Personal branding has certainly gained a lot of positive attention. A solid Personal brand improves the image of both the individual and their company, but is it all that simple? This post looks into the big questions when it comes to Personal Branding – Could personal branding benefit you? Do you need a personal brand? What happens when personal branding goes wrong?

Standing out

Having a strong personal brand helps you stand out from the crowd. For businesses, it shows consumers a real persona behind the corporate face. It allows you to demonstrate your in-depth knowledge of the industry, but also connect with people.

The personal qualities you demonstrate online and in public will of course be associated with your business. So the bold, confident and socially active personal brand soon translates to a positive branding of the company.

The downside of this? Nobody ever created a personal brand with the selling point ‘just like the rest’. A successful personal brand has to have a niche. Find out what other businesses are lacking and run with it.

Social Media

A big pro for personal branding is how enabling social media has become. There are a number of platforms (such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+) that allow quick, easy networking with colleagues, consumers and influencers. This vast array of potential relations helps break down the barrier between social and professional interaction. Personal branding becomes seamless and companies are consequently seen as more human.

While social media is a gateway to a big online presence, what comes with it is a potential obstacle. For personal branding through social media, a good following is a necessity. This is not to say that you need to become Kim Kardashian overnight. You just need to build up a network of people in your industry. Connect with influencers, connect with consumers, connect with other professionals.

Disclosure

One benefit of personal branding, particularly online, is that you don’t necessarily have to disclose everything about yourself. You can almost ‘cherry-pick’ the positive aspects and build on them. This is essentially how you build your brand. What you disclose, becomes your personal brand.

Of course there is the issue of transparency. An element of transparency – disclosing everything – creates an impression of authenticity. Clearly you don’t want to be completely transparent as you want to keep your content relevant. It really is about getting the balance right. When you do add content, make it unique and interesting. Remember that it’s adding to your brand image and play to your strengths.

Over to you

Branding is absolutely key in business. Get it wrong and the competition will leave you in their dust. Bing Digital’s first-rate brand development solutions can help you tell the story of your business through branding. Give us a call on 01634 923 334 to find out how we can improve your brand image. Alternatively, complete our online enquire form and we’ll get back to you soon

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