Blog 4 - Personal Branding

Personal Branding

"Personal branding is the practice of marketing people and their careers as brands. It is an ongoing process of developing and maintaining a reputation and impression of an individual, group, or organization. Whereas some self-help practices focus on self-improvement, personal branding defines success as a form of self-packaging." (Henderson, 2019). Personal branding can play as a huge advantage for a company or brand. Building a personal brand comes down to gaining the trust and loyalty of your followers by showcasing your knowledge within your field. Building this relationship leads to network growth and an increased client base. According to Hall (2019), 73% of consumers are willing to pay more for products that guarantee total transparency. 

Social media is one of the most efficient ways to shape your personal brand. It gives you the opportunity to network with a large number of people over a diverse range of platforms. To successfully grow your personal brand using social media you will need to identify your target audience and research trends relating to your area of expertise. Making an informed selection of which social networks to use based on your target audience ensures efficiency of social media posting.  

Posting quality content is the most crucial aspect of building your personal brand. Posting different types of content, regularly ensures your following remains engaged. Video content is the fastest growing in popularity due to the simplicity of ‘stories’. ‘Stories’ are short videos in which you can post instantly on socials such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. “Stories are growing 15 times faster than newsfeeds. More than one billion users are already hooked on the format” (Holmes, 2018).

Gary Vaynerchuk has built an empire of followers via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. His personal brand has been built as a motivational speaker, sharing ‘straight to the point’ content. With 7.8 million Instagram followers, Gary posts informative videos showcasing his insights and views on topical subjects. The topical everyday content allows the viewer to relate to and therefore trust Gary and his brand. He posts regularly and remains relevant with fresh imagery, quotes and videos. 

Brittney Saunders begun creating YouTube content from a young age. It is clear the majority of her audience throughout her career has been younger women who are able to relate to her content. Through posting topical videos, the use of Snapchat and Instagram stories and aesthetically pleasing images, her following has grown significantly, therefore building her personal brand. Since creating this personal brand and becoming an influential public figure, Brittney has been able to collaborate with companies and build her own clothing business. 

References

Henderson, G. (2019) ‘What is Personal Branding?’ Digital Marketing Blog. Available at https://www.digitalmarketing.org/blog/what-is-personal-branding [Accessed 20 Feb 2020]

Basu, T. (2019) ‘How to Build a Personal Brand (Complete Guide to Personal Branding)’. Available at https://www.thinkific.com/blog/personal-branding-guide/ [Accessed 1 March 2020]

Hall, J. (2019) ‘Personal branding trends to tap into on social media’. Available at https://sproutsocial.com/insights/personal-branding-trends-social-media/ [Accessed 15 April 2020]

Holmes, R. (2018) ‘ 4 tips on how to succeed with Stories’. Available at https://www.fastcompany.com/90252767/4-tips-on-how-to-succeed-with-stories [Accessed 15 April 2020]