What is in a personal brand? Blurred lines, the things that matter.
My lines got blurred a long time ago, I have been on Facebook for a decade or more now, and LinkedIn for almost the same amount of time, I have been on there for work for the majority of that time but have a real mix of contacts and actually quite like it that way.
As soon as you mix both personal and professional contacts in any channel, your lines are blurred.
What does this mean? Well I chose to embrace it and just roll with it, but it does mean I have to be careful and mindful about everything I post, follow and comment on.
You could create a brand new profile, ditch the old one, and just make it either public or private and start again, I chose not to because I didn’t want to lose my history and contacts.
Lately I have noticed, during this really tricky time, that people are just reacting emotionally and dropping their filters all over the place. Forgetting that everything we say, the words we choose, the tone we take, etc all has an impact and influences how the world sees us.
At the moment this issue has become loud and glaringly obvious to me, as a communication professional, I can’t help but notice how people are communicating, and what messages they are giving the world about themselves.
What you say, when and where you say it, and who sees it = your reputation, and contributes to your personal brand.
JEN
You just have to look at some of the most famous product brand images and slogans, and you could immediately identify some feelings and images those provoke.
The landscape around this topic has changed so much in the last decade! Personal information is so much more accessible, which impacts how people see us and what they think about us
It is all very well to say ‘I don’t care what people think about me’ but if you are choosing to be in leadership or in the public eye in your role, unfortunately it is important what people think of you, at least publicly.
There are some key things that make up your personal brand, and build your reputation in my experience:
Read the key things and tips here
Thanks for reading
Arohanui
Jen