It is an old warning in the entertainment industry.\u00a0 Define your persona the way you want others to view you \u2013 before someone else defines you by comparing you to someone not as flattering as you would like.<\/p>\n
I have a friend in the music business who worked hard to gain introductions to, and become mentored by, several known names in the business.\u00a0 One well known informal mentor called him the \u201cStevie Wonder of Hip Hop.\u201d\u00a0 That description stuck, and it is helping the young artist to define himself through instant branding and a positive image.<\/p>\n
If you are proud of the fact that you were first to market with a product or service, you might define yourself as the \u201cfirst and best\u201d. If you are the largest company in your niche, you might want to define yourself by relative size, which connotes success and staying power.\u00a0 If you are the quirkiest of suppliers in your niche, you could create a campaign around your company\u2019s counter culture.<\/p>\n
[Email readers, continue here…]<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0One great way to define your story is with a word picture in which you associate yourself with a person or company that is recognized in a positive way and helps you tell your story more easily.\u00a0 For example, if you have a bicycle currier service that you want to be known as speedy and reliable, define yourself as \u201cthe FedEx of urban couriers.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 (See \u201cManage Your Mantra\u201d from several weeks ago.)\u00a0 Your failure to do this early in the life of the company may come back to haunt you when others refer to you as just another street currier.<\/p>\n How do you define yourself?\u00a0 A mantra, tag line, motto, or logo with your unique brand definition is a good start.\u00a0 Press releases and PowerPoint presentations with a uniform use of the mantra or phrase will reinforce your effort.\u00a0 Back your story up with a statistic if possible. \u201cThere may be forty companies that do what we do, but we\u2019re the first, largest and used by more Fortune 500 companies in our area than all the others combined.\u201d (You can tell that story by limiting your market to the lower east side of town, where you are all of those things.)<\/p>\n Teaching your associates and employees to use the phrase each time they introduce the company to another social or business contact helps spread the word.\u00a0 There is no one who will ever be as passionate about telling your story as you.\u00a0 It is worth the time and effort to work on telling it well and in a memorable way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is an old warning in the entertainment industry.\u00a0 Define your persona the way you want others to view you \u2013 before someone else defines you by comparing you to someone not as flattering as you would like. I have … Continue reading