Many politicians think that talent or, above all, contacts are essential to become a reference in politics. It is relative: in politics, it is not the person with the most talent or a good portfolio of contacts who becomes a leader, but the one who knows best how influence and power work.
Personal branding is part of a politician’s power of attraction and conviction. The personal brand identifies us. It is what voters vote for… or not. It is the image that others have of us. It is the mark we leave, what others feel or remember when they hear or pronounce our name.
The main strategy in political or professional life is to be able to develop our main virtues or strengths, that which distinguishes us from the rest and which society values. To achieve this with a better chance of success, we must be clear about what we want, and what we do not want, and define a personal plan or explicit roadmap.
Building a personal brand is key when it comes to creating emotional bonds and convincing voters and improving positions or progressing in one’s own party. In a sea of politicians (deputies, senators, mayors, etc.) it is crucial to differentiate oneself and be recognized, to make oneself familiar, because people trust more in those we know best and with whom we share values, emotions, perceptions and vision of the world. It is necessary to create, based on self-knowledge, our values and our authenticity, a personal brand that makes us different, to empower us or, sometimes, to survive.
Personal branding distinguishes us from other politicians and creates emotional bonds with the people to whom it is addressed. It touches their hearts. Ideally, it should reinforce us as a reliable, useful, valuable, accessible, rigorous and sincere politician and, nowadays, it is very important not to have any hint of corruption or paid favors in our biography. It is imperative to have a simple and constant positioning: an own message, easy to understand, relevant, truthful and coherent.
Out of loyalty, it is necessary that our personal brand is consistent with that of our party, because the party asks us, above all, for obedience. However, the party should bear in mind the importance of enhancing not only the party’s brand but also that of its politicians, beyond the main leader, because if we enhance the politicians we are enhancing the party and vice versa. Thus, a party can also be defined as a system or family of brands: the party itself and its militants, among which public officials stand out: all of them must share values and principles, but all of them have their own identity, which must be differentiated and valued.
Personal brand management, as we understand it, is not about creating false images of the politician, but about being genuine, authentic. We need to present ourselves and behave before others as we are, and to improve, of course, those competencies or skills that may hinder our progress.
Authenticity or genuineness is a key competence in our era, the era of transparency, in which everything is known or will be known, because, with social networks, every citizen is a potential means of communication.
Another key competency, because it is, even though most people don’t know it is, is trust. Trust is not only a great universal value and an emotional bond. It is also a competency and, as a competency, we can learn to generate more of it through proper training. Who wins an election or progresses in politics? The one who generates more trust.
Personal branding is “professional life insurance”. Also in politics. Manage your brand with a unique method.
