{"id":1246,"date":"2012-12-18T04:45:54","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T09:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/?p=1246"},"modified":"2012-12-23T06:35:52","modified_gmt":"2012-12-23T11:35:52","slug":"10-steps-to-develop-your-brand-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/10-steps-to-develop-your-brand-message\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Steps to Develop Your Brand Message"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/a>Having worked with thousands of professionals to improve their personal brand and help them develop a clear, unique brand message I can tell you it takes time, energy and desire.\u00a0 For many, it is a struggle.\u00a0 I know it was for me.<\/p>\n

Once you know what makes you unique and what to say, most people think it communicating it in a clear manner will be easy.\u00a0 That’s not always the case.<\/p>\n

I realized developing my message was something I could not do alone.\u00a0 I held on to this belief for far too long.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because I was stubborn and I thought I didn\u2019t need help.<\/p>\n

And, if I’m really honest, I was afraid of what others would think of me if I could not do this for myself.\u00a0 Then my coach so wisely asked, \u201cCan you give yourself a good haircut?\u201d\u00a0 I laughed and got help!<\/p>\n

The result was a better message. \u00a0I realized the process of clarifying my brand message as a collaborative process was more fun, faster and the message was more authentic.\u00a0 I needed a pro and a coach to help me get real.<\/p>\n

After several conversations with professionals and reflecting on my experience helping others, I recognized there are 10 key steps to the process.<\/p>\n

You are special and your message needs to be genuinely you.\u00a0 It needs to be focused and speak directly to your target audience. \u00a0Here is an activity to get you started:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Identify your value and why it is important to your target audience.<\/li>\n
  2. Gather feedback from those who know you.<\/li>\n
  3. List five to seven adjectives that describe you.<\/li>\n
  4. Review your adjectives and narrow the list to the three that reflect how you talk.<\/li>\n
  5. Describe your ideal employer in detail.<\/li>\n
  6. Jot down phrases that include your value, your adjectives and focus on the employer\u2019s needs.<\/li>\n
  7. Write many variations of your message.\u00a0 Say them aloud.<\/li>\n
  8. Ask other people what the messages \u2018sound\u2019 like and watch for their reactions.<\/li>\n
  9. Ask and answer (honestly) how do you feel about your message?\u00a0 Is the message you? Are you being truthful or blowing smoke?\u00a0 Are you communicating your value in a way that is important to your audience?<\/li>\n
  10. Continue to test your message.\u00a0 Adjust as needed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Get help if you need it.\u00a0 Not everyone \u201ccan give themselves a good haircut.\u201d\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 It took me far too long to get help and the cost of my stubbornness was significant.<\/p>\n

    What does your brand marketing message say about you?<\/strong>\u00a0 Does it communicate your value to your target audience?\u00a0 Are you still searching for your message?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Having worked with thousands of professionals to improve their personal brand and help them develop a clear, unique brand message I can tell you it takes time, energy and desire.\u00a0 For many, it is a struggle.\u00a0 I know it was for me. Once you know what makes you unique and what to say, most people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,29,7,22],"tags":[71,5,8,27,46],"class_list":["post-1246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-action-tips","category-career-management","category-job-search-focus","category-personal-branding","tag-action-tip","tag-focus","tag-personal-brand","tag-personal-branding-2","tag-reputation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/accelerateyoursearchnow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}