It’s one of the most talked-about topics in freelancers and entrepreneurs circles, but in the last few years, personal branding has been at the centre of everyone’s attention in the last few years.
With social media taking more and more space in our personal and professional lives, it’s not surprising that having a personal brand is becoming something that tickles the interest of everyone looking to further their career or make a change in their life.
A few years ago, having a good CV and doing your job well would be the only things that mattered in the professional world. Nowadays, the internet and social media changed the way we search for (and keep) a job and how you present yourself online is just as important as your work experience.
In the last few years, even dating has evolved in a constant quest for coolness to avoid being swiped left. In a world where appearance matter, could personal branding help us change our life for the better while being ourselves?
Sabrina Panizza, co-founder of pl_studio, thinks so. To help bring clarity to the matter, we asked Sabrina to answer the most googled questions about personal branding.
What is a personal brand?
Personal branding is your reputation, your character traits, your appearance, your values and what you believe in. Everyone has a personal brand, even if some people are not aware of it. What we have to decide is if we want to work on it and improve it, or not.
Personally, I think people should improve it because it could help them to be more successful. But it’s important to remember that a personal brand is who we are, it’s the way we decide to show ourselves to the world.
It’s incredibly important now to be aware of what you are posting and of your image on social media. You have to make sure that your offline persona is the same as the online persona you are creating.
Why should I have a personal brand?
You should have a personal brand to be more successful in your professional and personal life. If you are an entrepreneur and a freelancer, having a strong personal brand will give you more credibility. People will see you as an expert and will want to know what you think about your preferred topic and the industry you want to be a leader in.
If you work for a company things are not too different: a personal brand will build up your value and help you show it.
In your personal life, you might want to meet new people or find a partner that is in line with your values and beliefs. Appearance is important in both our worlds, professional and personal. It’s important to send the right messages if we want to attract people that are aligned with our personality and our values.
What should your personal brand say about you?
It should tell people who you are, your values, why you are special. Especially if you are an entrepreneur, you really have to show who you are and what you want to do straight away.
People think that they won’t be taken seriously if they show themselves as they really are and if they don’t conform, but you can look professional while showcasing your personality. If your appearance matches your personality, you will feel more comfortable and confident and that’s always a good thing.
What is the first step to creating a personal brand?
Understanding who you are and what you want to tell the world about yourself. Once you are clear about that, you should write a little statement to describe yourself and decide who ‘your people’ to find your target audience. After that, you can come up with a strategy.
Ignore trends: you should be aware of the trends but you should only care about what you like, what excites you. You can do whatever you want, as long as it’s you and it’s consistent – you need to feel good about your personal brand. A good personal brand is something that amplifies yourself.
Can you have 2 different types of brands?
No, you can’t split your brand. Having two brands goes against the idea of ‘personal’. The danger is to lose credibility if you can’t decide on your personal brand. It’s not an easy process and it doesn’t happen overnight but we all have what it takes to create a strong personal brand.
Do you have to use your name as your personal brand?
I think you should use your name. You can, of course, use a different name but the process will be more difficult. You can’t get rid of your name, you will always have to introduce yourself with your name so if you have two personas then you have to make sure that they really merge and that’s really hard to do. But if you hate your name you can have a professional name that is not your birth name – the secret is to use it consistently as if it was your real name.
How do you create a personal brand on social media?
The first step is your name because that’s the first thing people will see or look for. Depending on which social media channel you want to work on, you’ll have to do different things but the name and the profile picture are always important. For example, on LinkedIn make sure you use a professional picture – don’t use a selfie! That doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit, but you do have to look professional.
For Twitter, it would be the tone of voice more than anything else so the bio is important. On Instagram, you want to get the colours right and think of the aesthetic but you also want to think about the bio and make sure you explain what you will be posting about.
