One need not read the label to associate a little blue box, wrapped in white ribbon and draped in a silver chain to know that it’s from Tiffany & Co. That is a given because those colours are synonymous with the Tiffany brand.

Branding is the look and feel associated with something specific. What your brand says about you, professional or personal, probably says more to your audience than you think.

So how do you make your brand convey “you?”

• You are how you write.

We all do it, we sound one way and write another and sometimes our personal isms and twangs get the better of us. For example, I know in my personal life, I’m guilty of using the word “y’all,” instead of saying “all of you,” ”you all,” ”you guys” or “you are.” However, when I write I would never scribble the word “y’all” and that distinction is very important.

Words are our personalities. Our words shine through and actually say a lot more about us than we think.

For example, though I never write “y’all,” speaking it begs the question, “Where are you from? You do not have a Southern accent. What do you?” The answer is simple, I spent four years in northern Florida at the University of Florida in Gainesville; a small, rural, college town drenched in all things flashing back to the Old Southern Republic. When I graduated, I got my degree and some Southern twang attached to it. Hearing the term “y’all” reeks thoughts of broken English and folksy-poor education. That much is a given. But the term is a Catch-22, it’s as cultural as it is an echo of American social order.

Seeing and reading it are two very different beasts.

Seeing me gives someone the luxury of watching my facial expressions, manner of my dress and body language. By talking to me in person and meeting me, you would not question my level of education or question what I convey because of the fact that you are physically seeing me and the manner in which I represent myself. I am not being read. Therefore, regardless of whether the term “y’all” slips out of my mouth on occasion, I will not be held responsible for its connotations. The same cannot be said about writing.

Through words we set a tone and create a particular level of expectation by communicating our thoughts and ideas (the good and the bad). Words need to make your clients trust your company, your brand, what you do, and most of all, trust you.

The words you choose to use in your presentations, websites, products, services and daily business life should foster a clear message that emulates who you are, what you wish to be and what you do.

• Who are you?

For such a simple question, only made up of three words, it’s the most difficult to answer.

Take some time and ask yourself a few questions — What is my company culture? What font should I use? Is this really the best picture of me? What does my logo really look like? What words do I want to associate with myself? Is that really the right colour for me?

The thing is, all of these questions can be applied to both your professional and your personal life.

Job seekers are brands, whether they realize it or not. Walking into an interview or audition, your potential boss is looking at “you.”

Your image, whether that be a logo, or daily dress, says so much. Most times, you don’t need a designer suit or a watch that costs five figures to seal the deal. You need to look like you are the deal sealer. Do you seem trust worthy? Are you casually dressed for something formal? Do you stand out (for better or for worse)?

Using specific words to reflect who you really are says a lot about you. We are not just talking about what you do; the words you choose to use speak an ample amount about how you see yourself. How you see yourself will reflect upon how others see you.

Culture is one of those blurry lines in the branding world that often gets lost in translation.

Think about a stranger coming across you walking down the street or arriving at your website, what will they think? How do you reflect yourself?

If you own a business, try listing some of your company’s values. If you are looking for a job, mention it in your objective or cover letter. At the end of the day, you want to ensure that what you set out to represent yourself as, is actually the same message your audience is receiving.

Remember people are not mind readers, they don’t have “ESPN or something,” you need to tell them who you are, what you do and why they should be choosing you.

But whatever you do, do not forget that you have a personality and should utilize it. You are unique. Finding what makes you unique will separate you from the ton.

It’s really not that hard, it just takes the right questions. Plainly put, start off with your likes and dislikes — humanize who you are and what you represent. It is always easier to talk to someone to whom you can relate, rather than not.

• What are you good at?

If you talk about something you do not really know about to someone who does, they will know you full of hot air.

If you talk about something you do not really know about to someone who doesn’t know, eventually it will come back to haunt you when your project fails via a little something called karma. That’s just the way of the world.

Know your strengths and know your weaknesses. Capitalize on your strengths and work hard to improve your weaknesses. Defining these in your goals will help define you and your brand.

Leverage what you have and work with it.

For example, through clever advertising and the emergence of the i[Book, Phone, Pod etc.,] Apple was able to save itself from filing for Chapter 11. They always knew they produced superior products, but the pricing wars and production of the “generic” brands got the better of them for the longest time.  With the introduction, and cornerstone branding, of the iPod came their new wave of market ownership.

It’s very simple really.

Apple knew that they were the best at what they did, they knew what they had and they worked with that knowledge to make you, the audience, were quite aware of that fact too.

 

Little Pink Book’s Rule of PR #6:
You are your brand.
Represent yourself
the way you wish others to see you.
Inside and outside of the work place.

–

Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ . She holds a B.S. in Public Relations and an M.A. in International Administration.

Copyright © 2009 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.