Nine Minutes

What would happen if you devoted nine minutes to building your brand every day starting today? How would that change your career?

That is a question I have been pondering for some work I’ve been doing for LinkedIn. They hired me to create a whitepaper on continuous career management. You can learn more about it here I spent a lot of this past week doing media interviews (I had to get up at 2am so I could do radio shows during UK morning commuting time!). The press is really interested in this concept. They know that their listeners understand that they need to spend time working on our careers while working in them; but they feel they just don’t have the time.

Part of what I learned in my research is that nine minutes is the ideal amount of time to set aside each day to focus on your career. So what if you set aside just nine minutes – what would you do?

In producing the whitepaper, I became really excited about what an impact just nine minutes a day can make to building your brand and advancing your career. There are so many things you can do with those precious 540 seconds. In the coming issues – and at The Personal Branding Blog I will share my thoughts on this topic.

If the idea of spending nine minutes a day intrigues you, I suggest you join the ‘nine minutes a day’ group at LinkedIn. There, you will find other like-minded careerists and you’ll be able to share ideas for the best ways to invest your nine minutes.

Click here for the link to the group on LinkedIn.

How are you going to spend your nine minutes today?

Unforgettable…in your own ethnic way!

Imagine how it would feel to be remembered forever. To be recognized among your competitors and peers as someone who left a mark behind. To be memorable for having done something so unique that even the passage of time would never erase your name from people’s minds.

As the world becomes, culturally speaking, flatter and flatter, it is increasingly difficult to stand out as an individual. The lines between the world’s previously diverse cultures are blurring. As we try to connect with our audiences by being more like them, speaking more like them, and behaving more like them, our differences are becoming less remarkable. In spite of this, it is still possible to remain culturally sensitive while also incorporating special aspects of your own background that you can leverage to make yourself unforgettable in a unique and distinctive way.

Make your exotic food a memorable experience. One way to do this is by making your “exotic food” a memorable experience for your audience. We all have certain particular foods typical of our heritage that make us different in some way. At a presentation I gave recently, I used something from my hometown in Colombia to leave a mark on my listeners. Where I grew up we eat “hormigas culonas” (big butt ants), which are dried queen ants. This is a food item from my culture that is normal to me but so strange and foreign to most people. When I brought out the ants, you can imagine there were some people that were taken aback, if not utterly disgusted. However, I provided the people in that room an experience they will definitely never forget.

Look for an aspect of your unique character or identity that makes you stand out from others. Every person has at least one characteristic from their culture that makes him or her distinctive. Your objective is simply to devise a clever plan to reveal it to your audience in such a way that will leave you forever in their memory, even in this ever mixing jumble.

In the business world it is difficult to leave a mark by expressing your uniqueness without seeming crazy, foolish, or even just unprofessional. Whether you express your individuality through a thank you note or an outlandish business card, by incorporating your heritage in these devices, you differentiate yourself from others, both culturally and individually, and in an acceptable way.

Marcela Jenney-Reyes is a global marketing expert, business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. Her clients include language service providers, entrepreneurs and business professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

And Now a Word from…
By Riccardo Proetto
A monthly column featuring a new guest author from around the world!

Why Copywriting Needs Your ‘Ultimate Quality Perception’

IBM. McDonald’s. Wal-Mart. Each of these names conjures up a distinct set of images and feelings. This is no a coincidence. These companies spend a lot of money to influence how you think about their products and services. Companies not only want you to remember their particular brands, they want you to prefer them. As a copywriter, you play a significant role in that effort.

From your Unique Promise of Value to your Ultimate Quality Perception (UQP).

How exactly do we integrate our brand into sales letters, ads, e-mails, and other promotional copy? Your brand has a personality — a way of communicating that is distinctive. Have you ever noticed how Apple’s commercials always seem fun, creative, and playful? Apple’s brand personality focuses on the core theme that their products are easy to use. This is carried over into the copy for their commercials, websites, brochures, and advertising.

To use an example from the legal profession. One lawyer’s brand might be stern and serious. Your copy style and tone needs to be authoritative and decisive; consistent with the brand. The UQP of a different lawyer might be: “The divorce law specialist who guides individuals and families through tough times.” The brand perception here is more supportive and caring so your copy needs to have a caring tone.

Look at the promotional copy for products you know well. The words for a real estate agent might reflect speed and proficiency. An advertisement for a carpet cleaning company might focus on care, thoroughness, and modern equipment.

The advantage of a strong brand message is that it acts as a theme and a touchstone to guide you through the creation of promotional copy. It helps you stay on message. What’s special about you? How can you communicate it effectively in the copy to your target audience? How can you make sure your customers perceive your Unique Promise of Value? How can you exude your Ultimate Quality Perception?

Riccardo Proetto is one of the first Personal Branding Strategists in Italy. He uses his 15 years in the corporate world and his passion for branding to help global companies and executives give the best of themselves and inspire change.

Community News
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Coming Soon: Ditch. Dare. Do! by William Arruda and Deb Dib
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Ditch. Dare. Do! will be published soon. Register to be notified when it’s available!

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Personal branding is increasingly recognized as a must-have skill in every executive and employer tool kit, providing—to both employees and employers—the sense of stability, empowerment, value-creation, and recognition so critical to success in an increasingly volatile marketplace. Yet, until now, there has been no definitive guide to personal branding from these combined perspectives.

Ditch. Dare. Do!, by Personal Branding Guru William Arruda and CEO Coach Deb Dib, is the quick-start guide and deep-dive instruction manual every executive and employer needs to leverage the power of personal branding. This groundbreaking book is designed for people who are serious about building their careers, professionals who seek to align who they are with what they do and how they do it, and companies that are serious about retaining and growing the best talent.

Ditch. Dare. Do! challenges long-held assumptions and habits, daring the reader with a ‘ditch’ (a mindset that must be shattered), a ‘dare’ (a challenge to up their game), or a ‘do’ (a critical action that must be taken to ensure success). Readers who take on these challenges will advance their careers, support the corporate brand, and deliver greater value to their companies.

Acknowledging the impact of Web 2.0, texting, Twitter, and the perennial distractions of multi-tasking, Ditch. Dare. Do! is deliberately bold and brief—a series of powerful stand-alone two-page vignettes of relevant, actionable, fun and fast tips covering all aspects of personal “career branding.” Together the collection creates a comprehensive roadmap for career success and fulfillment in the new and exciting world of work.

Ditch. Dare. Do! is the definitive (and irreverent) career and corporate success guide for defining, aligning, and living the power of brand!
 

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