Personal branding.

It’s kind of a buzzword these days, isn’t it? it might not be as big as a buzzword as social distancing, but I’m sure you’ve heard the term. If you’ve done any research, you may have a visual definition of what it is: someone has made a “logo” or fancy visuals with their name. That’s part of it, but it’s a little more.

WHAT IS A PERSONAL BRAND?
In short, your personal brand is how you promote yourself, and how you represent yourself. It’s how you talk about what you do on a professional level, and who you are on a personal level. Remember, branding isn’t just the visuals.

YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE.
Everyone has a personal brand. Many people are walking around like raw diamonds. Uncut, unpolished, but it’s still a diamond and it’s still there. It’s a valuable thing that has yet to be brought to its best, that has yet to be cultivated into its fullness. As I mentioned above, your brand is how you represent yourself and talk about what you do. You already do this without having any visuals. Even if you didn’t work, you would still have a personal brand, because it’s not just about your work. It’s about identity. And that’s why we talk about these things as brand identity, or identity design.

HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT
Branding isn’t just for companies, and since you already have one simply by the way you represent yourself, why not make the most of it and make it work for you? Having a visual identity helps you build relationships both online and in person, and makes you more recognizable. When someone who follows you online meets you in a bar, strikes up a conversation with you, and you hand them a business card, they will recognize your brand from social media and make the connection. Online you will present less like a random person and more like someone to take seriously. A personal brand makes you look more “official.”

It also helps you become more visible online. When you have a social media presence that is visually coordinated with a website, it becomes easier to find you and identify you. In addition, a consistent online brand representation can help you boost your SEO. The caveat is that you also have to do some work to understand how SEO works, and how to make it work in your favor.

HOW TO CULTIVATE IT
Have you ever been to a networking event and talk to someone who is really good at talking about what they do? Maybe you don’t even know what “really good at talking about what they do” even means, but you get it. You listen to this person and you’re naturally engaged, even if they aren’t charismatic. They are good communicators when it comes to talking about their work. They concisely sum up what they do and why it’s valuable. They don’t bore you into numbness by droning on and on, and they leave room for conversation. They give you their business card, which directs you to a website and social media profiles. To finish it off, they ask you to have a cup of coffee with them.

The elevator pitch.
Whether you are someone who is at ease in social situations or prefer to be a wallflower, learning how to present yourself in an engaging way is important. If I may confess, this is something I really struggle with. I prefer to be the wallflower. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t just tell people my job title and I should have an eloquent elevator speech for networking events. I don’t really have a concise, or fancy elevator speech, because with my line of work, it feels pretentious to say something beyond what exactly I do. “I capture memories.” “I bring brand visions to life.” It really sounds pretentious to me and doesn’t really feel authentic. So, instead of trying to be charismatic or eloquent with my elevator speech, I just tell people that I’m a graphic designer, a photographer, and show people the joy in what I do through genuine verbal and non-verbal cues. Experts may say that saying something along the lines of, “I bring brand visions to life,” engages because it gets people interested to know more. Probably, because you didn’t actually tell them anything. For my line of work, it just sounds like attention-seeking bait. For other industries or professions, it might be perfect. Figure out what camp you fall into. Showing that you love what you do is just as engaging, because people tend to engage with genuine joy.

Networking.
Getting out and meeting people is how you “get your name out there.” Join a professional organization and attend their events. I am apart of three: AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), PPA (Professional Photographers of America), and AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, so not related to my creative work, but my love of aviation). Another great way to network is attending 1 Million Cups, which is a weekly networking group that has chapters all over the country. You get to sip coffee and chat with other people, then listen to a startup give their pitch, and wrap up with doing Q + A with the presenters. It’s a great way to learn about building a business, and observing how brands are developed.

Go online.
Having a strong web presence is a powerful tool for your brand. I recommend starting with a website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages, or maybe just a website, and Instagram. You have to learn what suits your needs. On my social media, I just get real. I post genuine commentary, educational tidbits, and sometimes stupid musings about work. This helps me to not sound stiff and dry, but translate my approachable and quirky nature to online platforms.

Next, you have to actually invest time in your online presence. How much time is going to be determined by you and influenced by factors such as how independent you are. A small business owner will need to invest more time in social media and may need to be more accessible. My personal brand for aviation and my personal life has no website and only exists on Instagram.

It seems like a lot, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Maybe start with your website and then step up to one or two social media platforms. It may work in your favor to start with networking and building your community first. What suits your goals? Start there. The great thing about all this is that you are starting with what you already know about yourself, what is already you. What do you want people to know about you?