In the words of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, ”Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” So it all really comes down to how you want to be perceived. That’s what personal branding is: the image you present to the wider public.
The way we see it, you can either let yourself be influenced by the perceptions others have of you or you can take charge of your old self-image and build the kind of personal brand you want. As you’re on this page reading this article, we figure you already understand the importance of personal branding. But maybe you want to learn more about what it is and how you can build one for yourself? It’s also useful to hear of personal branding examples, on both a small and a large scale, which is what we’ve included in this article.
Table of Contents
What is Personal Branding?
Essentially, everybody is a brand. You are a brand. We are a brand. Your personal brand is who you are and what makes you unique. The only difference between you and someone like Martha Stewart, a notable personal brand, is that she is leveraging her personal brand and you are not. If you know how to market yourself as a brand, you too can become a memorable and notable brand.
The Oprah Effect
Personal branding is about more than talent. It’s about the values and the attributes that you represent. Take Oprah for instance. Oprah is a brand born on her own personal history and empathetic personality. People love Oprah because of the way they perceive her and the way she makes them feel. Empathy is her ultimate tool. Oprah radiates empathy with every single one of her guests and it’s the reason why millions of Americans feel a deep connection with her. If you need a good example of an outstanding personal brand, this is it.
Personal Branding Examples
On a smaller scale, Alex Baackes and Bob Galmirini are two good examples of brilliant personal branding.
Alex Baackes is the woman behind Alex in Wanderland, a travel blog with a loyal readership of passionate travellers. But what is it that draws in hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors? It’s not like they’re short of travel blogs. They have a ton to choose from in fact. But they remain loyal to Alex in Wanderland. Why? Because people love her. When you visit the site, you instantly feel this sense of happiness and excitement. You want to go on an adventure. You want to join in on the journey. With Alex. And her social media posts are just as enticing. The site is bright and colourful which really reflects her personality and people want to return because they like how she makes them feel. With her sunny personality and colourful website, Alex has made herself a vivid and memorable brand.
Bob Galmirini, on the other hand, keeps things more simple and lets his work do the talking. Your brand should always be obvious to people. They shouldn’t have to question what you actually do. With a few bold statements and clickable pictures, Galmirini’s message is clear. There are no distractions which is what makes it even more powerful. Galmirini also isn’t afraid to cut to the chase of the kind of clients with whom he wants to work: fun people. That gives you the impression he’d be great to work with. Who doesn’t want to work with someone who’s straight to the point but also determined to have fun in the project?
Have You Heard Of The Self-Presentation Theory?
Erving Goffman, a Canadian-American sociologist and writer created a theory called Presentation Of Self otherwise known as The Self Presentation Theory. It explores the way people want to be seen by others. The ”front stage” is the way a person acts around other people. The ”back stage” is the way a person acts when they’re not in public. And there are countless examples of this theory in use, especially on social media.
Let’s Talk About Online Identities
You see it all the time on social media. People present themselves in a different way online than they do offline, all for the sake of self presentation. It’s a common misconception that you need to be a big company to call yourself a brand. Wrong. Anyone can create an online presence and ultimately a brand. Your online presence is your ”front stage,” the way people see you and remember you in their minds. Some people build their brand so well, they even get famous through social media.
Nash Grier found fame on Vine with hilarious Jackass style six-second clips. He’s not a household name just yet, but enough people know who he is. He wouldn’t have over 12 million followers on Vine if they didn’t. Thanks to his notoriety on Vine, his fame has spread across other social media platforms including Instagram (8 million followers), Twitter (4.7 million) and YouTube (over 4 million). Now, whenever he plugs products in his clips, Grier gets compensated anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000.
So How Do You Build A Personal Brand?
As wonderful as Google is for sourcing information, sometimes you feel like you’re reading the same thing over and over again. If you’re wondering how to build a personal brand, the quick answer is: be yourself. Find that thing about you that’s unique and that you do better than others and highlight it. Embrace it. Whether it’s for resumes, social media or building your own business, building a personal brand isn’t hard. You just need to know how to be honest with yourself. That means:
- Identifying your values, strengths and uniqueness
- Finding your personal style
- Distinguishing your emotional appeal
Then it’s time to build your platform. Nobody is going to know who you are if you don’t make yourself visible. Whether that means creating your own website or channelling your brand through social media (or both?), make sure you build a platform.
Need Professional Help In Building Your Brand?
Best Me Brand can write all your website content for you to ensure you’re engaging your readers. We can also write your resume from scratch if you feel like you’re not getting as many replies or acceptances as you’d like.
If you’re interested, read more about what we offer on Our Services page.
