“Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about inventing yourself.”
- George Bernhard Shaw
When you hear the word ‘brand’, what comes to mind? For some, branding is synonymous with household names like Coca-Cola, Nike or Volvo and the feelings their marketing teams want us to think and feel about their products… refreshment, high-endurance and safety. But ‘brand’ isn’t limited to corporate board rooms and advertising campaigns. People also possess brands, which require careful management in order to achieve our goals.
In my post a few weeks ago, “You, Inc. (May 8, 2011),” I discussed the benefits and responsibilities of owning your own life. Today, let’s take it one step further. Whether we like it or not, everything we do, what we say, how we dress and who we associate with (and what we DON’T do, say, wear, etc.) sends a message to the world about who we are. It doesn’t take long to become known as our brands… confident, insecure, consistent, unreliable, etc.
Why, you ask?
You’ve heard the expression “it only takes a second to make a first impression,” right? From the moment we walk into a room, open our mouths, and make personal choices, we are branded. As relationships continue over time, people come to expect certain behaviors from one another. And – as you probably know – a positive brand can be tarnished in an instant while a negative one takes much time and effort to improve.
The key to managing your personal brand starts with deciding who you are and/or who you want to be – and doing those things consistently. It’s not enough to simply say these things… we must become them. Just because Volvo promotes itself as a safe car manufacturer, does that make it so? Favorable crash-tests and testimonials from happy buyers have made us believe what Volvo claims to be. So… if you want to be a better friend, you must do what good friends do… listen, spend quality time and exercise patience. Want to be known as an expert in your field? You would certainly promote yourself as just that, but must have the goods to back it up.
Bottom line: be who you claim you are.
This brings me to a subject I’m pretty passionate about… the power of social media. The information posted on Facebook, Twitter, etc. is open for the world to see – and judge us by. Unfair, yes, but the consequences can be harsh if, say, a curious potential employer investigates the “real you” with just a few clicks of the mouse. So while images of our loved ones and vacation photos are one thing, posting “questionable” material is quite another. Risqué comments and photos may not be representative of the real you, but how would someone know if that’s all they have to go on?
This week I encourage you to take a minute to evaluate your personal brand and decide:
Is your personal brand an accurate reflection of the “you” that you want to be?
