What is Your Personal Brand?
We all are familiar with successful Personal Brands such as those of Michael Kors, Michael Jordon, Calvin Klein etc. The quality of these Personal Brands exceeds the actual quality of the products that their names are etched on. Today, however, Personal Branding is no longer limited to the Fashion, Sports or Entertainment industries. Every professional should be concerned about the value of his/her Personal Brand. Whether you realize it or not each time you go for an interview or meet your next potential customer you are not only advertising your skillset but your entire Brand.
A critical aspect of your Personal Brand is your online presence. Employers and customers and even friends no longer take what you say at face value and will readily ‘Google’ you to find out what you stand for what you really represent.
Do NOT mix Business with Pleasure.
It is always a good idea to decide if you are going to use social media EITHER for business or for personal reasons. Everything that you post affects how people view you professionally. Everything. Mixing your professional achievements alongside strong personal views or excessive selfies is like asking a future client to drink a glass of water with a tip of oil. If you already have a social media presence that you would like to use for professional purposes then be sure to clean it up. The best way to care for the online presence of your Personal Brand is to develop your own Professional Website with your own domain e.g. www.onver.co.uk. You can then keep your social media private for personal networking.
Companies and Personal Branding
Companies should encourage their employees to be concerned about their Personal Brand. After all, your next customer is more likely to hear about you via ‘Word of Mouth’ from one of your employees rather than via an expensive Newspaper ad. The reverse is also true as the next customer you lose is most likely going to be due to one of your employees not valuing their own Personal Brand. If each customer is trained to develop and value their own brand the brand of the entire company is strengthened.
Do you have any questions about Personal Branding or need to get your own personal website created? Please feel free to contact me using the link above.