a peek at mine, and have our usual stellar set of links.

Now, let's get going.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com

 
Ink Briefs
"Jump the shark" is a media term. Do you know what it means? You'll find terms like this explained each day in Bulldog Reporter's Media Rap feature. Oh, it's from an episode of Happy Days when Fonzie was waterskiing and jumped over a shark. Media observers say this was when the TV show began its downward spiral toward cancellation.

Is your creativity ebbing as summer flows? Sometimes all we need is a little jumpstart. Here's a piece I wrote on creativity. There are some exercises in it to get your little gray cells back in action.


Want to know where to find people with money? Yeah, don't we all? I'm talking about from a media selection point-of-view. Of the top 10 publications in terms of reader household income, five were in-flight magazines. Learn more about media that connects you with affluent readers. You'll have to scroll down some to get to the story.

In other media news, an Ipsos Media survey shows that The Wall Street Journal has the best reach into the business elite sector of any daily newspaper. WSJ dominates its closest competitor, reaching more than 46 percent of top business executives. Surprisingly, USA Today takes second with a 30 percent reach and The New York Times reaches only 14 percent.


I've intuitively known this but now I have proof: online, PR works better than paid media for reaching executives. A recent study of 7,000 professionals by Outsells, Inc. shows that knowledge workers rely more on press releases than trade journals as their top information source. Additionally, the average respondent regularly reads around nine blogs.


Random Hoover ink links: Cool Brands White Paper, and Creativity Portal.


High Visibility: Transforming Your Personal and Professional Brand


Our Book of the Month is High Visibility: Transforming Your Personal and Professional Brand. Click on the image above to find out more.
About Hoover ink PR

Hoover ink PR helps position businesses that are serious about their success. Then, we craft and deliver bottom line messages that ensure it.

Who are we? We're a marketing communications firm with more than 26 years experience in providing services to financial, high tech, real estate, tourism and consumer products
companies.

From employee relations and media relations to collateral material and e-newsletters, we develop the programs and communication tools that will differentiate you from your competitors. And that's the bottom line.
 

The Brand Called 'You'

"Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called 'You,'" said business guru Tom Peters in a 1997 essay that kick-started the personal branding movement.

Personal branding is becoming even more important because your brand now has more permanence and it is easier for others to find out about it thanks to the Internet. If you have a blog, your brand is really hanging out there for everyone to see.

Branding is not - I repeat - is not a thin veneer of calculated actions or communications designed to fool people into thinking a certain way about you. This may work for a short while but your true brand always emerges. So, when building your personal brand it must firmly sit atop your core beliefs and actions. It's determining who you really are at the core, rather than inventing a brand that is not based on the truth.

If you want your brand to reflect honesty, you must first be honest. Duh!

The first step in personal branding is learning how others perceive you. Once you know this, then you can start building on the current perception or changing your behavior to help create a new one.

What is the Harry Hoover brand? I have always valued honesty, creativity, hard work, and I try to do the right thing.

Ten colleagues responded to my request to give me their view of my brand. Based on their responses, I believe I'm communicating my brand - and those values - effectively. You can read their anonymous comments here.

It's like any other kind of branding: if you don't first position yourself and then communicate your brand message, others will position you based upon their perceptions.

It is a new brand world for the individual. You need to get on board and build your personal brand.

  
 

Personal Branding Checklist
 
You can't build a personal brand until you do a little soul searching and research. Let's take a look at some things to think about when developing your brand.

First, perform a self-assessment. What are your most important values? Consider these carefully for they will form the foundation or heart of your brand. Here I'm talking about personal values - honesty, trustworthiness, patience - that transcend workplace values.

Do you exhibit these values consistently? Ask for candid opinions from colleagues, family and friends.

What comes to mind when they think of the 'You' brand? You may find the answer to this question fascinating because each person has a little different view of who they think you are and how they describe you. Is this view consistent with your stated values? If not, what can you do to change these perceptions?

Next, review your personal image as it relates to the workplace. Clothes may not make the man, but - like it or not - they do make a visual statement about who you are.

Do you dress for the job you have or the job you want? What is the state of your personal grooming? What is your body language like when talking with co-workers, or supervisors?

Are you always prepared for meetings? If a colleague asks for something that you should have, could you find it or access it quickly? How do you service your colleagues and your company's customers when they make a request of you? Do you answer the telephone politely? How is your email etiquette?

Are your workspace and your computer desktop organized so that you can get to things quickly and efficiently? How does it appear to someone coming to your doorway?

Are you up-to-speed on all the skills you need to excel at your job? Do you take advantage of all training offered?

As with businesses, only a few people ever do the upfront work necessary to bring their personal brand to fruition.

Will your brand thrive thanks to a coordinated effort on your part, or will it always need brand aid because of neglect? You hold the key.

 
  Hoover ink PR   •   704-953-3406   •   Harry@Hoover-Ink.com