Personal Branding: what it is, how it is done and why

The term Personal Branding was first expressed in 1997, when writer Tom Peters talked about it in an article, stating that every individual has the opportunity to be a noteworthy brand .

After 20 years, we can definitely confirm the validity of his statement.

If you are confused and don't recognize the meaning of this term, continue reading to understand what Personal Branding is and the reason for its importance today.

What is Personal Branding?

Before delving into the literal meaning of this English word, it is good to understand that, in order to approach Personal Branding in an intelligent way, you need to know how to ask yourself two questions: ''Who am I? What do I love to do?''.

For what reason?

Because Personal Branding is nothing more than a complex of strategies adopted with the aim of making one's personal and professional profile known, together with one's experiences and skills .

Manage everything strategically in order to enhance your image and maintain your reputation high.

So, simply put, your persona is your brand, your Brand !

Here it seems obvious to ask those previous questions; If first of all I don't know my identity and I don't recognize what I love to do, I will never be able to build a solid foundation to then be able to give life to my castle.

Only by having full knowledge of who I am will I be able to implement a marketing strategy and create my personal brand. Only by knowing what I am responsible for and how to communicate it to others will I be able to gain the trust of those around me.

In summary, Personal Branding has as its final aim the positioning of an individual thanks to the promotion of their personal identity, using multiple digital marketing techniques, just as is done for companies.

Nowadays, thanks to the development and increase of technologies, each of us has the opportunity to get involved and represent a Brand, but this does not mean that the process of reaching high levels is easy and free of obstacles.

Let's see together how to do Personal Branding and, above all, where to start.

How to bring your brand to life

We have just mentioned that building a Brand Identity is equivalent to implementing a marketing strategy to sponsor a product or service for a hypothetical company.

Here the activities to be put into practice are already known if you know some basic marketing notions. Of course, it is logical that to achieve optimal results one should not leave everything to chance and act without a structured plan.

So let's try to understand what are the main steps to take into consideration before diving headlong:

• Establish your objectives and goals : try to understand which area you have the most skills in which you can bring into play. Once you understand this, focus only on this goal because, without it, you wouldn't know where to go.
• Create your Brand : it is important to define what your Mission and Vision is, that is, what you want to achieve and through which tools you want to do it. Furthermore, it is essential to establish a reference target and a Tone of Voice, to decide who you want to communicate to and in what style.
• Website, Blog and Social Media : determine by which means you want to showcase yourself and, then, start producing high-quality and valuable content.
• Be yourself and stay consistent with your skills : don't try to change your personality just to please other people's needs; try to keep your personality constant first and don't overdo it!
• Stay active : once you have established your brand and acquired the right customers, continue! Don't stop learning, improving and staying active within your Community.

What are the advantages of Personal Branding?

Creating a brand on your image is an additional value that can interest any person, whether it is a freelancer, a recent graduate or an entrepreneur.

But why is it so important to create a personal brand?

First of all, this activity allows you to increase the popularity of your business and your person and, by doing so, you will be able to find new customers in a short time, consequently increasing your revenue.

Furthermore, another advantage that should not be minimized is the possibility of starting to practice a job in complete autonomy and freedom , always remaining in contact with the public and creating valuable communities with which to share common thoughts and topics.

Personal Branding is a tool that will allow you to improve your reputation and achieve the goals you most desire.

It's all in your hands, don't underestimate this opportunity!

If you are also interested in starting an effective Personal Branding business and need help, ask Gilbi.co for advice.

We're at your service!