A Personal Brand in Cyprus – Who needs it?
If you have a new company, or an existing one that isn’t quite breaking into the market, you may need to take a serious look at your personal brand. If you think it is a waste of time, money, and energy, then let’s consider what the founder of Amazon is famously quoted as saying:
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
If you want to stand up for yourself and your business, commanding respect and confidence from your customers, then it is time to ensure that your reputation is a narrative that you control. Don’t let your lack of energy and commitment towards personal branding in Cyprus be the reason why your competitor’s business is chosen over yours.
But what is a personal brand exactly?
Briefly, it is a way of highlighting your uniqueness and projecting to everybody, “what you can do” and “what your company stands for.” It’s about promoting that you can and will meet your customer’s expectations and you will do it better than your competitors. It is also not a onetime exercise, but a consistent and ongoing process to not only satisfy existing customers but also gain new ones and keep them coming back.
Dispelling assumptions about establishing a personal brand in Cyprus or internationally.
LevelQ Marketing has successfully established hundreds of brands both in Cyprus and internationally – we asked them how to start planning a personal brand strategy:
Step one - Strategize
Gather your team and brainstorm WHO, WHAT and HOW you want to be perceived by your stakeholders. Find unique and trustworthy ways to express and represent these qualities. Every representation is important, from your slogans and tag lines to your colour scheme. (Yes, there is a psychology in colors that we will discuss in more detail in another blog.) Once you have outlined your companies, mission, values, vision, and personality, you can formulate a strategy that will help you position yourself in the market. Always keep transparency and honesty at the forefront of your message. Authenticity is the most important attribute of telling your story and this is conveyed by a well thought out personal brand strategy.
Step two – Communicate your organisation’s strategy
This means incorporating your ideology into collective actions, as well as into your assets.
- Display your unique message with your visual identity.
Your content, your products, and your adverts. Consistency is key. Think about it as simply as this: If you went to the store and suddenly found your favorite products no longer in the same packaging, using different fonts, colors and changing their tag lines, descriptions, and slogans, you would immediately lose trust. You would start asking, why is this different? What has changed about the product? Will it taste, look, and feel the same? Human beings like consistency. We like our Coca Cola in a red can in Spencerian script. We like our Cadbury’s in Typspec in purple, beige, and white wrappers. It tells us what to expect. If it looks different, we lose trust and may decide to try a different product.
- Convey your unique message with your actions.
Your message must also be carried over in the way your business conducts itself physically. You cannot establish yourself as a reliable, trustworthy brand if your customer services and support are lacking or your online presence is inconsistent. The experiences you offer and your relationships with the humans investing in your business must all align with your company’s message. A well-defined, consistent look, message, and presence of your product both in presentation and in your actions will help your customers build a relationship with you. They will know what they can expect and learn to trust it, returning to you repeatedly.
Step Three – Be Unique.
A strong personal brand strategy and consistent message will bring about a positive impression about your company. Branding generates new customers. Most consumers are clear that they like to do business with specific companies because of the familiarity and assumed dependability of using a name they can trust. When you have a brand that is well-established, word of mouth will become your organisation’s best and most effective advertising technique.
Ready to get started?
We asked our own Marketing and Creative Director Maria for some personal branding tips and this is what she said:
- Stand out from the crowd – be the one they remember. This comes with trust that is garnered from a well-defined consistent look, message, and presence.
- Your website helps your clients feel like they have a relationship with you. At LevelQ Marketing, we don’t just build a website as an inanimate task. We take the time to create an enjoyable experience for the visiting customer.
- Don’t skimp on your logo and theme creation. It is your stamp of professionalism.
- Always create your personal brand in Cyprus with your audience’s habits in mind.
- No matter how great your brand is, you must publish compelling content that draws in your audience and keeps them coming back.
Although we tried our best, we cannot fully explain the branding process with a few personal branding tips in one article. It is an ever-evolving cycle that involves many areas of expertise, from business management to marketing, advertising, design and even psychology. The process itself has many layers, and it begins with a strong starting strategy that must be carefully planned and coordinated. If your strategy is weak and your message is badly planned, your brand is already defeated. LevelQ Marketing would love to help you achieve your branding goals. We have tailor made plans to fit every budget and an unbeatable team with a strong track record of success. Call us.
You will be surprised at how your personal brand identity is one of the most important factors which will determine your businesses success.
