What is Personal Branding? Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves from the crowd by identifying, and articulating their unique value proposition. They then leverage their value proposition with consistent messages and images to achieve a specific goal.
Why is it so important?
In this very competitive world, and especially the world of fashion, you have to leave a lasting impression, or otherwise get lost in the sea of other designers trying to break through. Good Personal Branding habits not only enhances your overall reputation, but can make you more of a desirable candidate for design jobs and/or new clients. There is a plethora of information out there on branding, and I know it can be quite overwhelming to look up, but I feel it is a necessary evil. When your in the professional area, it is no longer about you, its your brand that sells the most. In this diary entry, I will cover my basic 5 essential tips of branding to get you started!
1. Research, Research, Research!
Do your homework! Ask yourself what is your business really about. Try to develop a mission/vision statement for Brand YOU. A vision statement is often times described as a picture of your company in the future, but it is also your inspiration and framework for all of your strategic planning.
2. Target Market
Determine who you are trying to sell your services to, and focus your branding efforts primarily towards that targeted group. Come up with a game plan as to how you would approach them, and what impressions you would like to leave with your targeted group.
3. Keep-It-Simple-Stupid!
Keep your branding message fairly simple, by having a simple message you want to convey to your targeted group. By keeping your mission statement simple, you enable your targeted audience to not only grasp that message, but remember it.
4. Keep it Consistent!
Keep everything you do consistent, from your brand message to your general service options. By doing so, you will prevent future confusion down the line as far as what your brand represents, and what you are trying to achieve. I suggest finding your specialty/niche and keep most of your future expansion within that category. This makes you seem more of a specialist vs. a brand opportunist.
5. Presence
In order to brand your freelance services, you need to have presence in the marketplace. Try to engage in social media marketing (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, etc.). When engaging in social media marketing, please remember to always remain professional, otherwise you can be a hindrance to your brand by misrepresenting it in an unprofessional way. A website is also a great investment, and also solidifies as well as legitimizes your business in the eyes of consumers.
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What are your thoughts on branding? I discussed my top five most essential elements of branding, and I would like to know what you have done to represent brand YOU!
Fashionably Yours,
Since the tender age of twelve, Schaumin Chanel Alexander has been creating fashion illustrations, and designing Womens wear apparel. Shortly after graduating college with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design & Marketing, she began freelancing her talents. SchauminChanel is the main designer and chief operator of Creative Conceptz Ltd., a company dedicated to freelance fashion design.
2 comments:
I totally agree that branding is critical to one's success. I think it's about finding a balance between plain old good business sense and what makes you unique. Also, you have to show people that your real and not fake. If you are fake, it's definitely going to show! Best of luck in all your ventures :)
Yes your right, and impressions are everything when it comes to business. If you come off as illusive in anyway you lose business, so being yourself is always a great way to go! Thank you for your comment, and I hope you will check back in for future posts :)
Ciao!
SchauminChanel
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