Personal Branding is not a fad!

There are a lot of discussions around the relevance of personal branding and its longevity. Let me tell you it is not a fad. Personal branding has been around as long as general branding has been, longer actually; we just haven’t named it or thought about it as purposefully.

I wouldn’t “brand” myself as a personal brand guru but I would say that I know a lot about the wonderful world of branding. In my opinion, personal branding is not about podcasting or taking photos of your food. It’s not even about the social profiles you have. It is about knowing who you are and setting yourself apart. Yes everyone else is trying to do the same; however, I would choose differentiating myself any day rather than just fitting in. I would also choose taking the time to figure out what does make me different and I would hire someone who does the same.

That is what personal branding is about. It is about taking the time to really think about you, what your values are, what makes you different and more importantly what your personal goals are. You know who you are and if you haven’t articulated who that is, spend time on doing so. Then it is about communicating that to the world and choosing how to do that. Yes, you might use social media channels; you might have an animated CV or even your own website but these are all just mediums to express yourself.  It is important to choose the right ones but it is the content that really matters.

I think it is worth spending the time on you, why wouldn’t you?

Why wouldn’t you give yourself the best chance to communicate you? That is what is so great about people; we are not tangible commercial products that are produced in the thousands on the factory line. We are all so different. And if you have loads of hats and letters, in my eyes that makes you really interesting. It tells me that you have a lot to offer and your many hats mean that you bring with you a wealth of different experiences.

Don’t get caught up in trying to be different for the sake of it or forcing the personal brand you think you should have. That is often the trap that people fall into and that’s when you can drive yourself mad and everyone else. It is also worth remembering that people change so your Personal Brand will change too over time.