The What, Why And How Of Personal Branding

We, humans, are social beings. Our social relationships with the members of society are completely dependent on how we conduct ourselves in front of them. How we behave in society helps people develop a perception of us. If I am always praising myself among people, putting others down and forcing my opinion on others, many will perceive me as narcissistic. Now, with the advent of the internet, more specifically, social media, we all have become open to the judgement of others and vice versa. Besides, our digital presence has also become the basis for others to decide whether they would be interested in developing connections with us or not. In times like these, personal branding has become crucial.  

What is personal branding?

To put it simply, personal branding is promoting yourself as if you are a brand. It involves building an image of yourself. It is about displaying your skills, personality and life in a way that you want people to see. It is a conscious effort of creating a certain kind of image about yourself in the minds of others. 

Personal branding is also a kind of storytelling about your personal and professional life. Personal branding combines your real life with your online presence. How you speak to people when you meet them face to face, the decisions you make in life, the social circle you maintain, the images you share online, the comments you post on social media, etc all are a part of personal branding. 

Why must you build a personal brand?

Personal branding is like building your own online portfolio. If you want to stand out from the rest, bring people’s attention to your work or life and be considered influential, building a personal brand is a must. It makes way for opportunities. When you put out your work or yourself for public scrutiny, people who are interested in collaborating with you find it easy to connect with you. This way you can be offered the work you were desiring to get your hands on for long. Further, the more you share things with your audience, the most trust and credibility you gain. Your active presence helps people relate to you and feel for you. 

Here are a few things you can do to build a strong personal brand for yourself: 

• You can start by creating a unique logo or username for yourself. Famous examples of personal branding are ‘Mostly Sane’, ‘Beer Biceps’, ‘Dr Cuterus’, ‘Ankur Warikoo’, etc.
• Have a personal branding strategy. Look for unique ways in which you can engage your audience. Build content that attractive and of value to your audience.
• Build a narrative and maintain it. While some go ahead with humour, some choose to be straightforward.
• Don’t hesitate to express your personal views and opinions. Have your own voice.
• Study what’s working best for your audience and bank on it. Measure your success and study the reason behind it. By doing so, you can expand on it to further increase your growth.
• Be consistent on all your platforms. You cannot disappear for weeks after posting a picture. This won’t get you anywhere. Perform some activity, no matter how small, daily.
• Know when your audience is most active and schedule your posts/activity accordingly.
• Show that you are easily approachable. Communicate with your audience. Learn the skill of communicating smartly with your audience.
• These are some of the basic yet effective ways in which you can build a strong personal brand.

Personal branding, in a competitive world like ours, has helped many crack open opportunities that might have taken ages to come to them. If you are someone who wishes to get yourself noticed, strong personal branding is the way forward.