What Messages is Your Personal Brand Sharing with Your People? (2 essential types)

Clearly defined and repeated messages differentiate your personal brand in a noisy world.

Every great business, product or campaign has defined key messages. They get repeated over and over again to help cut through the noise. Your personal brand should be no different.

Two years ago, I lost my greatest mentor, leader and friend - my grandma. I had the honour of speaking at her funeral. As I opened up my laptop to begin writing her eulogy, the words flowed effortlessly. I confidently knew the messages she would want to leave the world.

The opening words, “humble yourself and you shall be exalted, exalt yourself and you shall be humbled,” wrote themselves. A Biblical reference, it was her philosophy for life.

Your personal brand messages tell the world over and over again what you represent.

There are two essential elements to your personal brand messages. But first, let’s talk storytelling.

The Power of Storytelling

Storytelling’s recall effect

Renowned psychologist, the late Jerome Bruner, claimed that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they are part of a story.

The neuroscience of storytelling explains this further. When you hear a fact, this engages two parts of your brain. Your language processing and your language comprehension centres. When you hear a story, this increases by fivefold. More parts of your brain are actively engaged in the process. So, you’re more likely to remember the information.

Humans crave stories

Stories release the chemical, oxytocin. This is the chemical that builds trust, empathy and connection. Hearing a story helps us start to actually care about the people involved in the story.

This isn’t new. Humans have been engaging in some form of storytelling for thousands of years. We have been evolutionarily hardwired to make sense of our experiences through storytelling. Humans crave stories.

So, despite what you’re often led to believe, business is personal. People connect with people. People buy from other people. Personal connections build brand trust. And brand trust builds loyalty.

People buy emotionally first

Humans buy emotionally first, and then rationalise with logic.

Think of the last time you walked into a car dealership. You were likely compelled by certain products even before the salesperson explained the details.

You’re selling all the time - your personality and ideas just to name a few. You’re selling for people, professionally and personally, to have a relationship with you.

Your personal brand messages should include both emotive and technical elements.

#1: Emotive Messages for Your Personal Brand

If people buy emotionally first, let’s start here.

Marketers often quote that 80% of decisions are made emotionally.

Emotive messages help build trust and emotional connection. They create an emotional response. They humanise your personal brand. The type of emotion created will vary with the person. For example, not all messages will be heart-wrenching. Humour can also attract your people.

Your personal messages can take several forms including:

Personal experiences

An emotive message might be a personal story summed up in a sentence or two. Be sure to make it relevant to your audience. Clearly explain how your personal experience positions you to help your audience.

Market a movement

Are you prepared to share a point of view contrary to popular opinion or a vision for the future of your industry? Then sell the idea. Sell the vision. Your personal messages can help market a movement.

Philosophical messages

Personal messages might be considered your philosophical messages for the world. Like my grandmother’s belief in humility, what messages do you want to be remembered for?

In my personal brand coaching, I recommend at least one personal message for each of your core values. These may be distilled from the underlying beliefs you articulated for each value.  This connection helps bring your values to life in a meaningful way for your audience. Like a beaming lighthouse, your messages act as signals to the marketplace. Helping to attract the work and people that best align with you.

It’s within your personal messages that you start to form a unique point of view for your personal brand. One that differentiates you from the noise of the marketplace.

As Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle Theory dictates:

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

#2: Technical Messages for Your Personal Brand

Rationalise your emotive messages with logic. Per the Golden Circle theory, after your ‘why’, move your audience into the ‘how’ and ‘what’ layers.

Technical messages provide your philosophical stances with logical substance. You might say “people are our greatest asset”. But, without further evidence, it’s only lip service. What evidence do you have to demonstrate your philosophy?

Your emotive messages support the initial ‘awareness’ stage of your audience’s decision-making process. Technical messages move your people through the information search, evaluation and buying decisions. It’s where people look for valid reasons to justify how they already feel.

Using both emotive and technical messages is a formidable duo. Preventing idealistic messages from sounding wish washy. But, rather both inspiring and substantiated.

Marketing like a magnet

With your messages out in the world, you’re marketing like a magnet.

Magnetic marketing pulls those that see value in your messages. And is also just as prepared to repel those not its ideal audience. No good marketing messages are designed for everyone.

Use your emotive messages to establish your unique point of view in the marketplace. And, rationalise your personal brand value with logic. Repeat your messages, again and again, to create what you want to be remembered for.

So, what are your messages for the world?