Brand Storytelling-My Global Niche Revelation

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 My Global Niche Revelation

(Originally posted at Global Niche)

I had a revelation in the GlobalNiche program.

For two years I’ve been growing a ‘You’ centered business in a part of the world where people usually do not draw attention to themselves and certainly not with personal details in a professional setting.

You can imagine how my work as a personal branding consultant might face a deeply-rooted cultural contradiction. It’s a new field in India.

As one of India’s pioneers in personal branding, I speak at many events and am featured in the nation’s press. When I talk of the necessity for personal growth to be successful on social media, my audience often gives me a puzzled look. Social media itself is a new phenomenon in India (from a professional and branding perspective) and relating it with personal development, spirituality and wisdom surprises people.

For me, life is but a journey to enlarge, excel and evolve. That is why I decided to join the GlobalNiche program in March 2013. I am committed to evolving my professional approach here in New Delhi. I have to say the impact of the program on me has exceeded my expectations and I am a delighted customer. Now I know I am on the right track.

To lay the groundwork for what has changed for me, here is how I see the experience of branding yourself.

It’s a three step process. Enlarge as a Human Being. Excel as a Social Media Being. Evolve as a Personal Branded Being.

Step 1-ENLARGE as a Human Being
Personal growth is the starting point and continues through the journey of life. The more you promote yourself, the more you are seen as a navel gazer and a person trying to prove himself/herself. Instead of filling your emotional and ego tanks, strive to fill the tanks of others. Enlarge and nurture your network too and you will end up getting enlarged yourself.

Step 2-EXCEL as a Social Media Being
Social media is a glasshouse. It can be very difficult to hide your true personality for long. Acting selfish all the time can backfire as ‘unfriend’ and ‘remove connection’ options are easy to use. Social media is primarily for sharing and not selling. As you start growing as a person, the results are visible sooner or later. Your network starts respecting you for your traits; be it wisdom, knowledge, caring attitude and so on.

Step 3-EVOLVE as a Personal Brand(ed) Being
You have created a personal brand. Now the brand needs to grow and evolve. Communicate and refine what you are. Keep asking your connections and friends to give feedback for your ideas and business concepts. In case you were wondering, growth and evolution never end — until you become enlightened!

I’m an unconscious storyteller. Since my childhood, I  have naturally resorted to stories to explain situations and concepts.

In going through SUM-it UP’s steps which asked me to contemplate my strengths and resources, I realised my own global niche lies in storytelling as a branding tool.

It’s what I like to do. It’s what the people I want to reach can understand and feel comfortable with. It’s full of depth and meaning. Story delivers information, connects people on an emotional level and builds community.

What a floodgate that realisation has opened.

Now I feel like a consciously passionate storyteller.

I have realised that Indians being a community-centric culture prefer to inspire others through sharing their success stories and anecdotes. They prefer building brands as more of a byproduct rather than promote themselves directly.

Now I will be exploring how I can communicate my guidance as stories, as well as support my clients and students in telling their own stories.

In  a recent slideshow I incorporate this storytelling lesson to show how story can work as a branding tool. In a recent blog post about life lessons that led to social media success, I reveal a personal story about how I had been a child with spectacles at the age of four, who had been humiliated, kept out of outdoor sports teams and who had missed out on childhood fun. We all have a tender detail like this.

Thanks to the GlobalNiche program, I have new clarity, new skills and new colleagues.

I’ve received exposure to world class practices in social media & content marketing. The program made me aware of powerful storytelling tools like Storify and the concept of Tweeting stories on Twitter. Thanks to GlobalNiche, I have also connected with other passionate storytellers and authors across the world. We have been regularly sharing our learning and how we are using storytelling in our various and diverse lives and work. To see storytelling in action as a solution for so many kinds of professionals is a good model for me and the people I serve.

To sum up what GlobalNiche taught me:

• Getting the best out of your content.
• Killing many birds with one stone (for instance, using the same content on several platforms).
• And, using content marketing for brand building.

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Dr Amit Nagpal is a Personal Branding Consultant and Mega Success Coach. His favourite tools include storytelling, social media, online branding and inspirational quotes. He is based in New Delhi, India and specializes in personal branding with a holistic touch. His philosophy is, “Enlarge as a Human Being, Excel as a Social Media Being and Evolve as a Personal Brand”. His current clientele includes knowledgepreneurs including doctors, leadership coaches, life coaches and marketing professionals in India, Spain & South Africa.

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