Why should people remember you? 凭什么让别人记住你?
What makes you stand out in a crowd? 如何让自己在人群中脱颖而出?
What makes you different from other people in your field? 在你的领域内怎么让自己与众不同?
How can others relate to you? 别人怎样才能和你聊起来?
If you can’t answer those questions, perhaps it’s time to think about how you brand yourself. Branding is the process of attributing a characteristic, quality, or image to something in order to associate an item with those qualities. For instance, think of Disney, and you think wholesome, family entertainment, right? It’s what the company is known for. This is not an accident, but rather, by design.
如果你未能回答上述问题,介下来你就有必要考虑下怎么给自己做做品牌了。做品牌就是将一种个性、品质或者形象依附到某种事物,从而使一种东西与这些特质联系起来。拿迪斯尼来说,你会想到完美、家庭娱乐,对不对?这就是迪斯尼之所以出名的原因。这决不是偶然,这是设计!
Branding isn’t just for companies like Nike, McDonald’s, and Disney anymore, though. Today’s entrepreneur realizes that if you want to stand out, you need to brand yourself. Branding is what separates Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, and Dooce from people you’ve never heard of.
做品牌决不仅仅是类似耐克、麦当劳或迪斯尼要做的。当代的企业人意识到如果你想杰出,你必须给自己做品牌。品牌就是你如何把Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, 和 Dooce从从未听说的人中区分开来的东西。
They wear their passions on their sleeves, they invite you into a part of their lives, and most importantly, people can relate to them. If people like you, they are a lot more likely to buy from you, rather than someone they don’t know.
他们时刻跃跃欲试,他们让你参与到他们的生活中,最重要的是人们可以与他打交道。如果你赢得了人们的喜爱,那么他们往往就会买你的帐,而不会光顾那些他们从来没听说过的人。
So, what should your brand be?
那么,你将会做怎样的品牌?
Focus on what makes you unique and on what makes you different (or more awesome) than others in your business or niche. Below are some tips on how to develop your brand.
多关注于那些在你的生意或者职位上使你比其他人特殊并且可以让你与众不同(或更让人敬畏)的东西。下面介绍你几点开发你品牌的方法。
Be you. Don’t be a phoney. People’s phoney detectors are more finely-tuned than ever. Be you, or a slightly exaggerated version of you. No, everyone won’t like you. And yeah, you might have to deal with some haters. But that’s life. And chances are, if you’re authentic, you will find an audience who appreciates you.
做你自己。不要虚伪。人们对虚伪的警觉性已经比以往任何时候都敏感。做你自己,甚至可以做稍微夸张点的自己。不然,人们可能就不太会喜欢你。当然了,你有时需要对付一些讨厌你的家伙。可那恰恰就是生活。但是你一旦是个诚实的人,你一定会发现欣赏你的听众。
Find your passion. What interests you? Maybe it’s comic books, maybe it’s recipes, or maybe it’s alcohol. Businessman Gary Vaynerchuk used his knowledge of wine to create the successful Wine Library TV, a daily video blog show about wine. He became THE WINE GUY. He is now a best-selling author, appears on TV shows, has a satellite radio show, and is considered one of the leading experts on social media.
寻找自己的激情。你对什么感兴趣?可能就是一本笑话书,或者仅仅是一本菜谱,又或者是白酒。商人Gary Vaynerchuk用他在酒方面的知识创造了成功的酒水电视图书馆,一个展示酒水的每日视频博客。他成了酒水达人。还是一位最叫卖的作家,时常出现在电视节目里,自己拥有一个卫星广播台,并被认为是社会媒体的领先专业人士之一。
What is your area of expertise? Chances are there’s an audience for your passions. The more unique and focused your niche, the better, it means less people are competing for your audience.
你的专长是什么?很有可能有人会倾听你激情。你越专一并倾心与你的职业越好,那意味着会有更少的人来和你争夺观众。
Tell stories. People connect better when you use stories. If your passion is art, write stories about the piece you’re talking about. Tell a story about the artist. Nearly any topic can be made interesting through good storytelling. Ira Glass of the radio and TV show, This American Life is an excellent example of how powerful storytelling can turn the mundane into the sublime.
讲故事。人与人之间可以通过故事更好的交流。如果你钟情于美术,把你谈论的话题写成故事。讲个关于艺术家的故事。通过一个好的故事讲述方法,几乎任何话题都可以很有趣。Ira Glass的电台和电视节目中的美国生活方式,就表现出了讲述故事在将世俗变成崇高的强大作用。
Become an expert in your field. Provide useful (or entertaining) information on your niche. When someone thinks about your niche, you want to be the go-to guy or gal. Put yourself out there for interviews, and interview the movers and shakers in your niche (or the interesting people if there’s not much moving or shaking going on). Soon, you will be the face of your niche.
做你领域的专业人士。提供写你职业上有用的(或有趣的)信息。当别人想到你的职业,你恰恰就是被想到的家伙或姑娘。随时准备出去拜访,拜访那些你行业里呼风唤雨的人(或者不能呼风唤雨但是很有趣的人)。很快你就成为了你职业的代表人。
Create a community. Social media has made it incredibly easy to find your fans and build your tribe. Use Facebook to create a fan page devoted to your brand. Use Twitter to connect with your audience. Use your blog to build your authority with useful articles and interviews. Just remember that the key to social media is to be social.
建立一个小组。社会媒体使得寻找自己的粉丝和建立一个部落变的不可思议的简单。用Facebook创建你的粉丝页来树立你的品牌。使用Twitter与你的观众联络。使用你的部落格通过有用的文章和访谈建立自己的威信。一定要记住,社会传媒的关键就是社会化。
If people comment or email you, make sure you respond as often as possible. Use Twitter to promote other people’s stuff more than your own. This shows that you’re interested in others and increases the likelihood of them tweeting your stuff when you put it out there.
如果有人评论或给你发邮件,一定要确保你的回复及时。使用Twitter多推荐写别人的东西。这表示你对他们也感兴趣,还增加了别人在推特上推举你的东西的机会。
Use your new-found position to seek possibilities. Once you’re an established expert, new opportunities will open themselves up to you. Offers to sponsor you, joint venture offers, and invitations to speak, are all possible when you’re an expert.
用你的新职位寻找机会。一旦你被认定为专家,新的机会自动会展示给你。要赞助你的机会,合资企业的邀请,或者谈话邀请,这些在你成为专家后都可能出现。
When struggling author Seth Harwood was being rejected by publishers, he went online, found his audience, and built a community via his blog and podcasts. Then, armed with a fan-base he created all on his own, he was able to secure a book deal and find success.
当不懈奋斗的作家Seth Harwood被出版商拒绝后,他选择了网络来找他的观众,并通过他的部落格和播客建立了小组。然后在拥有了粉丝基地后他自己创造了一切,他成功的得到了书的出版保证最后成功了。
Be aware and monitor your brand. Now that you have a public profile, you need to make sure you don’t go saying stupid things which can come back to haunt you. A drunken rant on Twitter, a public dispute with a customer, or leaving nasty comments on the internet, can instantly stain the good reputation you’ve built for yourself.
一定要清楚的认识并控制你的品牌。当你有了公众形象,你一定要确保不说些愚蠢的事情,防止这些事情不断的萦绕着你。Twitter上的酒后狂言,与顾客在公共场所的争吵,或在网络上的肮脏留言,这些可能立刻玷污你苦心经营的自己的良好声望。
Remember, people have to feel good about your brand. If they see you as a jerk, your brand is doomed. Use Google alerts to monitor what’s being said about you. If you see a situation where you can create a positive outcome, step in and interact. Just be careful to avoid trolls looking only to get a negative response from you.
切记,让人们要对你的品牌保持好感。如果他们视你为混蛋,那么你的品牌也就已经注定了。使用Google提醒来管理关于你的言论。如果你一旦找到了给自己树立积极形象的机会,立即执行并去互动。最好谨慎 的避开那些仅仅为了引诱你有负面回应的诱饵。