A personal brand is the one that conveys Value and Values
- Ago 40 Years: A factor of choosing professionals makes 40 years was based on merit, Family, Contacts, accumulated experience…
- Ago 20 Years: The same factor makes 20 years valued above all competences and reputation, especially on the part of “Heads”.
- Today: Today one of the main factors of choice is the combination of Value and Values. I explain myself. By Valor I mean Value proposition, the ability to solve problems in a unique way. With Values I mean our way of dealing with the problems, solutions and connecting with others. Today a personal brand is what reveals Value and Values.
It's not about communicating, it's about communicating well
They will soon be fulfilled 10 years of this blog, And 9 I write about personal branding. I was one of the first to coin the phrase: "if you don't communicate you don't exist", but after that time I realize that the phrase does not define at all the heart of the personal brand.
It's not about communicating, it's about communicating well, and for that we need message that conveys our value proposition and a style (way of doing, interacting...) transmitting our Values.
Of course, we also need an audience, a recipient of the message, also a few channels, pathways of transmission,..
Much has been talked about and written about the value proposition. If you know me, you know I don't like to mess around, my favorite definition of Value proposition is: what a problem I solve. And the way you solve the problem reflects your Values. It may seem very simple, but the hard part is finding the proposal and the best way to reflect it.
If you say you're a firefighter, you give me a profession., an activity. If you tell me you're helping save lives, you're telling me what problem you solve.; and that may not be enough.
Pictured, Tsavo Neal helps consultants win clients through their website to spend less time on marketing and more time billing. It's a complete value proposition, that not only indicates what problem Neal solves but what his client earns.
Values are the factors - in my opinion- determinants of an election. I explain myself. Before two professionals with identical value propositions always be inclined us to choose to transmit values that give us confidence and that are commensurate with the activity we require.
You have two candidates for a job; both have studied the same degree and the same master's degree, they have similar age and experience who do you choose? You take a tour of Instagram and discover the candidate A working as a food collection volunteer at Christmas. That's what I mean, the candidate A hasn't said he's someone supportive, Altruistic, Committed; you've passed it on with a simple image.
Transmit better than explaining
In a nutshell, in our relationships we don't just look for competent professionals, also good people. First we have it with the value proposition, the latter with the Values.
Values are not counted, are transmitted. As much as you say you're a committed person, you'll have to prove it or you'll have to get others to recognize you as such. Your words, in this case, have little effect.
Pictured, my colleague Paula Fernández-Ochoa from her Instagram profile @vivircorriendo conveys the values of sport: self-reuperation, Discipline, Preparation, Effort,
Blog, Value and Values proposal
I usually repeat that everything leaves a mark, what we do and what we don't do, what we say and what we shut up. At a time when Communicate (Not bad) is connect, I take advantage of this value and values space to claim the blog as a great transmitter of both Drivers.
The blog could be considered a digital home. And in our house we keep fewer secrets than in other people's houses (social media). But as in everything, each decides the graduation on the exposure of their personality. I've seen blogs without a about me and I've seen others in that the author has published results of his psychotechnical or emotional intelligence tests.
As my colleague says Arancha Ruiz, there are no rules, but let's consider that our story matters. Increasingly. The generation of our parents, Call “Silent” advocated discretion. Again, Today, if we don't communicate "well" we don't exist. That's not what I'm saying we're going to mess with privacy.. You have to be careful what's published, but it's also worth being yourself. I remember the Values don't communicate, are transmitted.
In the blog we master the medium, we have the last word. In the networks, just the opposite. There are people who remove negative comments on blogs, And I think that's a mistake. It's a challenge to respond elegantly to an angry comment. In the nets we fight in the open, unprotected. Twitter has “Killed” to more than one politician, Artist, Entrepreneur. It is a network that requires great skills of assertive communication, although not the only one. There's nothing crueler than seeing the troll comments of hundreds of people after a news story in a digital newspaper. Are we that bad? Possibly not, but the anonymity and relief allowed by some cyber-exports is a response to some frustration. When the mask is removed, however, are they still themselves?
How we convey our Value Proposition and Values in different digital environments can and should be differentiated. Everyone chooses the degree of intensity of their privacy. I have a differentiated strategy for each social network, and I've only been able to "clone" an Instagram post with Facebook, And I've done it very rarely. Each network has its codes and its audiences. It wouldn't make sense to post the same thing and with the same tone on all social or professional networks, even if it's full of gurus saying out there that we have to link all our social networks.
An Essential Value
The Authenticity is one of the Mandatory Values. Positioning yourself politically is a risk even if you are moderately minded and agreed. Praising a goal by CR7 can close doors in Barcelona as one of Mince praise can close in Madrid. Looks like we've become intolerant., so the transfer of securities should be imposed on that of creeds. It's a complex issue, of which there is little science but a lot of experience. I find it hard to explain that people have only one personal brand but that we can hold different roles.
Summarizing, I am increasingly convinced that the essence of personal branding is this powerful combination of Value (value proposition) and Values (Superpowers). Without that, we can already do SEO, SEM or being present on many social networks. The secret (if there is) is to prioritize essence over presence. Being about being. Connect on making noise. A hug!
Firemen photo by Shutterstock.com
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by Guillem Recolons
Convinced that everything leaves a mark, I help companies better connect with their stakeholders through personal branding programs (personal brand management) and employee advocacy (programs of branded internal ambassadors).
Socio of Soymimarca's Integra Personal Branding, Brand Directory of Omnia Branding, I also collaborate with Ponte en Valor, Brandergizers, MoreThanLaw, Noema Consulting and Quifer Consultores.
I participate in various programs at IESE, ISDI and EAE, among others. Collegiate advertising, Master in Marketing. Humanities Degree Student.
My advertising DNA comes from 20 years in agencies: Time/BBDO, J.W.T., Bassat Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi, Altraforma and TVLowCost among others.
I've been away from networks for a while, a little fed up with everything (I think you understand me, you don't have to explain much more). I've always argued that social media is a more, but not the only one, and that the most important thing is to be yourself and know how to broadcast (Transmit, here's the key, it's not all about communicating) honestly. The way we act, what sets us apart, is what we are. How we solve situations, our way of thinking and how we defend it, our actions, our values… We must defend the authentic.
Anyway, I really liked the post, Guillem!! It says a lot about you..
Thank you Aurora! I've been following you on some networks for a long time and I've seen that you know “Listen” rather than screaming and that values are pillars for you. A hug!
A good clarification on value and values: Definitely, combining the two proposals is necessary to become appetizing in such a competitive labor market.
Certain John, although it may seem like a no-brainer, it's taken me years to come to this conclusion. I suppose everyone embarks on their own journey of discovery, beyond the books, and try to experiment for yourself. A greeting and a thousand thanks for writing!
Magnificent entrance, Guillem!
Point.
Ha, Ha, a thousand thanks, Eat, José María. Point and followed. You don't know how glad I am that you liked it.. A hug (Admiration) Point.
It sounds to me that is the secret of life, good relationships. Connect on making noise. A strong hug, Guillem!
Thank you for sharing Guillem!! I'm passionate about personal brands, but I like people more, and without values it's not going anywhere. Regarding your quote “if you don't communicate (Not bad) you don't exist”, I think you actually always exist, and hence the urgent need to become aware and control of the situation. For me the personal brand is already from the moment you are on the internet putting your name (and that's always so either because you have a company and they mention you, because your friends talk about you in the nets, because your birth is digitized…” already EXISTS.
Hello Laura! First, thank you for writing! Second, You are right: the phrase “if you don't communicate you don't exist” it's a hyperbole that I use often to reinforce the idea that they're going to find you. And without entering the dynamics of JP Sartre, I'll tell you we communicate because we exist, but we can exist without communicating (a hermit, For example). The idea to reinforce is that we must strive to communicate correctly. A greeting!
Hello Guillem! No doubt, value and values are a fundamental part of the personal brand. Finding what sets us apart from others can be a little difficult at first but we have a deep knowledge of ourselves but it's not impossible, it's just about committing to work on discovering that differentiation and when we find it, then infuse our values. It's not easy but with commitment you can achieve. A hug!
True Rachel! Nobody said it was easy., which makes it a challenge, but also in something that should be a habit: identify our values and be consistent with them. Thank you for writing!
Thank you.
Thank you for your Guillem article, Very interesting, you have to delve into the values of the organization