Why Your Personal Brand Matters

According to The Dictionary Of Brand by Marty Neumeier, a brand is: “a person’s perception of a product, service, experience, or organization.”  Now extrapolate that to your personal brand and your personal brand is how you are perceived by others.  Therefore, a personal brand is not a logo, a brand identity, a mission statement, a website, or a social media channel.  Those add up to your personal brand, but by themselves are not your personal brand.

So, let’s say you’re an entrepreneur, influencer, or work for yourself, your business is built on your reputation and expertise.  One way to look at your personal brand is what is the underlying factor(s) that will make someone ultimately choose to work with you over someone else or buy your products over someone else’s or hire you over someone else.

Why should you care?

88% of consumers do research before they purchase, such as who is the best, what are the ratings and reviews and any other supporting info, etc.  I would much rather do my research on a company or a potential partner /service provider to know they’re legit before I decide to work with them.

If someone does research on you or your expertise, what will they find?  Ideally, you’d like them to find the content you created, such as a blog article, a video on your YouTube channel that specifically speaks to them, and the problem they are currently having.  They then recognize you as an authority and the obvious choice to help them solve their problem.  Hence, your personal brand, people can research you and your company and decide whether you’re worth working with.

Regardless of whether or not you’re paying attention to your personal brand, people are already making judgments about you based on it.  Not having a personal brand is no longer an option. You already have a personal brand and it’s either helping you or hurting you.

ABOUT PERSONAL BRAND STRATEGIST CLAIRE BAHN