You are who you are!
What is Personal Branding?
Definition says:
Personal Branding focuses on people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.
In the past previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, whereas the personal-branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging.
Just like a brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image.
Same way personal brand is anything—a symbol, design, name, sound, reputation, emotion, employees tone, and much more—that separates one person from another.
We may think Branding of on business level, but today Branding is equally important on the personal level.
For a Company its ‘Brand’ is one of the most important factors for its eventual success. Branding is what builds us expectation about the company for the services or products offered.
Personal Branding used to be nothing more than simple business card with one’s name on it, the time before development of social media & an individualized society.
Today people along with focusing on companies are even interested in doing business with people. Putting a strong personal brand on the front-line of your sales process can dramatically improve conversion rates.
After all, you might work for a business that works with other businesses, but its people working with people and that’s what makes business relationships valuable. Your personal brand builds your business, but it still centers on you as an individual.
I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. -- Oprah Winfrey
If not that some also use their personal brand to consult, freelance or drive more traffic or more trust towards their company.
Every person’s personal brand starts with their name and extends to what services or products they offer to their Clients. This begins a journey which they build in & evolve as and when going ahead on the journey one meets new people growing connections.
There are both online and offline means for personal branding yourself today.
Offline method is a tried and sure way to get and maintain Clients. It helps one establish a reputation and an identity.
If you want to try when you leave your house and interact with people around town, make sure you maintain a positive and professional appearance in keeping with your brand. Carry business cards with you, and watch for potential clients.
People love supporting local businesses and professionals, and if you manage to form a relationship with others in person, they will be more eager to look into your services online.
Your brand should reflects the person you are, always keep it simple. Maintain a more plain but lingering presence, and people will begin to recognize you and respect you.
Personal branding, via social media, is about making a full-time commitment to the journey of defining yourself. If your content is the fuel for your personal brand, social media is the engine.
If you want you can keep a balance between business-related updates and personal updates, so that others will see you as being both professional and personable. The online method is a still developing but increasingly powerful way for anyone to go global.
But the combined effect of these two branding strategies is more than double.
In summary, your personal brand is an extension of who you are.
Building a recognizable personal brand opens professional opportunities.
Creating a vision for your future and implementing that vision can lead to:
A better job
Better contacts and clients for your company
Industry recognition
And more
Keep in mind Personal Brand dose not mean self-promotion.
View your personal brand as a trademark; an asset that you must protect while continuously molding and shaping it. Your personal brand is an asset that must be managed with the intention of helping others benefit from having a relationship with you and / or by being associated with your work and the industry you serve.
Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. -- Jeff Bezos
Your personal brand communicates your value to the world -- not only to potential employers, but to everyone.
Its more than a Logo.
Have you defined your personal brand?
If 'Yes'
What strategies are you following to develop your personal brand?
If 'No'
What is holding you back, lets get started!
Do you wish to add up on the subject? Share your views.
