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Personal Branding has become important today; are you up to date with the concept of the personal brand?
How amazing is it if a person is associated with a BRAND? In the context of products, we know well what a brand means to a company as well as to us. Any product or service to make itself relevant and likeable, needs a unique identity which is created through branding. In the same way, people like us to be identified as personalities, and are nowadays getting linked to or creating their own brand, what is known as ‘Personal Branding’.
Personal branding simply means advertising a person’s skills, abilities, talents and positive reviews through various mediums established in order to get himself/herself noticed by all. In short, it is used to differentiate you from everybody else and is about defining yourself to your various audiences and increasing your credibility amongst them; it also interprets correctly as to what it is that other people seek from you, or that attained value only you have command over, which would further help to establish your name amongst your co-workers, colleagues and customers.
Initially, I thought that ‘Personal Branding’ is only about how to handle your image, and sustain it over a period of tim;. however, what everybody wants to is to be ‘authentic’ and pursue your work in a way which makes its authenticity evident in whatever you do. Your personal brand is not just an image; in fact, it’s a commitment which defines you and moreover, it is the expectation which everybody has of you and which you can set forth through your accountability.
Some people would say that ‘Personal Branding’ is a way to ‘Show Off”; that creating a personal brand and a name for themselves are just ways to show off to the world what they’ve got and that no one is better than them. Well, I am not saying that praising one’s skills and achievements is wrong, but the important thing I believe is to maintain that ‘authenticity’ in it, and not just merely say these things for showing off as everybody is equally good in their own way. Indeed, personal branding of the self is an ongoing process which ultimately lets you learn and grow and to be more self-aware, in creating a unique you.
The most necessary stage while focusing on building up your personal brand would be, according to my personal opinion, knowing yourself internally as well as externally, determining and having a glimpse of yourself, of that additional plus point which differentiates you from the crowd and foremost, what are the specific values which could prove priceless to your audience. Having many social links or networks is not going to help you unless you keep your brand image steady and maintain authenticity throughout the whole process.
Here I would like to place some ‘pros’ and as well as some ‘cons’ of creating your own brand. Its negative effects can be minimized and dealt with if we are aware of what direction it would lead us to.
Established via 100% authenticity:
Bringing on your personal brand means the real ‘you’, comprising of your own skills and driven by your inner passion, which ultimately defines you and delivers to you a sense of accomplishment.
Only commander of your area of expertise :
When you are wholly driven by your passion and master a certain skill, you tend to become the owner of a specific task that can be done only by you, which increases your chances to be referred among people.
Recognition as a ‘Wholesome Brand’ :
Coming in contact with your skills and talents, people tend to value you, which in turn increases your credibility.
Makes you more trustworthy :
Establishing your brand helps to convey to people what you do, and it shows the most genuine way you adopt in delivering your work. It maintains that direct human connection with people.
Introverted nature or behaviour :
Building a personal brand, clearly means that you are disclosing your skills and talents to more and more people. If you’re an introvert, you can’t be a private person enough to make or have a personal brand.
What could be done – Start believing in your skills and try to open up more.
Common identity:
If you want your name to be up on google search engine, despite applying SEO techniques, it could prove to be more challenging, if your name is quite common to stand out distinctly in the eyes of the audience.
What could be done – Creating a blog or website to occupy more known space online, so that more people take interest in knowing you because of your skills.
Not about popularity:
A personal brand works best when creating value based on authentic means, and from a wider perspective, one needs to understand that creating a personal brand is not a ‘ME’ concept. It’s not at all just about making yourself visible only to get praises or to tell people that ‘Yes, you also exist’ and not about how popular you are on social media.
What could be done – Create your own value and how it could help in addressing people’s needs and demands; you can make yourself visible also through other social platforms by giving people that unique piece of information for their benefit, and get yourself noticed.
Knowing that your ‘Personal Brand’ is leading you right:
Another negative point is when you are on your path of defining ‘YOU’ through your brand, just make sure that you are leading yourself in the right direction and get yourself acquainted with the knowledge of where your present work is leading you towards, and where it could be in the future or where the world is heading towards.
What could be done – Creating your skill and values in such a way that it is a little flexible, and when your work demand it, be open to transition and still proves yourself useful to people.
In today’s time, different people have different outlooks, when it comes to creating their personal brand. But the truth is, everybody wants their brand to be noticed and renowned. So, create an intelligent personal brand to survive in today’s race.
A strong personal brand helps you stay consistent and attract more business prospects. Join the September 2017 Women’s Web workshop on How To Create Business Prospects With Personal Branding. This 3-city workshop (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore) is priced at Rs.1599.
Image via Pixabay
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