Whether you are in big business or small business you need to communicate to people about who you are, what you do and how you make a difference. In essence, build your brand. We would call it public relations.
Well it's the same for an individual who want to succeed in his or her career. It's vital for us to build effective "relationships" with our "public". Let's look at how you can communicate and build your personal brand through a BRAND Plan.
B is for Brand Situation.
This first point is where you take a snapshot of you or your business and the issue or opportunity you would like to use to create a communication strategy. Write a few paragraphs or a summary of the opportunity for creating some brand awareness. E.g. are you celebrating an anniversary? Have you developed a new product line? This can be applied to your own personal brand too. Have you recently been promoted? Looking for work? Moved to a new area? What is your brand situation?
R is for Research.
This is the next step in your BRAND Plan. What do you already know about the situation? What do you need to know? How can you find out more information? Do you need to do some mystery shopping? Perhaps a survey of current clients or customers or ask for feedback from bosses and peers about you and your work? Do you need to conduct more formal research with a focus group? What websites do you need to research - competitors or others in your market? Arm yourself with as much background information as possible before you begin your communication plan.
A if for Audience.
Who is your target market? Write up a detailed summary of who your client or customer is. With a personal brand your market may be your boss, CEO or managers. Who do you need to stand out to? You also need to identify the influencers to this audience. If it is in house bosses you might include industry personnel, suppliers and co-workers. Media would be in this list if it was your own business. Afterall, the media is one of the strongest influencers and will help you get to your target market. So if it is managers, what magazines do they read, where do they get their information from? Lot's more research...
N is for Niche.
What is your market niche or point of difference? Your USP - unique shining point. How do you stand apart from the rest? A focused brand concentrates on owning one thing in the mind. So you need to differentiate yourself from the others. If you are not different or unique and don't stand out, the only point of difference will be the price and often customers will go for the cheapest price. It does take a while to really work out what your uniqueness is but you do need to be unique, can you identify that? Are you communicating a clear brand?
What are your communication objectives? We all know about goal setting and it's the same with our brand communication plan. If we articulate what we're after then we are more likely to achieve it. But we need to be smart about it. That is specific, measurable, realistic, achievable and timely. Write a thorough statement of what you really want to achieve with as much detail as possible.
Include very detailed statements with a timeframe around them. The more specific you can be then at the end of your communication campaign you can evaluate and see if you really did achieve what it was that you set out to do.
P if for Your PR.
And the tools to use to reach your target. This is the 'how to do it' part. Here you detail exactly how you are going to reach you target public with your message to achieve that desired outcome you've already set - those smart goals. So what tools are you going to use?
There are many ways of communicating with your target public. Networking or volunteering at your company, public speaking, special events and social networking, to name a few. For your desired outcome, list four or five communication tools or strategies to help reach your objective.
L is for Ledger.
The budget – how much is it going to cost? PR is a great way to launch any product, you don't always have to advertise. PR is cheaper than advertising but not necessarily free. What about personal PR? Is there a cost involved in going along to networking events? How much should you allocate? What about a post card or Christmas card mail out to your database? Do you need professional photos taken to add to those article you're going to write?
You need to look at what resources you have to put towards this project. If it's $2,000, how can you effectively use that money? Do you need a new wardrobe to help you look more professional so you are in with a chance to get that promotion? You've identified some PR tools and tactics - what's it going to cost you?
Action – Implementation
This is where you work out how you’re actually going to do it. Put a time line into place. What needs to be done to make your plan happen? Well let’s work backwards on our timeline. Say we set a timeline 12 weeks from now. And let’s say our objective is to hold an open day at your premises attracting 50 potential new customers. By week 11 you would need your rsvp’s in. So about week 8 you’d need to send out invitations. Therefore allow a couple of weeks, say week 5 to get invitations printed. Week 4 start to compile a list of 200 and week 3, you need to make sure the design is done. Week one, who do know already to invite? And so on for all the tasks associated with your communication plan. Come up with a detailed plan of action, a work in progress (WIP).
Noticed – Have you attracted notice?
This is where you evaluate and measure if your plan has worked. After it’s all over, look back at your objectives that you so carefully wrote out. Were those goals achieved? Have they been met? Did you get 50 new customers? How about those articles you hoped to get in the newspaper? This is where you look back and see what you’ve achieved and did you get value for money.