What to Look for in Your Personal Brand Partners (3 Tips)
Contrary to popular belief, your personal brand is not all about you. The right relationships are what most help your personal brand grow.
When it comes to your personal brand, you have to look outward. Whether it’s another personal brand or organisation, partners help add their strengths to yours. The right partners may expose you to new audiences. And also help your personal brand build trust in the marketplace.
Before sixth grade, I had just one really good friend.
It was the typical migrant family story. Our parents spotted each other at the local supermarket. Resembling a similar ethnic background, they became fast friends. Their family was Sri Lankan. While we were Malaysian, our heritage was Indian - Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour.
Heading into kindergarten, my friend and I were inseparable. We spent the next seven years together. We’d carpool to school with my mum every morning. After school, her mum would look after me until Mum finished work.
Our parents had serious concerns about our ability to make other friends. We didn’t mind. We bonded over two key things: a similar background and an obsessive love of learning.
I’d say we were teachers’ pets, but in all honesty, I think we mostly just annoyed them.
Our idea of a good time was using the classroom at lunch and testing ourselves on the timetables we’d learned.
We volunteered for every extra-curricular activity. Especially enjoying being peer mediators. Not at all bothered by the high-vis vest required during our lunch shifts. When I was elected Student Council Representative in my final year, she was my biggest supporter. Ensuring I was aware of all the details of the voting process, which occurred while I was out at a piano lesson.
In our later years, we joined the netball team together.
We always took our homework very seriously. Pouring more hours into it than any primary schooler needs to.
My friend was a natural. And her leadership would only continue to flourish. She became Captain of her high school. She obtained a series of impressive qualifications. And went on to work at a Big Four as her first corporate role.
She is still one of my closest friends to this day. Outside of my family, I credit my lifelong love of learning to this friend. It was the perfect partnership.
As personal branding authority, Mike Kim, says:
“Relationships are rocket ships.”
Which speaks to the old adage, “you are who you spend your time with.”
Brand Partners
Corporate brands have partnerships with corporate and personal brands - including their employees.
The right ‘co-branding’ can help:
Add new skills and expertise
Expand your service
Reach new markets
Establish credibility
Build trust in the marketplace
Ideas for brands you might attach your own personal brand with may include:
Universities or other education-based institutions
Professional associations
Conferences or other events
Industry authorities
Major industry players
Media outlets
Publications
Podcasts, blogs or YouTube channels
Other personal brands
Your ‘co-branding’ opportunities with these may be through:
Qualifications
Guest speaking, panel discussions, workshops
Memberships
Being a media spokesperson where applicable
Joining available programs, services or events
Contributions to publications
Being a guest on Podcasts, blogs, YouTube channels
Collaborations with other personal brands or businesses
But, what should you look for when attaching your personal brand to a person or organisation? Whether it’s an official partnership or just the brands you associate with, here are my top three tips:
Tip #1: A Shared Vision, Values and Messages with Your Personal Brand
Like my best friend and my shared love of learning, find someone who shares your own:
Vision
Values
Messages
When brands or people suddenly display values or messages inconsistent with their implicit understanding of each other, partnerships implode quickly. Make sure you’re orientated the same way.
Tip #2: Partner UP for Your Personal Brand
I was batting well above my average with my childhood bestie. While I shared her drive, it took me longer to grasp concepts. She was naturally gifted. She made me better than I could be alone.
Partners that are too alike bring equal skills to the table. Aim to partner up.
Enhance areas you're not naturally strong in. Consider attaching your personal brand with those with:
A certain skill set or area of expertise
An audience you can’t otherwise access
Credibility in the industry, among your target audience or the marketplace
Establishing credibility is especially important when you’re just beginning your personal brand journey. Remember before you got your first job? Once you landed that first opportunity, you started to add credibility to your resume.
Remember, the value of those you collaborate with or the brands on your resume form part of your own value. Again, you are whom you spend your time with.
Tip #3: Create a Value Exchange
When it comes to your partnerships, keep one philosophy top of mind: creating a value exchange.
Aim for a true partnership - not a sponsorship. Don’t simply request or take opportunities. Business is an exchange. Leading industries have moved away from outdated “sponsorship” language. Focus on partnerships instead. Each party brings something to the table to reach a common goal together.
Whether you’re aiming to associate yourself with an organisation or personal brand, create an ongoing exchange. Depending on the situation, ideas for this can be financial or non-financial:
Money for services
Engaging with the digital content of the organisation or person
Share the content of the organisation or person
Purchase their products
Sign up for newsletters
Refer your audience to them
Put them forward for opportunities
Connect them to other potential partners
Volunteer
Send a thank you note or gift
Remember, your personal brand is not all about you. It’s about finding your people. And aligning your values and vision with like-minded organisations and individuals.
John Donne famously wrote:
“No man is an island,
entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main…"
So, who are you aligning your personal brand with?
