The importance of Personal Branding

When it comes to Personal Branding, it is important to remember that this is different to corporate branding. In personal branding, a topic or for example a person is the main focal point, such as Elon Musk or the late Steve Jobs, characters who became a brand on their own.

(Fig. 1) One of the original major figures in personal branding

As Michael Stelzner explains in Social Media Examiner, ‘People don’t do business with companies. They do business with people they like’. It helps you if there is a level of trust built up and customers feel they are dealing with a person and not a company brand. It can also be seen as leadership, and leaders influencing people's thinking. A personal brand can, with time, help build a company grow with time, both externally and internally.

Goldie Chan on Forbes explains there are some keystones to follow that could potentially help you, some of which is ‘Focus’, keeping your message and brand consistent to one community or niche subject helps narrow your target audience and makes you more memorable. Being authentic and genuine helps your brand on a daily bases. Justin Wu, founder of CoinState says “Be a master of your craft, skillset or industry before starting a personal brand. Then your content will help amplify who you are”. Being a master of your specific skillset makes a niche audience gravitate towards your content. Being a consistent storyteller with a compelling message helps narrow your message with clarity.

It can not be understated the importance of social media when it comes to being an effective medium. As Andrew Hutchinson from Social Media Today explains, there are some key pointers where one can outline effective elements when it comes to personal branding, platforms like LinkedIn highlights your value as an employee, with many candidates your personal brand sets you apart.

(Fig. 2) The importance of personal branding on social media from DSMN8

Your personal brand can help bring attention to your company if you have one and establish you as a leader in thoughts, industry insights, and knowledge in your field. Social media presence helps you to be visible at all times and to be at the forefront of your network feeds. Original content is what will set you apart from the crowd, written, video and audio are where you move to the next level. Another big advantage of social media platforms gives you the change to engage on a real level with your networks where your interactions are genuine, something difficult to replicate anywhere else.

Good examples of using social media for personal branding can be seen in accounts such as Neil Patel often touted as an example of good practice. Acknowledged by former president Barack Obama as top 100 entrepreneurs under 30. His blogs are a great example of how it can be done to its full potential, nearly every post has 200+ comments, and more importantly, he replies to almost every post, something his audience appreciates and drives extra credibility to his personal brand. It is also possible, to have a company and simultaneously build your personal brand together.

(Fig. 3) Elon Musk boasting close to 40 million followers

Tyler Basu from thinkific explains ‘Elon Musk, for example, has more Twitter followers than 3 of his companies (Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity) combined. The same is true of Richard Branson (Virgin)’, people like following and interacting with people more than a company, for this reason a personal brand is now more than ever important. #PersonalBranding #Marketing

Sources:

Stelzner M. (2019) ‘Personal Branding: How to Successfully Build Your Brand’ [online] Available at: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/personal-branding-how-to-successfully-build-brand-rory-vaden/ [Accessed 22nd July].

Chan G. (2018) ‘10 Golden Rules Of Personal Branding’ [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-branding/#21e17e0e58a7 [Accessed 22nd July].

Hall J. (2019) ‘Personal branding trends to tap into on social media’ [online] Available at: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/personal-branding-trends-social-media/ [Accessed 22nd July].

Basu T. (2018) ‘How to Build a Personal Brand (Complete Guide to Personal Branding)’ [online] Available at: https://www.thinkific.com/blog/personal-branding-guide/ [Accessed 22nd July].