When you type your name on google, what pops up?
You might probably be wondering why your name will pop up on google? Well, Whether you know it or not, you have a personal brand.
These results that pop up are the first impressions people have of you. Now, the question is, is it a good one?
Some years back, the term “branding” is exclusively used for businesses but with the occurrence of social sites, personal branding has become fundamental.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is famously quoted as saying, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Your personal brand is how you position yourself. It is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want the world to see you. It is the telling of your story, and how it reflects your conduct, behavior, spoken and unspoken words, and attitudes.
However, a personal brand isn’t that much different from a business brand. Instead of marketing a product, you’re marketing yourself.
As we spend more time online, we must also secure our professional identities.
Importance of Personal Branding
Building up a personal brand has a lot of advantages, both personally and professionally, and it can help open many doors for you in the future.
While applying for a job, personal branding helps applicants become conscious of their differences, ultimately allowing them to position themselves in a way that makes them stand out in the pack among other potential job applicants.
Today, we must invest time, energy, and financial resources into our digital selves. Just as we are regular at the gym, visit the doctor or purchase new clothes, we must begin to nurture our online presence with the same importance as our physical one. It is our future, after all.
If you are the CEO of a company and all you put on your social media platforms at all times is pictures and videos of you hanging out with friends, smoking and talking about women, eating, and flashing bank notes, then you get it all wrong!
For a fact, some people might like you for that, no doubt. But when it comes to people seeking professional advice, work etiquette, and personal development, your name won’t be on the list of people to be summoned.
Therefore, you will not be able to rise above the competition in your industry because of the public perception you have. A lot of business owners will not feel safe doing business with you even if you are true to your business.
To bridge that trust gap between a business and its potential clients, the business can hire someone in public relations. The expert works on increasing their credibility within their given industry and increasing their overall reputation.
Why Personal Branding is Important to Your Career?
According to a 2018 CareerBuilder survey, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and 43% of employers use social media to check on current employees.
Whether you’re an employee or entrepreneur, cultivating a personal brand has become more important than ever. One reason is that it is more popular for recruiters to use social media during the interview process.
Your brand is an indication of what you have to offer and can make or break your success. It’s also indicative of confidence, credibility, and an ability to prioritize.
Below are 5 reasons why personal branding is important to your career;
1. It helps you stand out from the crowd: A personal brand is a great way to showcase your skills and knowledge about a particular subject or field. Building a brand is your chance to show your audience what you know and why you know it, and it will help set you apart from others who might be vying for the same opportunities but who haven’t taken the time to build their own personal brand.
2. You can build an audience, and An audience is leverage: When you have people listening to what you have to talk about online, anticipating your next article, or video, you have an audience. And when you have an audience, you have access to people’s attention, which is what everybody wants.
3. People begin to invite you to things: How often do networking events really help you advance your career? When you have a strong personal brand, people will begin inviting you to things that matter. Whether these are in your immediate network or are just industry events at large. They see you as a leading voice in your industry and want you to attend because they believe you will add value.
4. Cold outreach becomes a viable business tactic: wondering why most cold outreach doesn’t work? It’s because the people reaching out don’t have a strong online presence. When you have a personal brand and an audience, the chances that someone will open your email or respond to your tweet are significantly higher. Most of the time, people do their due diligence before responding to cold outreach. If they like what they see, they’ll respond. And if they don’t, they’ll ignore you.
5. It puts you in charge of your digital footprint: the importance of social media in publishing your personal brand identity cannot be over-emphasized. As part of your brand building, you should have a thorough clear out of your existing digital footprint. Be fearless, make a note of any photos, comments, or posts that are not in line with your personal brand values. This might include asking friends to remove inappropriate posts or unflattering photos, tightening your privacy settings, or deleting old comments that are not in line with your brand values.
If you want to make 2022 the year that you master your personal brand, visit our website www.evaluate.ng to get started.
