Your personal brand power: Why your USP is never what you think
We know a business needs a USP.
(Unique Selling Point, for those playing marketing lingo bingo).
As a personal brand, your USP is likely to be very different from that which initially appears.
*cue spooky music*
Ok, it's not that spooky, to be fair.
Are you ready for the rocket science?
Your USP is….
YOU.
Yep.
Your way of thinking.
Your experiences in this life so far.
Your humour.
Your quirky traits.
Your subtle blend of colloquialisms and phrases.
Your brand.
Get it? It’s your you-ness.
Your brilliance.
“Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” Tom Peters
Let’s take me for an example.
Sure, I teach branding your brilliance, and work with clients to create their personal brand power.
But what are people really getting?
My 20 year career history in design and design management;
All the coaching I have ever had;
My lecturing experience;
My working smart tips and tricks and my humour;
My ability to brainstorm and my hyper-creative thinking skills;
My academic approach to data-led strategy;
My copywriting skills;
My blogging skills;
My knowledge of tech and daisychain workflows;
My sense of understanding that we can save more time and live more life by doing things smarter (and more creatively);
My life experience as a working mum of two with chronic illnesses;
My ability to teach and inspire;
My own entrepreneurial journey;
All the programmes and learning I have invested in;
My network;
My love of people and connections;
The results I have got for my clients;
My global, free-spirited soul;
My ability to SEE your brilliance and help you to articulate it with your personal brand;
Always flat whites with oat milk.
Probably glitter.
(ok, always glitter).
You get ME.
You get me??
You get my unique lens on the world.
You get my Brilliance Ignition approach to amping up your awesome and getting your message out to the world.
When your clients come to you, what do THEY get as your USP, or brilliance?
If you aren't sure, I bet you are feeling a little disconnected (and that's totally normal, by the way).
Not being clear on your personal brand and messaging can result in:
- Lack of confidence
(how can you mic drop when you aren't sure what you stand for?)
- Sales not rocking up as often as they should
(anyone? Bueller?)
- Attracting the wrong clients
(and bashing your head against the wall every time)
- Struggling to think of compelling content ideas
(when you are totally in tune with your personal brand and message, you are on fiyaaaa with what to share).
- Sheer frustration
(you KNOW your stuff and have so much experience, WHY isn't this working?)
Often it's less of an overhaul that's needed than a tiny tweak - with HUGE results.
When I work with clients on their messaging and brand, I take them through my Personal Power Paradigm™ process.
Your personal power paradigm is that baseline for everything from which your messaging comes.
And when you "get" your brilliance and power?
You FEEL it.
(Take Nicola and Rachel for examples).
You get goosebumps, you can't wait to own your message, change your copy, alter your bios, book those speaking gigs, write the book, GET THE CLIENTS.
You feel like a superstar.
When you align your power paradigm with your values, mission, and manifesto, you get a really powerful personal brand.
You can't conjure up your USP in a marketing lab.
If you try to create a personal brand that's smoke and mirrors, believe me, it won't be long before it all falls apart.
To be known, and to totally embody your personal brand you need to be able to truly sustain your message.
You just can't do that if you are "trying on" a brand message for size, or if you are skirting around the edges of plagiarism.
Copycat tactics, by the way, are totally rooted in fear - you are already awesome, you just need to use the brilliance that's already in your head and share it in a strategic way.
So, rest assured that your brilliance and power already exists.
Your USP has been evolving and growing for your whole life.
Clever you.
Often we need someone else to help us realise that our USP is beyond the obvious.
So yes, I bring creative thinking and content strategy to messaging, in a Giff way. But more than that - I SEE the brilliance in people.
So, look beyond the obvious.
Create your power with your brilliance that is already there.
The world and the workplace needs you to be more, brilliantly, YOU.
(Ready to create your own power and mic drop moment? Here is your invitation to start owning your brilliance)