You Inc.: Personal Branding for Multicultural Women

You Inc. Personal Branding & Professional Success Jessica Faye Carter // November 12, 2010

Why do we need a session on multicultural women and personal branding?

Discussion points
Multicultural women
Elements of branding
Building your brand
Communication and technology
When your brand is in trouble
Key takeaways
Q&A

Multicultural women
Distance from locus of power
Power indicia: whiteness and maleness
Living Room/Locker Room Syndrome (1)
No socially-accepted space for white men and multicultural women to interact
This distance from power manifests itself in two major areas at work
Lack of Access
Ethnic and Gender Challenges
(1) Source: Kimberlé Crenshaw, quoted in “Women of Color: Why They Are Finding the Door Instead of the Glass Ceiling,” Perspectives 15:1 (2006).

Branding challenges
Navigating cultural differences
Bolstering credibility
Building a consistent brand that is personally comfortable
Managing information gaps
Dealing with stereotypes and related issues

Elements of Branding

What is a brand?
A name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.”
− American Marketing Association

Nike
Nike is the Greek goddess of victory
Nike is for winners and serious athletes; look at their spokespeople
Nike is cool, trendy, hip
People want to be seen wearing it
Nike is expensive
Makes a statement about the wearer’s economic status (sort of)

Why branding matters
Branding is unavoidable
You are creating a brand whether you want to or not; makes sense to manage it
You are competing against many different people in the workplace
Branding helps emphasize the differences between you and others
Branding is a good self-assessment exercise

Focus: The 3 Cs
Clarity
What three things do you want to be known for?
Credibility
Why would customer/clients trust you?
Connective
How does what you do connect emotionally with others?

Focus: Value & Loyalty
Value
What is the value of the product/service that you’re offering?
Differentiation from other similar products/services
Loyalty
Do clients and colleagues come back for more?
Is your product/service offering sustainable over time?

Building Your Brand

Model for brand building at work
Four (4) dimensions
Packaging
Appearance
Behavior
Value
Competencies
Differentiation

Think: Packaging
Appearance
Clothing (color, fit, season, price point)
Grooming (neatness, style)
Personal style (conservative, trendy)
Behavior
General demeanor (friendly, aloof, quiet, angry, professional)
Speaking style (voice tone, accent, gestures, laughter)
Remember, only part of this is about how you see yourself; the rest is about how others perceive you

Think: Value
Competencies
What is your primary area of expertise?
What is your core skill set?
Differentiation
What sets you apart from your competition?
Why would clients choose you over someone else?
What do you have that others do not?

Building You Inc.
Think of yourself as a bundle of goods and services
Determine your best professional qualities and the benefits you offer
Make sure your “packaging” is congruent with the organization
Ask yourself - what do I want to be known for?
Build relationships/trust
Market yourself/gain visibility

It’s personal...and it isn’t
Branding is both personal and impersonal
It’s personal because it involves you
It’s impersonal because it’s about a package of goods and services
If someone doesn’t need your particular combination of goods and services, it’s not necessarily about you, it’s about what they need

External influences
Outside influences on your brand that are beyond your control (but which you can affect)
Manager
Colleagues
Grapevine
Stereotypes
Opinions

Internal vs. external branding
Internal
Reputation at employer; relationships with co-workers; evaluations; manager
External
Media mentions, industry involvement, “lists,” outside engagements
Expert branding
Research, publications, conversation partners

Branding roadmap
Self-awareness
Know thyself; separate your opinion from others’
Recognize the factors that you are managing against
Identify your 3 attributes and value proposition
Use these to debunk stereotypes while highlighting your attributes
Get started!

Communication & Technology

Communicating your brand
You are communicating your brand all the time
In person with self-introductions, meetings, daily interactions, etc.
Online through Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.
Communication is not one-size-fits-all
How you present your brand in person and online matters

Communication
How do you talk about yourself?
self-deprecatingly, confidently, arrogantly
How do you describe what you do?
How do you communicate with others?
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻
Feeling/emotional/relationship appeal
Technical/quantitative appeal, or both
Are you tailoring your communication style to your audience?
Other considerations: sense of humor, laughter, personality

Social Media

The “blurred identity”
Social technologies are blurring the boundaries between your professional and personal life online
Technology has “flattened” the world, but the underlying relationship dynamics haven’t really changed
Managing technology is critical for your brand

Managing the blurred identity
Privacy Settings
Limit others’ access to your personal information; segment friends by interest
Not foolproof
Recognize “friending” issues
Colleagues, clients, managers, family
Dealing with references/likes
May be visible to others
Company policies
No such thing as anonymity

A Technical Situation
You logged into your Facebook account yesterday evening and noticed several new friend requests. Some are from college friends, one is from a family member, two are from colleagues in your department, and another is from a client.
You’re a little uneasy about a few of these requests. One of the colleagues who contacted you is a friend; the other, more like a “frenemy.” And while you like the client, who is really cool, you also know that he can be a little bit sensitive and you have to be careful in your interactions with him.
It’s getting late, so you accept the requests from your college friends, but wonder how to handle the others. Do you accept the requests from both colleagues, or just the one you’re friends with? How do you respond to the client?

When Your Brand is in Trouble

Brand difficulties
Performance issues
Underperformance
Performance at the expense of relationships
Image concerns
Professional style
Communication
Exposure challenges
Underexposure
Overexposure

Reinventing Your Brand
Identify the problem
Setup a focus group about You Inc.
Consider performance evaluations
What’s the buzz about you?
Determine whether a change is necessary
Focus on developing relationships
Sources of feedback
Support network

Key Takeaways

Branding is Power
Take charge of your brand
Evaluate yourself realistically
Build a brand that is congruent with your company and industry (internal/external)
Position yourself against the competition
Manage your “online” persona carefully
Shore up your brand with strategic relationships (e.g., alliances vs. friends)

You Inc.: Personal Branding for Multicultural Women

by Jessica Faye Carter on Nov 13, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 926

Statistics

You Inc.: Personal Branding for Multicultural Women — Presentation Transcript

http://jessicafayecarter.com	920
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	6