By M. Isi Eromosele

It is a brand new world.

Companies are now recognizing the great value in branding and brand management. At the same time, the importance of personal branding is coming to the fore as the prominence of individuals grows in the global business world.

It is a fact. It is inescapable. You are a brand of you. To elevate yourself in the business world, you have to brand yourself.

In today's world of interconnected media, everyone has a chance to stand out. However, those who make the extra effort to brand themselves will become a brand worthy of remarks and conversations, a fundamental key to building one's brand equity. Your brand is a promise of the value you provide. Personal branding facilitates your spreading that message to multiple audiences.

Starting from today, you are a brand. You are as much of a brand as Apple, Nike, Starbucks and Dell. Think of yourself as your own Brand Manager. Ask yourself the question that Brand Managers at major companies ask themselves: What is it about your expertise and skills that is unique and different from that of your peers?

Start by identifying the qualities and characteristics you possess that is distinctive from that of your colleagues. What differentiates you from them? Zero in on a recent major achievement of yours. What are your greatest strengths? What are your most noteworthy personal and business knowledge traits?

Ask yourself: What do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value? Ask yourself: What do I do that I am most proud of? Ask yourself: What have I accomplished that I can unabashedly brag about? If you're going to be a brand, you've got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value, that you're proud of, and most importantly, that you can shamelessly take credit for.

When you're done answering the above questions, ask yourself one more question to define your brand: What do I want to be famously known for?

No matter how impressive your skills, expertise and value propositions are, you still have to aggressively market your brand to customers, colleagues and your virtual network of associates. The first goal in your branding campaign is to achieve better visibility.

So how do you market Brand You?

When you're promoting Brand You, everything you do and everything you choose not to do communicate the value and character of your personal brand. Everything from the way you handle phone conversations to the email messages you send to the way you conduct business in a meeting is part of the larger message you're sending about your brand.

Partly it's a matter of substance: what you have to say and how well do you say it. But it's also a matter of style. Online, do your communications demonstrate a command of the pertinent issues in your industry? The way your business card looks is part of your branding.

Word of mouth marketing is a vital key to any personal branding campaign. Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing vehicle you've got; what they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand. So assiduously cultivate them.

If you want to grow your brand, you've got to come to terms with your own power. Your power to influence people. Getting and using power intelligently, responsibly and powerfully are essential skills for growing your brand. One of the things that attract us to certain brands is the power they project.

As consumers, we like to associate with brands whose powerful presence creates a halo effect that rubs off on us.

Most importantly, remember that power is largely a matter of perception. If you want people to see you as a powerful brand, act like a credible leader. When you're thinking like Brand You, you don't need an org-chart authority to be a leader. The fact is you are a leader. You're leading you!

M. Isi Eromosele is the President | Chief Executive Officer | Executive Creative Director of Oseme Group - Oseme Creative | Oseme Consulting | Oseme Finance

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