Okay, yes the title may tell you I know a little something about martial arts…but no, I don’t. Only as much as the last Karate Kid movie (which is one of my kids’ favorites) and the line from Kung Fu Panda which says that Kung Fu stands for “excellence of self”.
I was thinking about that today after having watched the main character, a Panda named Po, one of 50 jillion times. I think personal brand work is like working out your Kung Fu – it truly stands for mining and understanding how to portray your self excellence.
I thought I’d share how you can strategically do some kung fu kicks with identifying your personal brand strategy below. One approach is using the SWOT analysis.
SWOT Analysis is a well-known method of identifying your Strengths and Weaknesses, while also examining the Opportunities and Threats you face. All four areas can help you clarify your personal brand and your distinctive and unique value.
Often carrying out an analysis using the SWOT framework will be enough to reveal changes that need to be made in your plan.
Try to work through the following questions and think about what insights you have from this focused work:
Strengths -
- What do you do well?
- What can you do better than anyone else?
- What comes naturally for you?
Weaknesses -
- What could be improved?
- What might you do poorly?
- What comes with more difficulty for you?
Opportunities -
- In what areas do you see possibilities?
- What resources or circumstances can you leverage?
- What trends might you use to your advantage?
Threats -
- What obstacles are in your way?
- Who is your competition and what are they doing well?
- Are you financially challenged?
- What else do you find yourself up against?
Many of us walk around marketing ourselves by the seat of our pants. It may not be intentional, but there are things we do daily that demonstrate who we are to prospective clients, co-workers, managers, and colleagues.
When you spend the time to intentionally develop your personal brand in a way that reflects the best, professional you, there are advantages to you and to the people influenced by your work. Here is a short list of the personal benefits as I see them.
I thought of this post because one of my coaching clients has been looking for ways to build a list of followers who have interest in her services. Everybody loves FREE, right? So here is my top 10 list of free services or products you can give away that will showcase your information while you attract clients or prospective career partners.
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