The importance of Personal Branding

Robi Ro
Apr 24, 2020
8 min read

onal Branding

The most significant work experience I made, it was when I started waitressing.

I knew nothing about hospitality and I was doing the job mechanically, with no knowledge, but above all, without passion, hiding my personality.

I was apathetic, just a plates’ deliverer, none noticed me, not even regular guests knew who I was.

I know… I know… you might be wondering… What does that have to do with personal branding?

The answer is everything.

In many ways, a personal brand is what makes you memorable and helps you stand out from the thousands of other people like you.

So… Tired of being in the shadow and repeat the same actions every day, I have started to learn as much I could on the products I was selling so that I could find a first approach with people coming to the restaurant. However, once I was more comfortable and more knowledgeable, my mission was changed: I was not a plates’ deliverer anymore!

My goals were now educating my guests, and make the restaurant experience unforgettable.

I wanted to share my passion and make sure they would come back to know and try more.

I wanted to make them feel at their ease, I could tell them: “I have been there, I knew nothing about food and wines, but this did not mean that they had to make do with what you know. Don’t be embarrassed to ask, I am here to guide you”!

Knowledge gave me the self-confidence to be more interactive with people and show my personality. From that moment, I started to unconsciously build my personal brand and by association, I contributed to develop also the one of company, I was working for.

Is it not true that “developing a personal brand is an ongoing process that involves interactions with others in face-to-face communication and online? (Katryna, J. (2017)

Personal branding is the combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want the world to see. It is the telling of your story, and how it reflects your conduct, behaviour and attitudes. (Influencer Marketing Hub writer, 2019)

So not much after I shifted my attitude, people started to remember me, come back asking to be served by me.

Here, is where I have learned my first two lessons:

1. “People buy people” – Consumers don’t do business with companies, they do business with people they like.

2. Consumers want to feel safe, so you need to gain their trust and be transparent.

So… Why is your personal branding so important?

We leave in an area that people lost faith in advertisement and are most sceptical when they have to make a purchase.

Think about how many “miracle products” your mum or grandmother bought on TV and revealed a total failure!

We have been bombarded for years by misleading advertisement and as a result, nowadays we prefer to ask recommendations to family, friends or other online consumers.

With personal branding, we have the opportunity to re-gain consumers lost trust and help increase exposure for your company.

1. STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD. With personal brand, people get to know you!

Show them your authentic self, what you can do and why highlight your skills and strengths.

2. Gain TRUST and AUTHORITY – People appreciate when CEOs and founders of companies/brands come out to the forefront and connect with their audiences. – Kevin Stimpson

3. BUILD YOUR NETWORK - When you have a personal brand that clearly articulates who you are, what you do, and how you help others, it makes it easier for other people and entrepreneurs to see value in connecting with you. You can leverage your personal brand to build your network, both online and offline, quickly and effectively. (Basu, T. N.D.)

4. GET FEATURED IN MEDIA: Having a personal brand makes it easier for you to pitch and be found by media (online publications, magazines, television, radio, podcasts, etc.). The media is in constant search of experts that can share their insights with their audience. (Basu, T. N.D.)

How to use Social Media for Personal Branding

Before we proceed and explain how to use social media for personal branding, let go back to statistics to understand why using social media is essential if you want to tell the world who you are and showcase your skills.

A Broadband search study confirms that on average, people spend 2 hours and 24 minutes on social networking, so you can understand how impactful this tool is to enhance your personal brand.

Social media has a huge potential to connect you freely to a global audience so…

#GET TO KNOW YOURSELF

Creating a personal brand starts with an extensive self-reflection and introspection, and you establish yourself as a leader. (Grin, 2019).

#SET YOUR GOALS AND AUDIENCE

Have clear the mission you want to accomplish and what do you want to be known for. Highlights your expertise and define your strengths. Taking control of your personal brand will help you to determine yourself as a professional or an influencer. (Willis, K. 2019)

#EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY

Do not pretend! If you really want to connect with your audience - be yourself!

A recent study of Sprout Social pointed out that in this era of distrust people are demanding greater transparency from power players, brands included. They reported that 86% of Americans say transparency from businesses is more important than ever before.

#BE THE PROBLEM SOLVER

It is very important that you come across as human being, with the same issues and problems as your target market. – But you found the solution to the issue first and you are here to share it! It is not all about selling.

You must share great content and provide value to your audience.

#PICK YOUR THEME AND SCHEDULE

To be influential, it is vital to be easily recognized. When deciding how to brand yourself on social media, you must be consistent on your image, tone, brand voice, colours and themes.

Think about fashion: “When you see that particular red you know it is a Valentino creation, or when you see that particular geographical pattern, you know it is going to be Alviero Martini.

Make sure you schedule your posts for the upcoming weeks. This will not only help you to be consistent on timing but it will also help you to decide which type of content you must share (ex.: video, image, podcast, blog articles), so you won’t result repetitive. John, H. (2017)

#BE EVERYWHERE AND ENGAGE YOUR TRIBE

Do not limit to just Facebook. Build a strong web presence online, look for the more appropriate social media channels and use them to reach your audience. The most important thing is to be creative and to engage your audience with questions, discussions, comments, replies etc… (Grin, 2019).

#DON’T BE A LONER

Gain more knowledge by joining groups relevant to your area of expertise. You will develop new ideas, test your skills and build confidence, but above all, you can expand your network and build relationships with like-minded individuals.

Also, consider a partnership with influencers; they are active on social media networks on a regular basis and could help you in your brand-building efforts by sharing content about your brand. (Grin, 2019).

#CHECK ON YOU

Measure your results with Social Media Analytics. This will help you to understand if you are engaging the right audience and if your strategy is working.

If your results are not the ones you were hoping for, don’t despair! The good news is that you won’t waste any more time and you can still adjust your plan.

Good examples of using social media for personal branding

One of the best social media example in today’s scenario is Chiara Ferragni.

She is an Italian entrepreneur, fashion blogger, influencer and designer. She launched her Blonde Salad blog 10 years ago as a bit of fun. “Now she manages a €30m business and is one of the most influential people in fashion (..)Harvard Business School used her as a case study on how to monetise the dual streams of a blog and a personal brand as a business”. Sanderson, R. (2019) Financial Times

Chiara Ferragni made her face the focus of her brand. When you visit her social media, you have the idea to become part of her life.

If you know Chiara from the magazines, you perceive her only as an impeccable and unattainable model. But when you go on her profiles, she gets through as a human being, an authentic and genuine - basically as “one of us”.

She films her routines, her “epic fails”, and her family. .You get to know her so well that it is almost as you are BBF.

Another aspect to highlight is her “Selling approach” - she never says – “oh buy this, buy that”. She shares pictures of her favourite pieces and most of all she let other people talk about her brand.

She is very engaging and provides her followers with the whole experience: she showcases her fashion line clothes, highlights her favourite outfits, that are sent in a very well-designed package with personalized messages. Finally, she allows people to tag her on their stories wearing her product.

She is original and brave in her approach. During a Financial Times interview, she confided she refused a role as fashion reporter on Italy’s biggest private TV network as she wanted to think bigger and gain international success. Sanderson, R. (2019)

She has been one of the first to see the potential of the new social media and take advantage of them. Not even haters managed to put her off. When Social Media kicked off, there was a lot of prejudice on people posting pictures showing themselves and their lives, but she kept going. She has created a clever marketing strategy which allowed her to collaborate with the most worldwide famous brands, but first and foremost this strategy enabled her to launch her fashion line.

Final Thoughts

Although today technology gained the upper hand, relationships are still the key to success. Create connections and bonds with people make you reach a strong customer loyalty.

While choosing brands, customers have plenty of apprehensions – the quality of the products; its features and durability are all big concerns to them. (Chandran, N. 2018)

Here is where Social Media come to your aid. With an original marketing strategy, you can shape your personal brand highlighting your true self and your expertise. This will give you credibility and will help you boost your business.

Even big companies have people whose personalities serve to advance their brand’s mission. Apple had Steve Jobs, Tesla has Elon Musk, and Virgin has Richard Branson. Stelzner, M. (2019)

WHATEVER YOU DO, BE YOU!

WHATEVER YOU DO, BE YOU.

Reference list:

Johnson, Katryna. (2017). “The Importance of Personal Branding in Social Media: Educating Students to Create and Manage their Personal Brand. 4. 21-27”. [Online]

Available at: https://bit.ly/34WADX2 [Access 21.04.2020]

Influencer MarketingHub writer (2019) “What is Personal Branding”

Availble at: https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-personal-branding/ [Access 22.04.2020]

Heitzman, A. (2019). “What Is Personal Branding & 4 Reasons Why It’s Important” [Online]

Available at: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-is-personal-branding-why-important/327367/#close [Access 22.04.2020]

BroadbandSearch writer(N.D) “Average Time Spent Daily on Social Media (Latest 2020 data) [Online]

Available at: https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/average-daily-time-on-social-media#post-navigation-1

[Access 23.04.2020]

GRIN (2019) “A Guide to Branding Yourself on Social Media” [Online]

Available at: https://grin.co/blog/a-guide-to-building-your-personal-brand-through-social-media/ [Access 23.04.2020]

Willis, K. (2019) “Personal Branding on Social Media in 5 Steps” [Online]

Availble at: https://blog.smarp.com/how-to-build-your-influence-on-social-media-your-personal-brand [Access 23.04.2020]