A lot of people neglect the power of personal branding.
It is a common belief that the way people “perceive us” can’t be influenced or changed in any way, but the truth is your personal brand is essential and can influence the way people perceive you, whether you agree with me or not.
It’s true that people make snap judgments about you every single day and, in most cases, it doesn’t matter if they are accurate or not. But you need to understand that these snap judgments occur and that’s why personal branding is so important.
Personal branding has the potential to influence individual perspectives by making you memorable or unique as compared with others. Obviously, what truly matters when it comes to “judging” people is what’s inside (don’t judge a book by its cover). But it is important for you to come to grips with the fact that not everyone is going to be able to get to know you as well as your friends and family do. Thus, it is so important to develop your personal brand and create positive first impressions with people because they will last a lifetime.
The Power Of First Impressions
Personal branding can help you create a positive first impression through the way you present and package yourself. For example, if you enter a job interview but you aren’t dressed in a professional way, you aren’t prepared, or you can’t articulate why they should hire you, I’m sorry but you probably won’t get the job. Your first impression in this example had a negative effect on the people around you and you just put yourself into the “Absolutely No” category.
So, if you want to make a good first impression and start developing a unique personal brand, you first have to understand the two ways personal branding is impacting your life on a daily basis.
1. Snap Judgments
Although you think people will just love you for the amazing person you are deep down, unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Individuals regularly make snap judgments about people before they even get to know someone. For example, how many times have you looked at a new influencer’s Instagram page and decided not to follow them. This has likely happened many times in the past and this is simply because you made a snap judgment to not follow this person based on the “limited” amount of data you had available, such as their first 6 Instagram pictures.
In addition, to give you an idea of why creating a positive personal brand is essential, let’s take a look at the rise and fall of Lil Tay. If you don’t know who Lil Tay is, basically she went viral at the start of 2018, after her “flexing” videos blew up the internet. It’s funny because it only took one of her videos to convince me to never follow her on Instagram! It’s unfortunate because she is only 9 years old and she has already created such a negative personal brand for herself that it will be hard (next to impossible) for her rebrand herself in the future.
Furthermore, a recent interview with Lil Tay exposed that her entire persona and personal brand was a lie and she was “flexing” other people’s luxurious homes and cars. This “outrageous” interview basically forced her to disappear off of social media completely and people are wondering if this interview has caused the end of the “Lil Tay” persona.
So, remember, the way you present yourself truly matters in both a professional and personal sense because the way you act is the way people will perceive you.
2. Self-Confidence
The minute you start investing some time in your personal brand, you will impact your self-confidence in a positive way. You’d be surprised by the amount of control you have over the way people perceive you. For example, over the last few years, I have been branding myself as a “Lifestyle Blogger, Digital Marketer & Growth Hacker” and it is crazy how this has affected the way people remember and recognize me.
Obviously, I have been working diligently on my personal branding for a while now, but simply focusing on three of my passions has impacted my brand’s focus significantly. So I highly recommend you define yourself with a few focus keywords that you want to build your personal brand around. This process is greater defined in Daymond John‘s book, called “The Power Of Broke” as he suggests people to develop a short personal branding elevator pitch which consists of 2-5 keywords. This personal branding focus will not only help you define your “why” but it will help you articulate your mission to others while improving your overall self-confidence.
Invest in Your Personal Brand Today
So, now that you understand how personal branding is impacting your life and the way people perceive you, start investing in your personal brand today. Honestly, personal branding has the potential to change your life in a positive way by helping you stand out amongst the masses. Thus, don’t underestimate the benefits of personal branding in your professional and personal life.
Start building your personal brand today and stand out from the crowd in a positive way!
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy my personal branding blog post called, “How To Differentiate Your Personal Brand”.
Also, I’d love to hear your opinion about personal branding and Lil Tay, so leave a comment or drop me a note on Twitter @iambradthompson !
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