If you have any interest in marketing, you have likely heard the term ‘personal brand’.
Since Tom Peters brought the concept into the world 20 years ago, it has slowly crept into the lives of each of us in some way, If you are an avid user of social media, you are likely exposed to hundreds of personal brands each week. Some are very curated, and others are more ad-hoc, but they are a big part of how many people present themselves online today.
If you look at the Wikipedia definition of a personal brand, it says ‘Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. While self-help techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging.’
When I first read this, it took me a minute to realize the truth of it. When creating a personal brand, particularly online, it is very much about the ‘packaging’ you choose. What you display overtly and repeatedly on your social media becomes what you are known for.
Over the past few years, I have tried to further define what aspects of a person’s life typically make up a personal brand.
In the end, I came up with four different ways that people tend to ‘package’ themselves and create a personal brand.
Here they are, ranging from the simplest to the more complex:
1) Natural personality
Some people have a very unique personality that helps them stand apart from the crowd. It could be energetic, sarcastic, wise, innocent, optimistic, or any number of other characteristics. When you display your natural personality overtly on your social media posts, it starts to become a drawcard for people who resonate with it.
Notice here, that the word ‘natural’ is important. You can’t fake who you are, at least not for very long. People will only engage with those who are the most genuine in the way they share their natural selves.
2) Day to day experiences
The way that you live your life, who you spend time with, the environment you are in. All these things begin to create a part of your personal brand. A good example of this is Dwayne Johnson, who often shares his daily workouts from his gym which he calls the Iron Paradise. The simple act of sharing this daily ritual and the environment makes it compelling to watch. It makes the viewer feel like they are part of the action and in the same place as he is.
One of the most amazing aspects of social media is that even ordinary environments can be very engaging for an audience. Sitting in a cafe, riding in a car, or walking on the street can become part of a personal brand if the audience resonates with the reality themselves.
3) Expertise, skills, and achievements
At a higher level, and usually more engaging, are skills, expertise or achievements that a person can associate themselves with. Athletes, actors, musicians, artists, designers, speakers and many types of people fall into this category and can use their experience and achievements to grow interest in who they are and what they do.
This type of personal brand translates very well online, as those who aspire to have the same type of skill or achievement will be interested in following and learning from the more skilled/experienced person.
4) Your long term focus or quest
The final type might be the most difficult to figure out, but it is also the most compelling. When a person has a long term goal or a quest, then an audience begins to follow them to watch the journey.
Here is something very interesting: the actual achievement matters less than the pursuit and the development that is part of striving. When a person shares their goal, vision or quest with their audience, it creates more than interest, it creates investment on the part of the watcher.
Like it or not, personal brands are a reality of the modern world, and those that use them wisely are more likely to have influence and success in the years ahead.
If you have a desire to grow your online audience, either for personal or business reasons, curating your personal brand is a very effective strategy.
By choosing one (or a combination) of these factors, it is easier to define your brand and to start to share it with your audience.
As people become familiar with you, and you offer them value, they will begin to resonate more with the brand you share.