What’s Personal Branding?

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Personal branding is a strategy in which an individual or business seeks to make the most of their attributes to project an image that is easily recognizable and associated with everything the entity does. Closely associated with impression management, the idea is to assess your present passions, skills, desires, strengths and weaknesses and use them to create an image or brand that is accessible and compelling. This personal branding process is often the key to social and business success.

One of the basic principles of personal branding is that in order to project a positive image, one must understand the assets that the individual owns. In this way it is possible to cultivate an image based on facts rather than attributes that the individual wishes to possess. For example, an actor who has a natural affinity for dramatic roles will want to cultivate an image as a gifted dramatic actor, rather than attempting to build an image as a comic actor, an area in which the actor has little or no ability.

To advance the personal branding process, these innate talents must be coupled with the passions and desires of the individual. While someone may have a strong ability to play one or more musical instruments, that particular attribute may not be relevant to a desire to be perceived as a competent entrepreneur. Assuming the individual also has an aptitude for business management, the focus would be on that skill set and not musical ability.

In addition to valuing personal assets and relating them to what the individual is passionate about, personal branding also requires determining what weaknesses the individual may possess, particularly in terms of character, education, or skills that pertain to the image you want to project. Here, the goal is to identify those factors that could undermine customers’ perceptions of the individual, and thus prevent or damage consumer confidence. Once these aspects are identified, steps can be taken to minimize or eliminate them or turn them into strengths in some way.

Personal branding also involves developing strategies to sell that brand to consumers. Unless others are able to readily associate the individual with the qualities they seek when doing business, opportunities for success remain limited. By cultivating an image that projects all the qualities consumers find desirable, the opportunity to gain recognition, generate revenue, and establish long-term business relationships with customers is greatly enhanced.

Ultimately, personal branding involves a process of taking personal inventory, developing skills, identifying and constructively managing weaknesses, and projecting a level of expertise that ultimately wins the trust of others. As with many aspects of human interaction, personal branding is a lifelong process, enabling the individual to deal with new circumstances in ways that ensure continued success.

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