Chapter 3: Mindset – Have a Focus
Beyond all the techniques and technicalities of personal branding, it is
extremely important for you to understand branding psychology, as this is the
very foundation of any kind of brand (personal or not).
In marketing, branding is the collection of techniques used to set a company
apart (through distinctive design and messaging). Most large companies have
what is called a “brand book”—a set of rules that have to be applied across
all visual and written content released in their name. From the fonts used in a
whitepaper to the precise colors used in everything associated with the
company, every single element counts when it comes to creating a brand.
Could you imagine Coca-Cola written in any other way than it already is? If,
for example, you saw a Coca-Cola bottle with Times New Roman used on
the logo tomorrow, you would probably think it’s a knock-off product or a
bad joke. This is exactly how powerful a brand can be.
One important concept to understand is that companies don’t build brands.
Their consumers do, by associating specific traits of a company with specific
emotions and values. Apple didn’t build a brand per se—they built a
marketing strategy that triggered certain emotions and values in their fans.
The way they presented themselves, the design of each and every product
released under Apple, the messages associated with the company—they all
make consumers associate the company with innovation, cutting-edgeness,
creativity, and, ultimately, success.
There are two main pillars to building a strong personal brand: one is
connected to understanding the psychology behind branding (and how people
“work” in relation to the brands they come back to again and again), and one
is connected to understanding yourself and how you have to align the values
you want to project with the mindset needed in order to project those specific
values.
