Importance of Building A Personal Brand

Brands are more important today then they have been in the past. I think that the main reason for this is the immense leap our generation has taken into the digital and online world. Instant brand recognition is so important in the online world. A brand allows you to connect with your customers, it allows your customers to identify your services/products and its one of the best ways to advertise yourself. Having a strong brand in an over populated platform will ensure that you and your business will stand out.

There are many reasons for someone to build a personal brand, its something that you will more than likely need to do as a job seeker, as a marketing professional (in any industry) and as a sports business professional. If you’re just starting out in your industry or even if you’re still a student, don’t worry! Get a head start on your brand now! Chances are your brand will evolve with your career overtime, like most major brands do. As you gain experience as a professional, your brand should reflect that. Your personal brand is all about who you are and who you want to be known for. Here are a few tips on how to get started on your personal brand.

1. When you first start to develop your brand, think about what your motto or mission statement should be. This is a good place to start when trying to decide exactly how you want your audience to view your brand. Don’t overthink this, your motto/mission statement should stay short, simple and too the point. Think about brands that you can relate too and what they stand for. For example, American Airlines has “Fly the American way”, The Army has “Be the best you can be” and Burger King “Have it your way”.

2. A good way to get your creative juices flowing is to start a list of words you feel best describes you. Think broadly about your personality and how it affects the experience someone will have with your brand/service or product. If you don’t have a brand/service or product yet, think about the way you affect your friends, family and co-workers. Are you funny, serious, organized, optimistic, full of energy? All of these things can help you to gather a few words that best describe these features of your personality.

3. You should also keep in mind what you would like your brand to be, not ONLY what it will reflect. Ask yourself what field or industry you want to be in, what type of work you will be doing and who your potential target audience will be.

With the surge of social media nowadays you not only have the ability to create your own brand online but you also have the ability to manage and shape your brand into your personal vision as well. You want to be in control of how others see you and social media gives you the tools you need in order to become your own PR professional. Once you’ve developed your brand get it acquainted with as many social media accounts as possible. Having separate personal and professional social media accounts can really pay off. Make sure you start out on the major platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

If you constantly put out valuable content and brand it with your name, you should have no problem creating buzz and interest in the services and products you have to offer.