By Kobina Abaka-Kwansa
Many individuals are confused when it comes to building and sustaining a quality personal brand. For many students, the main things to be done in building a brand are; be genuine, create an introduction, show self-confidence, be consistent and well as create an online image. These points are explained in Part1 of this article.
A personal brand is a very essential component of our lives. Successful personal brands are not created but they are uncovered, strengthened and nurtured. In this article, we are going to discover why upcoming professionals are required to have a good brand. Here are five important benefits a good personal brand gives you.
1. It gives you a clearer career focus
As students, if we become aware of our personal brands and the need to build and sustain them, we begin to create a wider and clearer vision for our careers. Popular broadcaster and CEO of StarrFM, Bola Ray, said in an interview that he recognized very early in his career that his work as a radio presenter was going to affect the lives of the youth in Ghana and beyond. From that point, he decided to base his entire work on some positive principles like integrity. Because he was conscious of his brand in the early stages of his career, he ended up creating a clearer focus for his future. That has pushed him to where he is today.
2. It makes you more confident
In the process of building a personal brand, you will become positively sure about your principles and what you want to be known for. After living your brand for some time, you will build up your confidence level in relation to your brand.
An example is Patrick Awuah, the president of Ashesi University College. You will notice that anytime he speaks to students, he does so with a high level of confidence and passion. This is because he has spoken to so many different groups in the process of building his brand as a leadership developer. From doing this repeatedly, he has developed a high level of confidence and passion which makes people want to listen to him.
3. It helps you understand yourself better
Many people are in school just to attend classes and pass examinations, but I believe there is more to school than just lectures and exams. Personal branding is all about understanding yourself. You seek to know what your unique purpose on this earth is.
In finding and living your unique purpose in life, you discover things about yourself that cannot be found in any book. The process of personal branding can let you understand why you do certain things. It will also let you identify the areas you need to pay more attention to, and the ones you should ignore.
Prince Amoabeng of UT bank said that in the early days, many people discouraged him and claimed it was impossible to give loans in 48 hours. But he looked into his own personality and was convinced that he did not believe in wasting people’s time and resources just for a loan. With that self awareness, he cut out unnecessary processes to make it possible to issue a loan in 48 hours.
4. It creates a niche for you
As a student with a good personal brand, you will attract individuals who will like to associate themselves with you just because they enjoy the brand you possess.
By being consistent in your actions, you draw a lot of people closer to you and your actions will impact more people.
Ghanaian entertainer, Funny Face was in the news lately to explain his decision not to advertise alcoholic beverages. He said his reason was that he knew that most of his fans are kids who are likely to copy anything he does. It is clear that he has created a niche for himself by branding his personality.
5. It enhances your visibility and presence Personal branding is all about that X factor. If you should enter a gathering right now, what will the people who know you say about you? Will it be positive or negative? Will you be recognized as a brand at all? The solution to all these questions lies in the brand you carry.
If Rev. Albert Ocran should enter into a gathering of university students, people will easily recognize his presence because he carries a brand which makes him more unique and visible.
I believe it is time every individual sees himself or herself as a brand and not just a mere individual. If you have read this article to this point, it is your turn to create the brand you want to see out there. What do you think? Share your thoughts with us?
Everybody needs a brand!!!!!
About Kobina Abaka-Kwansa
Kobina Abaka-Kwansa is the CEO of ReachMarketing Ghana.
