Brand Yourself! Here Are Five Tips for Creating a Personal Brand

Once upon a time, there was a young professional named Bob. Bob was tired of blending in so, he decided to focus on personal branding. He started by creating a catchy tagline: “Bob, the human exclamation point!” He made sure that his email signature, business cards, and social media profiles all reflected this tagline. One day, Bob’s boss called him into a meeting. Beaming with pride, Bob was ready to showcase his personal brand. But when he saw everyone's faces, he quickly realized that this wasn't going to be a celebration.

“Bob, we need to talk about your behavior,” his boss began. “It's been brought to our attention that you've been using exclamation points excessively in all your emails and communications. It's becoming a problem.” Bob was taken aback. Exclamation points were part of his personal brand! But his boss went on to explain that it made him seem unprofessional and immature.

Feeling embarrassed and deflated, Bob went back to his desk. But then, he had an epiphany! Instead of getting down on himself, he decided to embrace the humor of the situation and use it to his advantage. He changed his tagline to: “Bob, the human exclamation point... who learned to tone it down!” And, he started incorporating humor into his personal brand, which endeared him to his coworkers and made him stand out even more. From that day on, Bob became known as the guy with a great sense of humor. And, just like that, he built a personal brand that was truly unique and unforgettable.

Ok, so that hilarious story was written by ChatGPT, the machine-learning tool that’s almost certainly fast-tracking the “End of Days,” but at least it’s leading us to destruction in a confident-yet-inaccurate and unintentionally hilarious ways. But you gotta admit, “Bob the human exclamation point” is memorable, even if for the wrong reasons. In short, we don’t recommend outsourcing all of your personal branding to artificial intelligence just yet – but that said, some lessons can be gleaned from Bob’s less-than-side-splitting story. 

1. Bob came up with a unique theme and tagline.
2. Bob made sure his tagline was used across all the ways he communicates.
3. Bob got negative feedback on elements of his branding strategy. 
4. Bob was willing to learn and evolve. 
5. Instead of doubling down or getting angry, Bob reworked his original campaign into something even more unique. 

Bob’s exclamation point branding strategy is cheesy, but as noted, somewhat effective. Maybe you’re in a similar situation as Bob: A nondescript “young professional” who needs to stand out. It’s easy to read articles that lay out the ways people such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, or Bill Gates build and fortify their personal brands, but most of us are never going to host one of the biggest talk shows in history, be First Lady for eight years or become a gazillionaire by creating software that changes the world. 

However, we all have a USP or unique selling proposition. Step one for the majority of us is finding that USP. What sets you apart? Are you funny? Are you passionate about something? Whatever your USP is, you can begin building a brand by leaning into it. And, once you’ve identified your USP and deem it solid, do follow Bob and put your brand into action. Burn your USP into the retinas and memories of as many people as possible by being consistent across all platforms, including your resume, LinkedIn profile, and social media accounts. 

Bring the fire! Your passion and energy have the power to ignite others, but it's up to you to direct that flame toward positive change and growth. –And yes, that was some more strange-yet-somewhat-profound advice on fire from ChatGPT, which seems to be aware of the etymology of the English word brand. 

“Brand” evolved from the Old English word “byrnan” – and if you’re thinking “byrnan” sounds a lot like “burning,” you’re right. Back in the bad old days, fire was used to identify property, which sadly included both animals and people. Industrious folks quickly came to see how useful it was to have a distinctive mark or name for what they made or offered, and today we’re surrounded by product brands and logos fighting for our attention, memory, and money. Of course, people can be brands as well, and that’s what we’re going to explore over the rest of this article. 

While we do not recommend “bringing the fire” literally, the goal of personal branding, however, remains much the same as its searing ancestor: creating distinguishing features that clearly announce to the world what you do and who you are. Some people bristle when they’re told by marketing experts to “develop a personal brand.” After all, some argue, I’m not trying to get famous and I’m not trying to sell stuff based on my being famous. But creating a personal brand does not necessarily equate with a desire for personal fame. What it can mean is something as simple as when ‘X’ needs ‘Y’ they think of you as – in their minds – you and ‘Y’ are connected in a positive way. 

Personal branding is even important for remote workers as building a strong online presence and virtual networking will be the key that separates those who will advance their careers or find new opportunities, and those that will wither on the vine. So how can one “frame the narrative” of their personal brand? Let’s look at five essential components.

1. Be Authentic: In a world where anyone can create a polished persona either via the unpoliced internet or a too-often gullible media (Did you know George Santos once saved a herd of drowning goats a few minutes before getting his Ph.D. from Harvard?), being authentically authentic is pretty much the cornerstone to building a strong personal brand.

People want to connect with relatable individuals – in short: Keep it real, man! 

1. Use Social media wisely: Social media (SM) platforms play a major role in personal branding so any professionals will need to be strategic about their online presence and the content they share. For example, do you really want the entire world to know what you think about some divisive issue? Why post comments or thoughts on current events, or politics … unless they have a direct – and useful – connection to the image you want to cement? On SM, less can sometimes be more. 

1. Get into video content: Video content, such as live streaming and short-form videos, are easy ways to directly present yourself and be seen and heard exactly as you choose to be seen and heard. Video is among the best ways to showcase personality and build a connection with an audience. Think about podcaster Joe Rogan: love him or hate him, he’s a huge brand. But did you know that the most popular platform for podcasts isn’t Spotify? –It’s YouTube. Rogan is raking in the bucks not so much from his voice as a podcaster, but for his presence as a podcaster, you watch. 

1. Find your niche: With so many people vying for attention, niche branding is becoming essential. By focusing on a very specific area of expertise or industry, individuals can differentiate themselves and stand out in a crowded marketplace. So, don’t market yourself as a “yoga instructor/piano tuner/babysitter” – that’s too much for most people to wrap their heads around. Instead, get specific: be a “certified Ashtanga vinyasa yoga instructor.” Then make two other FB pages, websites, or even just business cards for your other business endeavors.

1. And finally, TELL A STORY: Figure out how to tell your story in an authentic, specific, and earnest way, and then think about using video content on social media to get that story out there. Of course, word-of-mouth is almost always the most effective (and cheapest) way of advertising – so give people a story they’ll want to re-tell! Humans are hardwired for stories. Long before writing came along, our ancestors sat around and told stories … we all love a good story, so find yours and tell it.    

Personal branding is an essential tool for anyone looking to advance their career or build a successful business. By finding your USP, being authentic, leveraging social media, creating video content, and finding your brand’s niche, you can create a strong and memorable image in the minds of others, and set yourself apart in a world that’s soon going to be home to 8 billion souls… and counting.