Branding matters, not only in the business world but in your personal world too. Just like a brand wants its presence to resonate with audiences, so do individuals looking to move ahead in their careers. Personal branding is about creating and maintaining your public image, showcasing your experiences and values that best represent you.
Whether you recognize it or not, everyone has a personal brand. The clothes you wear are an immediate sign of your brand as is your overall appearance. Someone who wears a pressed suit to a meeting is showing up with a sense of legitimacy as opposed to someone who opts to wear tattered jeans and a ball cap. That said, physical appearance is just the beginning of personal branding. After all, many top executives today are notorious for wearing more casual clothes, so much so that it has become part of their brand.
Other recognizable aspects of a personal brand include how you present yourself. During a board meeting, an individual who is taking notes can be viewed as attentive as opposed to someone scrolling through their phone. A hiring manager may base immediate judgments when they see an error-free, thorough resume versus one that is unstructured and sloppy.
From these examples alone, you’ll see that the correlation between personal branding and professional success is strong. Here are a few ways that personal branding can elevate your professional success.
1. Building Your Network
One of the ways many people hear of new opportunities is through their network. A job that isn’t open to the public yet may come across your desk from a former colleague. Newly available space for your expanding brick-and-mortar business may come up thanks to a friendship with a real estate agent. When someone in your network thinks of who may be the right person for this specific opportunity, you want them to think of you. The key to getting these opportunities is to build a strong network.
Someone with a strong personal brand will be more visible and therefore have a higher chance of being sought out for networking. A colleague may be more willing to introduce you to someone in their network once they know that it could be mutually beneficial. An individual thinking about a career pivot, for example, may be introduced to a hiring manager at a large firm in the new industry they’re considering.
Remember, a network is much more than the number of connections you happen to have on LinkedIn. While these followers count, the people you interact with daily are also part of your network. Your pals in grad school, your outsourced CMO, yoga instructor, neighbors, and family members are part of your network too. It’s easy to forget this until you need something and need to reach out to your personal network.
2. Establishing Authority
First and foremost, your personal brand establishes authority within your industry. Think of your brand as how you stand out from others in the same field as you. Just like you would market a product, you’re marketing yourself and explaining why you are the best choice. By consistently presenting yourself as an individual with the appropriate education, background, and skills needed to succeed, you’re demonstrating your authority. Others will see that you know what you’re talking about and will look to you for your insights and opinions on different business matters.
Having authority is important for professional success because it reveals why you have the position that you do. As a leader, others will recognize that you are worthy of your position and are more likely to follow your lead. Colleagues are more likely to understand your rationale for different decisions knowing that you have the authority to back it up.
If you’re unsure of how to show up as an authoritative industry leader, you may want to consider working with a career or life coach. These types of coaches are what top marketing agencies are for the business world. They will work with you to identify your top talents and how to effectively communicate them with others across different platforms. Together, you’ll create a compelling narrative that is true to who you are and what you want to become.
3. Attracting New Professional Opportunities
One of the biggest advantages of having a strong personal brand is that it can offer you an array of opportunities. The more you establish your brand, the more you’ll be differentiated. People will start to come to you instead of you coming to them. You’ll no longer feel that you are on the hunt for opportunities, but rather they come across your desk proactively. Brand partnerships, collaborations, and job offerings may become present just based on your personal branding work.
In the business world, this may mean an executive turning to you for advice on their company’s dilemma. This could lead to a consulting offer, giving you a chance to work with another company and influence their success. Or someone from your alma mater may reach out to you to present a class at the university related to your field of work.
When these opportunities present themselves, make sure they align with your values. It can be exciting to receive these offers, but it can be detrimental if you choose the wrong ones. Just because the opportunity is there doesn’t mean it is meant for you. And the more that you are seen as a leading expert, the more discerning you should be in your decisions. Take some time before saying “yes” and make sure that the outcome will either benefit you directly or indirectly.
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