The Brand Called You....
“Regardless
of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in,
all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own
companies: Me Inc “Tom Peter
Personal
branding is a goal driven online communication based on the appearance, choice
of channels presence and actions which enable the target audience of the
individual or brand to identify who the individual/ brand is, their interests
and the work they perform (Vilander, 2017).
Entrepreneurs with astounding online presence
Chiara Ferragni
A blogger and an Instagramer. She started her blog The Blonde Salad in 2009 where she personally branded herself based on her interest towards fashion, travel and photography which was read by a vast number of people and led to her unbelievable success of being endorsed by many fashion brands and to owning her own shoe brand. (James, 2015)Richard Branson
He used twitter as a platform to constantly
exhibit his down to earth personality
as an adventurous friendly person. Through his personal branding he was able to
build trust among the customers and employees and also brought in great success
to virgin group. (Johnson, 2017)
Online personal branding in corporate level
Even in the
corporate level majority of people tend to trust messages that are given by
someone they believe to know rather than basing their trust on a message that
comes from a brand. Richard Branson’s online brand caused the Virgin group to
extend across over 200 companies because people trusted the company to be
customer centric and welcoming just like Branson’s personal brand. (Johnson,
2017)
Therefore
since personal branding is very important in attaining our career goals, what can we
do to enhance our online personal branding?
Know Your Audience
Don’t try to impress everyone, Identify your target niche audience and create content that would inspire, educate and entertain them.
Always give
your audience content of what they want and not what you feel they want. For
instance in the corporate level most of the organizations use LinkedIn and
Facebook to hire employees therefore it is much better if you give the company
what they want and refrain from giving out unsuitable and proactive photos and
information that would risk your opportunity. (Johnson, 2015)
Know Yourself
Don’t try to
fake it, because at a certain point it will cause an imbalance on you social
media platforms and you day to day life which would destroy your career.
Justine
Beiber and Shawn Mendes are two well-known artists in this era that has reached
fame through YouTube; these two Pop artists were identified for their own style of singing since they
express them through their singing rather than imitating another celebrity’s
style.
Therefore
when giving out information always be true to yourself and avoid from deceiving
your audience, because that would give you the advantage of building trust
among your audience rather than being a laughing stock to them.
Be Steadfast
Sharing
often is very important to have top of the mind awareness among your audience
but be mindful not to overshare so much as that would cause annoyance among
your audience. It is very much recommended for you to have your own content
calendar determining what and when to post (Brian, 2018)
Also when it
comes to reliability make sure you maintain a consistent voice, logo and a brand
messaging across all social media channels to be recognized in the corporate
level. Take a look at the two snapshots of the twitter and Facebook page of
Otara Gunewardena who is a successful entrepreneur in Sri lanka
Build Your Network
Engage with
other communities and groups as this would enable you to
build authority around your personal brand.
All the
social media platforms give everyone the opportunity to connect and communicate
with groups and other communities to share their insights and expertise in the
areas and industries they are interested in. These groups are very helpful to
you since they give you the privilege of making new friends, gathering new
idea, expanding your knowledge and skills and motivation to achieve your goals
through which you will be able to surround yourself with other professional
networks that would enhance your branding and attract the attention of the
audience you are trying to appeal to.
("10 Steps
to Building Your Personal Brand on Social Media", n.d.)
Brian, M. (2018). A Guide to Building Your Personal Brand through Social Media [Blog]. Retrieved from http://www.citethisforme.com/cite/blog
James, C. (2015). 15 People Who Became Rich And Famous Thanks To Social Media [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.thetalko.com/15-people-who-became-rich-and-famous-thanks-to-social-media
Johnson, C. (2017). Six Famous Entrepreneurs Who Show How Your Personal Brand Powers Deal Flow [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298599
Johnson, K. (2015). PERSONAL BRANDING IN SOCIAL MEDIA. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281974827_Personal_branding_in_social_media_Marketing_Management_Association_Conference_Proceedings?enrichId=rgreq-b7747b3832f9f3547be755e8ebfdedbf-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI4MTk3NDgyNztBUzoyNzY2Mjg1NDc2MjA4NjRAMTQ0Mjk2NDc5MzExOA%3D%3D&el=1_x_2&_esc=publicationCoverPdf
Lorenz, M. (2016). 8 lessons from celebrities with great personal brands [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.careerbuilder.com/advice/lessons-from-celebrities-with-great-personal-brands
Petruca, I. PERSONAL BRANDING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. Retrieved from http://ijcr.eu/articole/345_10%20Irina%20PETRUCA.pdf
Refusing to settle. (2017). How to Market Yourself on Social Media | 5 Awesome Personal Branding Tips [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5rnBgda5bo
Video Influencers. (2018). Advanced Personal Branding and Social Media Tips with Peter Voogd [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRvRJ5iZO08
Vilander, J. (2017). Personal Branding on Social Media and Social Media Based Entrepreneurship. Lahti University Of Applied Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/138917/Vilander_Jenni.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
If I am to apply this in pursuing my career in the fashion industry firstly I must understand my own personal styling and promote it
rather than imitating others. I should identify my niche audience and keep them updated about my skills
and passion, form networks among people within this industry through which I
can enhance my branding and achieve my goals.
References
10 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand on Social Media. [Blog]. Retrieved from https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/2017-11-09-10-steps-to-building-your-personal-brand-on-social-mediaBrian, M. (2018). A Guide to Building Your Personal Brand through Social Media [Blog]. Retrieved from http://www.citethisforme.com/cite/blog
James, C. (2015). 15 People Who Became Rich And Famous Thanks To Social Media [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.thetalko.com/15-people-who-became-rich-and-famous-thanks-to-social-media
Johnson, C. (2017). Six Famous Entrepreneurs Who Show How Your Personal Brand Powers Deal Flow [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298599
Johnson, K. (2015). PERSONAL BRANDING IN SOCIAL MEDIA. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281974827_Personal_branding_in_social_media_Marketing_Management_Association_Conference_Proceedings?enrichId=rgreq-b7747b3832f9f3547be755e8ebfdedbf-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzI4MTk3NDgyNztBUzoyNzY2Mjg1NDc2MjA4NjRAMTQ0Mjk2NDc5MzExOA%3D%3D&el=1_x_2&_esc=publicationCoverPdf
Lorenz, M. (2016). 8 lessons from celebrities with great personal brands [Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.careerbuilder.com/advice/lessons-from-celebrities-with-great-personal-brands
Petruca, I. PERSONAL BRANDING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA. Retrieved from http://ijcr.eu/articole/345_10%20Irina%20PETRUCA.pdf
Refusing to settle. (2017). How to Market Yourself on Social Media | 5 Awesome Personal Branding Tips [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5rnBgda5bo
Video Influencers. (2018). Advanced Personal Branding and Social Media Tips with Peter Voogd [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRvRJ5iZO08
Vilander, J. (2017). Personal Branding on Social Media and Social Media Based Entrepreneurship. Lahti University Of Applied Sciences. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/138917/Vilander_Jenni.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
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