Rock your Brand Like Elvis

 7 Ways to Leave your Mark

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Rock your Brand like Elvis

Branding as a professional, whether you are a writer, artist or creating your own products, is important. Personal branding (See my friend’s book – Your Brand is Calling) is the practice of marking yourself and your career with a memorable, unique quality(ies) that everyone will recognize. Strong personal brands should be famous for more than just their talent. Think of Elvis. What comes to mind?

Personal branding isn’t just for the rich and famous, it’s for anyone that has values, attributes and ideas they represent. Creating your own personal brand is more than logos, websites and banners. It can help you design a career  path and reach heights that accomplish more than professional gain or achievement.

What do you want others to see? What do you stand for? This is the first step in developing a Brand.

 

Here are 7 Tips to get started:

Elvis’s Sidechops, Glisty Cape, Colorful Scarfs and “Thank you, Thank you Very Much”

1. Define your brand. Defining your brand may feel overwhelming. But simply put, it’s all about you. How well do you know yourself? Get some help from family and friends if you need it. You can begin with asking yourself: What do you want to be known for? What do you value? What are you passionate about? 

Rock-N-Roll

2. Offer something unique. Every individual offers something that stands out from others. Even in similar fields. What makes you stand out?

33 Movies, 18 #1 Hits, 38 Top Ten Hits

3. Hone your craft. Take the 80/20 rule. If you are 80% good at something, spend more time perfecting it. If you are 20 % good at something, you’re wasting time that could be directed toward the 80%. You are closer to becoming 100% at 80 than you are at 20. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Pick one thing you want to be known for and focus on being the best.

At 18, Elvis paid $4 to Record his First Record

4. Create opportunities. Are you broadening your exposure to different audiences? Or are you shying away from what could be a failure? Stop waiting till you no longer fear failure. Take a step, then another. If you fail, learn from it. Start a blog or offer to guest blog on someone else’s. Apply to be a speaker at events. Write a book. Start a podcast. Do something! But remember to stay true to your brand. Get your name out there and establish yourself as an expert in your field. (I’m not THE BRANDING EXPERT but I feel I do have enough experience to help others)

Elvis was Described by Friends as “A Lovable Rebel”

5. Make friends. Building a network with other professionals you admire, others whose level of success you aspire to, and those on the same level you are. Making connections and building relationships takes time and effort. Be sure that you’re not just a taker. Your relationships should be mutually beneficial.

Elvis Left his Mark with His Famous Moves on the Ed Sullivan Show – “The Wiggle”

6. Be savvy with social media. Don’t tip-toe around and never have a professional Facebook page. Social media can be intimidating, but look at it this way, you are connecting with people that want to buy your products or services. Be strategic about what you put out into the world. Your brand should carry over. Know how you want to be perceived. Use social media like you are writing a novel. Who is your audience and what do they want?  When you post, link, upload or tweet, think about how you are presenting yourself to the world. The world, in general, is your potential customers or clients. Is what you are doing keeping with what you want your brand to be?

Elvis Never forgot his HomeTown of Tupelo – He donated funds that created community centers and parks.

7. Be authentic. If you think people want a certain version of you, after a while, that version will wear out. You can never please everyone and trying to is exhausting. While you want to stand out, you don’t want to be something you’re not. People can spot fakes a mile away. Once they believe you have made a fool of them, you’ve lost their trust and may never get it back. Know you who are and own it. Stay true to yourself.

Be Patient

You can’t create a personal brand overnight. It takes more time than you’ll ever think and more effort than you planned to use. Building a brand is like building a home. First lay a foundation, next the framework, walls, ceiling and then all the pretty stuff. Give yourself time and embrace mistakes and failures as opportunities to learn from them. 

Take Away

Once people know who you are and what you stand for, they will begin to identify you with a specific area of expertise.  You’ll be the go-to person in your niche or industry.

Get ready to Rock your own Brand.

Learn more Fascinating Facts about Elvis HERE>