Personal branding is your reputation; it is your legacy.
Personal Brand is the art of becoming knowable, likeable and trustable
John Jantsch
Have you ever googled your name? Do you like what you see?
Do you know an unfavorable online reputation could cost you your job, a promotion, alliance, opportunity, or even a visa approval?
Personal branding is a combination of how you are perceived in the search results, as well as, how you are perceived in the offline space. Your reputation hinges on the perception of your colleagues, your employers, your acquaintances, friends, family, etc. It is not what you think you are that matters; it is more about what others think of you.
A few questions that your personal branding should answer:
What do you do? Who are you? What do you stand for? What makes you unique? How do I feel if I were to? hire you, befriend you, date you, or make you my business partner.
Someone somewhere is always going to be searching you and screening you online
Personal Brand and Your Career
We live in a world where your online reputation could be your strongest asset or your biggest liability. A world where companies make hiring decisions not based on resumes and cover letters, but on information they find about you online; your social media posts, pollical opinions that you share, any unfavorable press mentions, etc.
Personal Dating Brand:
The concept though sounds absurd and far-fetched, is a reality. Everyone googles everyone; when someone finds your online presence, they will invariably make a judgment about you – good or bad. If you’re looking to date, you want your personal brand to reflect and convey what you’re looking for. The other person should be able to see you as someone that he/she is looking for.
Personal Brand for Business Owners: Online reputations and personal branding of a CEO/ business owner has a direct impact on how businesses are perceived. Narayan Murthy, Azim Premji, Shiv Nadar, Ratan Tata are some examples of how personal branding greatly enhances the credibility of a business. In contrast, the personal branding and reputation of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan ruined their businesses.
If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they will do business with you.
Zig Ziglar
Get Going
Develop a well-defined personal brand plan to showcase your best self, understand your strengths and weaknesses, stand out from your peers and competition, have more meaningful interactions with others, establish credibility, solidify your niche.
In our next article, “How to Build an Impressive Personal Brand in 10 Simple Steps”, we will guide you on how to build a great personal brand.
