The Art of Self Branding with Lea Alcantara

While at Izeafest, one of the speaker panels that I had a lot of interest in was the “Growing Traffic” panel. I knew as soon as Dr. Tony Hung, the moderator, got up to speak, this was going to be a good panel. I was right, and as soon as the first person started talking I was hooked. That first person was Lea Alcantara, and what she talked about was branding. It was something I needed to hear more about. I’m going to share some of the things she shared with us. It’s easy to tell others how to do something, but sometimes we overlook what we need to do. This is one area, I need to get better with.

Lea wrote a series of articles called the Art of Self Branding.

How she starts is by asking people she knows to give her 3 adjectives that describe her. After asking enough people, she starts to see a common thread. It then helps her shape her branding. I did this first step when I first got home asking friends and family for words to describe me. This is the list that I’ve got so far:

Kindhearted, passionate, emotional, compassionate, intelligent, beautiful personality, upbeat, knowledgeable, sensitive, smart, caring, empathetic, intuitive, thinking, generous, fun, tender, giving, positive, determined, and generous came up a second time.

The common threads I see are:

1. kind, compassionate, tender, empathetic
2. intelligent, smart, thinking, determined
3. generous, giving

Okay, now what?

Now you look at these words, and let them help decide who you are and what direction you should go in. I guess I’m a nice person. How that can help brand me, I’m still sitting on. It’s giving me a look at how others see me though, and allows me to see myself in another way.

Know who you are, what appeals to you, and who your audience is.

One thing I really liked that Lea Alcantara said during her time on the panel is to know that you can’t be everything to everyone. Pick that segment that you want to speak to, and speak with them. My voice, along with what I write is part of my branding. As you know here, I use a very personal voice on my blog, and talk about life experiences and how they relate to business. I prefer to use a non-technical voice, and talk with my readers (meaning YOU!), not AT my readers. My segment is also for the beginners in small business. I don’t have all the answers for big corporate America, but I can help you with direction if you’re just starting out.

So my advice to you today is that if you’re looking at personal branding, get yourself over to Lea’s articles on the “Art of Self Branding” and learn a little more today.

One of the things that meant a lot to me after hearing her speak was that I was INSPIRED! That’s the sign of a good speaker. I’m inspired to take what I’ve learned and carry it with me.