You don’t get a second chance to make a lasting first impression. It’s a powerful statement, but it’s also daunting when you don’t know about personal branding, its value as a determinant of success, and how to curate a strong brand. What does it mean for you to have a personal brand? Do I really need one? Who would see it? Where would you share it? In this article, we delve into the power of personal branding and explain how this can boost your professional reputation.
What is Personal Branding?
Here’s what personal branding is not. It’s not just a catchy tagline. Nor can it be reduced to having an active and attractive online presence on every social platform. Personal branding is your personal story and narrative that tells the world who you are, what you do, and what you stand for. Your personal brand is an authentic representation of all these things, sharing what value you bring to any room.
Why is Personal Branding Important in Today’s Business Landscape?
Gone are the days when branding was solely attributed to big companies and organisations. Personal branding is a cornerstone of success in today’s business landscape for several compelling reasons.
- Increased competition: The globalised nature of business means you are contending with other professionals and entrepreneurs across the world. Each one vying for the same opportunities. Having a personal brand is what will set you apart from the competition.
- First impressions: Businesses have gone digital and a lot of the first impressions are done online. Potential employees, partners, and clients do online searches before making decisions. Your online presence tells your page visitors who you are, and if what you represent online, aligns with their organisational brand.
- Career growth: A strong personal brand allows you to showcase your skills and experience. It also helps you facilitate meaningful connections and make partnerships that can help you reach your career goals.
- Thought leadership: Developing a solid personal brand and creating a narrative that speaks to who you are, helps you highlight your strengths, address issues, and frame your story to align with your goals. When you share your thoughts, expertise, and insights through contention creation, you assert your authority and establish your position as a thought leader.
Visibility and differentiating yourself from others through personal branding empower you to take ownership of your professional identity, guiding how others perceive you and the value you bring.
Creating Your Personal Brand
Building a personal brand is not a one-time thing. Instead, it’s an ongoing process of refinement that changes as you grow, and it’s an investment in your long-term personal development and professional success. Here are a few things to consider as you develop your brand:
Self-assessment: You need to know yourself and understand your strengths, values, and goals. Alison’s Workplace Personality Assessment is designed to help you discover and answer the essential questions at your brand’s heart.
Define your target audience: Who do you want to see and experience your personal brand? Who are you trying to influence?
Develop a unique value proposition: What sets you apart? What do you have that no one else has? What makes you different from everyone else?
Craft your brand message: How do you want to be perceived? What impression do you want to give to others about yourself?
Create a consistent online presence: Social media is not just for posting photos or leaving comments. It’s a powerful tool that when used correctly, can be a valuable way to share your brand to a global audience. Learn which platforms your audience visits and use them to build and grow your brand.
Invest in yourself: An investment in yourself pays long-term dividends. Investing in learning and presenting your continuing education lets people know that you have a growth mindset, a valuable trait in today’s business landscape. Sign up for a few courses to kickstart your learning journey:
- Six Traits of Executive You
- Persuasion and Personal Branding
- Hacks That Will Build Your Personal Brand Online
- The Ten Laws for Personal Success
- Building Personal Character and Integrity for Business Success
Your personal brand will evolve over time. It’s a reflection of your ongoing efforts to refine and communicate your identity, growth, expertise, and values to create a lasting impact in your professional pursuits.
What to Remember When Building Your Personal Brand
- Have a strong professional reputation. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently,” Warren Buffet. Be conscious of what you put out because everything you do, affects your professional reputation.
- Personal branding goes beyond just a resume. A great custom-designed resuméis a professional way to document your skills and experience. Utilise a Resumé Builder to design your resumé and understand that, although a document, it influences the perceptions of those who will read it.
- Show yourself off. Your personal brand can introduce you to people, spaces, and opportunities that you may otherwise have missed. It’s here that you differentiate yourself from others in the job market. Let your brand demonstrate your skills and knowledge and propel you in career advancement and opportunities.
- Strengthen your platform. Come up with creative ways to showcase expertise: writing articles, giving presentations, participating in webinars, etc. Also, use this platform to show how you are continually learning and making efforts to stay up-to-date in your field.
Your brand serves as a strategic tool to network both online and offline. Share it with people. Let those who know you advocate for you. It is through your personal brand that you make new connections and find ways to grow and people who can walk that journey with you. With anything you do, you’re bound to make mistakes, experience challenges, receive pushback, self-doubt, and many other things. But you need to persevere and, better yet, use any setbacks as stepping stones to become and build the best version of yourself.
There is a strong relationship between your personal brand and your professional reputation. Be intentional about aligning these two because when people know who you are and what you stand for, they may be more trusting of doing business with you professionally. Everything you do, or don’t do, matters.
The power of personal branding lies not just in its ability to make you memorable and stand out from the rest, but in its capacity to foster trust, and credibility and ensure your message resonates with those who see and hear you. As you craft your personal brand, remember that your authenticity is the cornerstone of your personal brand. This ensures that any connections and networks you form align with your brand – your true self. Just as a strong reputation can open doors, a consistent and well-crafted personal brand can open doors you never knew existed.
