A brand is not only a company, logo, or trademark; it is anything that identifies or differentiates one thing from another. That could be one company from another, such as Coca-cola and Pepsi, or  one person from another.  As marketers in the digital space it has become more critical than ever to develop and grow our personal brands. A strong personal brand shows that you know how to successfully market yourself, your skills, and your brand, giving you the credibility needed to land your first job, first client, dream job, or dream client. Think about it this way, why would someone trust you to do the marketing for their brand if you can’t even market your own.

Why to Start Developing Your Personal Brand

One of the most important reasons to develop your personal brand is to control your online reputation. What would future employers or future clients find if they Googled you today? Would they see blog posts who have written that display your expertise in your industry or public pictures on Facebook of you doing a keg stand in college. Based on which one they find, you could lose a potential job offer before you even get to interview even if you are the most qualified candidate in the applicant pool.

Defining Your Personal Brand

The first step to developing your personal brand is to figure out what you want your brand associated with. This is probably the most common question I receive about personal branding: “what should I focus on?” 

It may seem like there are unlimited options to choose from when selecting a focus ,but truly it all comes back to what you what to be known for. We all have lots of passions that fill our day; but, some are just hobbies, only one is your true passion and will be the definition of your personal brand.

One way to help you figure out what your personal brand will be is to think about your dream job, maybe it is a digital marketing director at a big company or maybe it is starting your own social media consulting business. Once you determine what your goal and vision is, start developing a mission statement about your personal brand, just like you would for a company.  I like to call this your personal mission statement or personal vision statement.

Taking Your Brand to the next level

There are so many aspects of personal branding, I could write for days! Let me know what specifically you want to know more about and it may just be in my next post! Just click here or on the image below.