The Importance Of Personal Branding

At the mention of a celebrity’s name, people have mixed reactions depending on how likable the person is. Celebrities who have become a household name are also icons, a corporate brand for the career, and everything their field represents. These elements represent personal branding. A person’s brand is a promise to his or her customer because it tells them what they can expect from the services offered. Thus, personal branding is a way of marketing oneself as a brand. In addition, personal branding is supposed to differentiate people from their competitors, but glorifies certain positive characteristics of an individual. A brand is derived from who a person is, who he or she wants to be, and who people perceive him or her to be. However, we …show more content…
Consistent and strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which allows a person to charge more for his or her brand due to the added value brought to the company’s products or services. However, consistency is tough, especially with social media. The Internet has made the divide between work social networks and personal social media almost nonexistent. Now, every social interaction on any platform must be true to your “brand,” which is difficult because people act differently and adapt their personalities and behaviors around certain types of people. In addition, people post and share to others’ Facebook walls and Twitter feeds, so they contribute to your brand without the intention. The ideas of social media and “transparency” were supposed to promote the informal exchange of people using a human voice. Instead, people are trying to sound like the corporate voice many were complaining about in the first place. So why should people brand themselves in the first place? The concept eventually seems impossible to maintain because of how much effort goes into keeping a consistent …show more content…
Instead of rehearsing exact answers to potential questions and marketing myself this way, I strive to convey my “brand” through my ability to hold an engaging conversation and express my personality. As an employer, I would see through the artificiality of personal branding and think, “What is this person hiding?” In addition, personal branding limits the ability to explore other possibilities and opportunities. Instead of using formatted personal branding, we should challenge the standards. I agree with Gershon when she points out that people are not items in a grocery store, so personal branding is naturally flawed. I will share unique experiences that speak volumes about my ability to think analytically, form relationships, and take