What comes to mind when you hear the term “personal brand”?
If you’re thinking social media, and you totally don’t like to post… don’t cringe just yet. I promise you I’ll be talking about more than just social media on this blog post.
In this day and age, do you know that you have a personal brand, regardless of whether you choose to acknowledge it, or not? That’s not all… do you know that, if done right, you can make a living out of your personal brand? I see I now have your attention… but before I get into the juicy deets of personal branding, let’s start from the basics….
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WHAT IS PERSONAL BRANDING?
Sprout Social defines personal branding as “the process of defining and promoting what you stand for as an individual. Your personal brand is a culmination of the experiences, skills and values that differentiate you.” Which then, begs the question, what is the difference between the terms, “personal brand”, and “personal branding”? Simply put, a personal brand is rooted in the mind of people, while personal branding is the effort you put, whether directly or indirectly, to communicate and present your value to the world.
Post- Covid, personal branding has become even more important. Social media has forever changed the way we interact and conduct business. That’s why branding is no longer just a tool for major corporations and companies to market themselves. Today, your personal brand is your reputation. No matter how you feel about your online presence, you already have a personal brand. Even if you haven’t optimized your LinkedIn profile or any other social media platform to provide much information, you’re branding yourself in a way that could potentially be interpreted as: “I’m not investing energy into my brand.” Indeed, career experts and coaches have gone on to brand LinkedIn as a tool that does more than your CV. Joan the Career Coach defines LinkedIn as “a CV that is always working for you, even when you’re not.” Food for thought!
In 2018, CareerBuilder found that 70% of employers researched candidates online, and what they found influenced whether the candidate moved forward. Unless people know you personally, what people think, feel and, in turn, say about you is based on what they find online. Employers will look you up on the internet. Your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career.
Now that we have an idea of what personal branding is, let’s get into common myths and misconceptions I have heard about this type of branding from my research, shall we?
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Myth #1: Personal Branding is only for celebrities and influencers.
On the contrary, personal branding applies to everyone – whether you’re actively managing your brand, or not. This is why taking control of your story and how you choose to show up to the world is important. If you don’t actively tell it, the world will do it for you, which can turn out to be a disastrous affair at times. And while you may not necessarily want to be on all social media platforms if you’re not a huge fan, it would be great to have a presence on atleast one platform. Before we move on to the next myth, have you ever asked yourself what pops up when your name is searched on the web? This would be a good time to reflect. I also have more tips on the same in this article. Thank me later.
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Myth #2: Personal Branding is only done on social media.
On the contrary, it is very possible to build a brand off social media. This was pretty much how branding used to take place before the internet. Offline brand building is actually, dare I say, even more important than online brand building. This could heavily be due to the fact that, face-to-face connections are more valuable into buying who you are as a person. People are able to relate with your personality and build deeper and meaningful connections with you physically. Remember, people only vibe or do business with people they know, like and trust. Branding on social media is very important, but should only be used as a tool to amplify your brand. Offline branding today still takes place through the form of networking, events, and social gatherings, just to mention a few of my favourites.
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Myth #3: Personal Branding is only for social media.
How would it appear to you if you found someone very influential at your church hanging out in a club at night? I don’t know about you but to me, that would be totally weird… preaching water but drinking wine kind of vibes.
Your online brand has to sync with your offline brand.
You also need to be very clear about your CORE VALUES and have a deep understanding of who you are so you are able to better communicate a CONSISTENT and AUTHENTIC brand message that reflects who you are.
What you do offline catches up with you online.
Remember the Mandi Sarro saga two years ago?
This is how serious personal branding can get. Your brand can either make, or break you!
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Myth #4: Personal Branding is a short-term affair.
On the contrary, personal branding is not an overnight affair. It takes lots of patience, time, energy, commitment and investment to build a credible personal brand. Even so, try not to overthink it. If you look at it as just a person who is going about their daily life, documenting what they learn, and consistently sharing that out with the world, it becomes much easier. The main goal is to ensure that you remain consistent.
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#Brain Teaser
Speaking of consistency… here’s a practical example through a question:
I use social media (specifically Instagram) to shop for atleast 99.9% of my outfits.
On this particular day, I want to buy a dress and I come across two online accounts that have very good dresses for sale, but the last time they each posted on their main feed was one year ago. However, one of the accounts has a story highlight. Which of the two accounts am I likely to buy from, and why?
Let me know what you think in the comments section, and I’ll be sure to let you know if you got it right!
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My take on why personal branding is important in 2024
1. Personal Branding helps you stand out from the crowd – What you can do, probably a million other people on the planet can do. A personal brand helps you stand out by giving you the chance to showcase your unique value proposition. If you’re a business owner, people might even buy from your business just because they like certain aspects about you that are completely not related to the product/ service you’re offering. There are people who will buy from you because they like your personality, or lifestyle. Never shy away from showing what makes you unique because that could be exactly what will get your potential clients choosing your business brand over other brands in the market.
2. Personal Branding leads to opportunity – If done right, personal branding can open doors for you that would otherwise never have opened. This is where social media comes in handy in amplifying your brand. Online, you are able to connect with people from all parts of the world. Which brings me to my next point…
3. Personal Branding helps you meet and connect with like-minded people – Your brand helps you attract people with whom you share common interests and similarities with. Nowadays, we have groups for almost every single topic you could think of, especially on social media. If you wanted to find a community around healthy living, facebook has tonnes of those. Equally, there’s a plethora of career / industry-related groups on platforms like LinkedIn. There’s features like X Spaces on X (formerly Twitter), that bring people together to discuss specific topics… I could go on and on. You could also be a thought leader and create such communities that impact and influence people. The world today is a global village!
4. Personal Branding allows you to choose how you want to show up to the world – With social media and Google, it’s easy for anyone to find out information about you with just a few clicks. As a result, it’s essential to be aware of how you are presented online. Personal branding can help you control the narrative about yourself and let you introduce yourself in the best light possible.
While this is just a fraction of my take on personal branding, it’s important to note that there’s so much more that comes with personal branding.
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How can I work towards creating my personal brand in 2024?
Here are my 2 highly recommended sources on where to start:
1. Olive Gachara’s Youtube Channel
2. My February read was a book on personal branding, and it dives quite deep into the topic. I will be sharing more information about this book on my Instagram at the end of the month. If you aren’t already giving me a follow over there, please do so so you don’t miss out!
On your journey to creating your personal brand, always remember, “You do not wish for it, you work for it.”
Feel free to absolutely connect with me on my socials via the social links below:
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