Personal branding made simple. What it IS and is NOT

Personal branding is?a buzzword that still confuses and irritates a lot of people. It sometimes even makes some individuals angry – usually because their understanding of the term is far away from what personal branding is resp. CAN be.

So, let’s start with a simple definition of branding first:

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room” Jeff Bezos.

Interesting! This means you HAVE a brand, whether you like it or not.?Because you “cannot not communicate” – we’re aware of this since Paul Watzlawick.?

BTW, for the case that it’s not clear: Branding focuses on companies, institutions, products, etc. PERSONAL branding in contrast describes human beings. :-)

Alrighty, can’t do much with the just mentioned Bezos quote? Or: You don’t like Jeff? No probs, let’s try it from another angle:?

So, what do we learn here? Personal branding is so?much more than?just?your reputation.?Some people call it

• impression management
• self-marketing
• brand-me?or?
• a career insurance.

To me, personal branding is a?communication and?self-leadership tool.?

It’s about clearly communicating who you are, what you have to offer, what makes you YOUnique, what you believe in, what is close to year heart and why people “should” choose you.

Your job btw, is NOT to “find” your brand. You DESIGN it, you steer it, you polish it. By authentically expressing yourself and sharing your stories – online and offline. This way you’ll stand out of the grey masses: YOUR WAY. This way you’ll never have any real competition. Because your potential clients, partners, etc. will choose you because of you. They will want (a piece of) you.

This beautifully brings me to the question what personal branding is NOT.

It is NOT about bragging, showing off, boasting and/or saying one thing and doing another. It’s NOT about trying to be someone you are not. Please do NOT portray a different persona online than you are in “real” life. That just doesn’t make any sense!

No, personal branding is NOT “just something for top athletes, rock stars and politicians”. It’s a concept that is powerful and relevant for each human being out there.?

Well, maybe except for those who decided to live like a monk on their own on a mountain in Nepal. Just them, nature and The Universe. This must be wonderful – and it’s not for me. Whatever let’s not get distracted here. Because if that described YOU, you wouldn’t read this article! Hehe.

Two more things and then I’m done. Personal branding is NOT about having a lot of followers online. That CAN be an element of it. But many of my clients do not have many followers and built an incredible authority brand in their niche anyway.?What is more important is your?attitude, mindset, performance and charisma.

And no, personal branding is NOT just a fancy logo, font or about just about wearing something funky. Again, these are just aspects of it. If you’re interested in sustainable personal branding, lead from the inside out.

In short:

Personal branding is a?wonderful personal development?tool. A concept?to reinvent yourself?-?over and over again.?

And yes, building a?personal?brand is a long-term project. It’s?like running a marathon, not a sprint.

So, allow yourself, give yourself permission to start working on it today.

Over to YOU:?

Are?you?happy with the personal brand you’ve built??

What can you do to improve it?

Let me know! I’m curious.?

#personalbranding #personalbrandingwithlinkedin #positioning?#leadership #thinknatalia