Everyone has a brand. How you dress, talk, post on social media platforms, the things you do, and the kind of people you surround yourself with all represent the story you present to the world. Properly branding yourself can connect you with people in profitable and exciting ways and open doors for opportunities you never imagined. Below, I’m sharing three tips on how to properly build and manage your brand. Enjoy!
· Core Values – The first step with branding is figuring out what your core values are. What do you want people to know and remember you by? Figuring out what you value and more importantly, why, helps guide selling yourself. My core values are perseverance, positivity, faith, equality, and freedom. And my motto is: Inspire. Influence. Impact. A lot of the content I share and some of the characteristics I aim to embody surround those things. Making them apart of my brand makes sense. Figure out what your core values are. Also, how you treat people (especially when no one’s watching) is very important, so treat everyone you encounter with kindness and respect.
· Presentation (Real Life and Online) – Second, looks do matter. I’m all for people having great personalities and a chill inner life, but truthfully, many people are visual. One of the first things people notice about you is the way you look, how you groom, dress, and carry yourself. Dress like you value yourself. I’m not suggesting you be a vain person that overspends on clothing just to look good to other people (I’m thrifty and don’t spend a ton of money on clothes or shoes) but I aim to dress my best no matter the occasion. When you look good you feel good. Also, your online presence is equally if not more important. This is the Google age where anyone-- future employers, colleagues, people you date (or those who have an interest in dating you), can look you up online and see photos of you. What do the kind of photos you post say about you? That you’re fun? Adventurous? Exciting? Into volunteering your time to a great cause? Or do you post a ton of selfies? Overshare? Or post self-deprecating photos about how you don’t think you’re attractive? A picture is worth many words. Be mindful of the message your photos convey. The kinds of things you post and repost send loud messages about yourself and your brand as well. I’m personally a fan of encouraging posts and inspirational quotes. However, I’m not a fan of oversharing, drama, unnecessary rants, whining and complaining, excessive photos of couples, or anything else that’s none of my business or anyone else’s. Certain things should be left offline. Master the balance between your personal life and private life. And for God’s sake, stop going public with things that should be private. Do you want your brand associated with positivity and influence, or annoyance and negativity?
· Connect – In today's world there are almost too many ways to connect with people, so there's no excuse not to connect! Social media, networking, or chatting up someone you think is cool are just a handful of examples to brand and leave a lasting impression on the people you interact with. This is one of the most productive ways to properly build your brand because you'll be being intentional about putting yourself in a great position to make an impact. So, get out there. Meet people. Make friends. You never know where some of those connections might lead you.
*One more thing. Just remember that when you’re on social media and you see all those fun, exciting, and inspiring posts and photos different people share, that behind any kind of “branding” and all those posts and photos, are real people with real challenges, struggles, disappointments, fears, and frustrations that they’re working through too. I am one of those people. It’s just that I don’t put all my business out for the world to see. I’m intentional about what I choose to share and not share. I allow people to get to know me through my writing, and aim for authenticity in doing so, but real life is happening to us all. Keep growing, working on yourself, and live your best life. You've got something this world needs.