Personal brand - what it is and why you should have one

What is a personal brand? We're all familiar with product branding...just look at all of the TV commercials out there, especially things like cereal...who doesn't know Tony? Snap, Crackle or Pop? Toucan Sam? Or Sonny? But how does that relate to an individual?

According to Wikipedia:

Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. While previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal-branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in a 1997 article by Tom Peters.

Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual, group, or organization. Personal branding often involves the application of one's name to various products. For example, the celebrity real-estate mogul turned President of the United States, Donald Trump uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g. Trump Tower). Marketers McNally and Speak define the personal brand in this way: "Your brand is a perception or emotion, maintained by somebody other than you, that describes the total experience of having a relationship with you."

Whether or not we agree with his politics, we can all admit that Trump is really good about branding himself.

From an article in The Balance:

Personal branding used to include nothing more than a simple business card with your name on it, but with the development of social media and an increasingly individualized society, the brand you build around yourself is perhaps the single most important way to stand out in your spheres of influence. If you're beginning to think about your personal brand, here are some key things to remember.

Personal Branding is the means by which people remember you.

It's more than a trademark; it is how you present yourself online and offline to potential clients and customers. Your personal brand builds your business, but it still centers around you as an individual.

 Also from The Balance:

According to a Nielson Consumer Survey, only 33 percent of buyers trust messages from a brand, while 90 percent trust messages from an individual they know. That means that if you're a business owner, you have a much better chance of winning people's trust if you bond with them first as a human being and encourage your employees to do the same.

 A little further in the same article:

Also, remember that personal branding is not about selling. It's about making yourself available to others, both clients, and peers. Make sure you have active accounts on like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Keep a balance between business-related updates and personal updates, so that others will see you as being both professional and personable. No one needs to know what you ate for breakfast, but a picture of your cat posing next to a promotional poster will probably get some buzz.

According to the experts, including Mastering Relationship Marketing, 80 - 90% of your content should be personal, with no more than 20% being about your business on your personal page and reverse those percentages on your business page.

Here are 4 tips from another  article in The Balance:

1. What career or business attributes would you say people recognize you for?
2. What value would you say you provide?  
3. What makes you unique?
4. Who is your target?

And whether you know it or not, you've got a brand on social media. You may be known as a free thinker, a political commentator, a wine drinker, or a person who celebrates interesting days.

From Forbes:

The question is no longer IF you have a personal brand, but if you choose to guide and cultivate the brand or to let it be defined on your behalf. Here are seven ways to start building an awesome personal brand.

1. Start thinking of yourself as a brand
2. Audit your online presence
3. Secure a personal website
4. Find ways to produce value
5. Be purposeful in what you share
6. Associate with other strong brands
7. Reinvent

You may want to consult a professional to help you build your personal brand...I highly recommend my friend Kimmer Sue, Chief Visionary at Vision Graphix. She can help you create an amazing personal brand. Check out some examples of her work on Facebook!

Personal branding is also part of what we teach at the Business Acceleration Workshop, along with many other topics to help you build your business.

Interesting days

Today - Falafel Appreciation Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, Nougat Day, Spinach Day and Purple Day

Tomorrow - World Theater Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

Next Monday - Children’s Book Day, Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, Love Your Produce Manager Day, World Autism Day and Ferret Day

April 26 - Hug an Australian Day, Alien Day, Pretzel Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Help A Horse Day, Richter Scale Day, Thank you Thursday and Get Organized Day