The Importance of Crafting a Personal Brand When You’re Not an Entrepreneur

What do you think of when you see a picture of Bill Gates? Your first thought may be Microsoft or computers. However, when you dig deeper, you probably get adjectives like innovative, technologically-savvy, creative, and humanitarian.

 What about Beyoncé? For most people, she is synonymous with success, talent, independence, and female power.

Personal branding is powerful. If you have a strong personal brand, it means that people already know who you are and what you stand for just by hearing your name.

 I have been working with entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and dynamic professionals and organizations on LinkedIn for several years now. Part of putting together a solid LinkedIn strategy is helping clients craft unique personal brands that are intriguing, relevant, and true to their nature.

I absolutely LOVE what I do. 

However, something that I have found perplexing is the number of professionals I work with who don’t understand the importance of having a personal brand. There is a common misconception that entrepreneurs are the only ones who need to embrace personal branding. Oftentimes, my clients think that only those who run their own businesses need to worry about creating a brand.

 This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Everyone has a personal brand, whether they realize it or not. Think of your personal brand as your reputation. Unsure of your professional reputation? Just Google yourself. What are people saying about you online? Even better, what image are you portraying about yourself? Do you post pictures of yourself partying, volunteering, or spending time with family? Everything posted by or about you online contributes towards your personal brand. This information is what will help others decide whether they should work with you or avoid you at all costs.

If you aren’t an entrepreneur, then you don’t need your personal brand to sell your own products and services. However, you may need it to help you establish trust as a leader, secure thought leadership positioning, climb up the corporate ladder, attract top talent to your group or organization or land a client for your company.

Because personal brand is synonymous with reputation, it’s important that you put your best foot forward. So why not be proactive and create a unique, highly personalized brand? Just remember what John Jantsch said: personal branding simply helps others know, like, and trust you.

Regardless of your job description, personal branding is important. It tells others what unique skill set you bring to the table. A strong personal brand will make you stand out from your competitors, attract respect in the workplace, and help you become respected in your industry. Whether you’re a startup founder or Fortune 100 executive, you need to be known, liked, and trusted in order to succeed.

Want to Start Winning on LinkedIn?

Rise above the noise - Connect with customers - Grow your business.

Receive exclusive insights, and be the first to know about invitation-only, offers and events.

More from Kim:

LinkedIn 101: Maximizing Your Profile

How Do I Make LinkedIn Work For Me? Us?

One Very Important Thing To Keep In Mind Before You Reach Out To Potential Clients

7 Tips to Create Thought-Provoking Content on LinkedIn

For the original article and a complete library of articles that offer tips, trends, and insights, join our complimentary VIP community here.

Kim has attracted an audience of over 235,000 professionals from around the globe on LinkedIn and is the CEO of Linkability, Inc. She is a dynamic Entrepreneur, Global Business Communications authority, and three-time business founder. Linkability is a strategy and consulting firm that provides world-class Intrepreneurs, Entrepreneurs, and organizations with consulting, services, and products that helps to grow robust networks and drive tangible results in sales, marketing, and thought leadership positioning.

#Linkability #smm #corporatebranding #thoughtleadership #linkedintraining #corporatetraining #remotework #linkedin