With the recent rise of social media, the term “Personal Brand” is something that has been tossed around quite frequently. Today, when we think of a Personal Brand, it is instantaneously linked with the internet— more specifically with social media. Sometimes unintentionally, but mostly in earnest, working on your personal branding has become a concern that most anyone seeking to establish themselves should look into.
Regardless of the term personal brand, this idea of “branding” and using branding in relation to oneself has been around for years. The phrase “Personal Brand” (in the sense that we understand it to mean today) was first published in 1997 by Tom Peters’ article in Fast Company, aptly entitled “The Brand Called You”.
In summation, Peters stresses that “it all matters. When you’re promoting brand You, everything you do — and everything you choose not to do — communicates the value and character of the brand”
Essentially, any and everything you do can be considered a contribution to your personal brand. What you had for breakfast, that shirt you just bought in the exact color you always get, when looked at from a certain perspective, heck, what kind of coffee you ordered at Starbucks this morning, is personal branding.
So next time you post that Instagram of that quirky #TBT from three years ago (high school was a growing period for you, wasn’t it?) or a snarky tweet about the rude dude who cut you in line yesterday while waiting in line for frozen yogurt, briefly question if this concept is “on brand”.
That’s not to say you should seriously analyze ever retweet or picture post, but simply to gain an overall awareness of how every part of your social media is you, and should consistently reflect that.
