Building a brand is about developing an idea, an image and a perception into a preference for a product or service.
Only in more recent years with social media becoming such an influence on decision making has personal branding become more of a focus, creating powerful influencers who have the skills, experience and knowledge to drive awareness of products and services in a way that many businesses struggle to do with traditional forms of marketing.
Influencers invest in their personal brand because they know that ultimately, they are the commodity. The value lies with them and how they can use their image and experience to help them attract and retain the audiences who are engaged in what they have to say.
However, the benefits of personal branding work to the advantage of many businesses in terms of developing their employees to understand how to think like an owner!
Whether you are active on social media or not, taking more control and ownership of how you build your ‘personal brand’ can, at the very least, serve to allow us to build our confidence and have a greater awareness of how to use our skills and experience to achieve our goals. On the flip side, when uncontrolled it can also have a detrimental effect on how we are perceived by our peers, employees, friends and families.
Authenticity is essential for building a strong personal brand. When individuals are true to themselves they are more like to attract the right opportunities and audiences to them, allowing them to build authority and influence in all walks of life.
Why Should Personal Branding Matter to Businesses?
Many businesses review candidates for a job on social platforms before even offering them an interview and in the case of that individual, they may end up missing out on the perfect opportunity, just because of their social profiles!
Like it or not, we are all judged based on appearance/image, what we say and how we act! The important thing is to ensure that you’re judged based on your positive attributes. No-one behaves perfectly at all times and we all have our ‘not so good’ sides, but the point is that you showcase your strengths and successes as much as possible in order to create an impression that leads to opportunity.
Businesses can benefit in many ways by helping their employees create a strong personal brand.
I recently attended a conference hosted by Voice at The Table ‘Ordinary People Extra Ordinary Contributions’ which focused on how to help people ‘bring their whole selves to work’. The conference highlighted that many people have skills they use outside of work which for one reason or another they don’t realise they can use at work. For example, someone who enjoys and is good at developing new recipes, may have more creative skills than they are required to use at work, but could potentially offer an alternative viewpoint on projects that require a creative input.
A recurring message that came out of this conference for me was understanding your strengths and having the confidence to be yourself at work. Developing a personal brand allows employees to really understand what they have to offer and how they can use it to fulfil their roles to a much higher effect. It helps them to develop their strengths, work on their weaknesses, utilise their assets and overcome any challenges that they may face.
With all of these resources at their disposal, they immediately become more responsible for their own success because they have a much better understanding of who they are as individuals. They are more motivated, resilient and committed to building their reputation and manging their behaviour.
What business doesn’t need employees with the ambition and drive to take ownership of their success?
Help them to use their newfound confidence in themselves as well as their ability to now focus on their skills and experience to bridge the gap between personal and corporate branding, enhancing the experience and perception of the business for your target audience.