Reasons YOU need to show some love to your personal brand

Less than 15 per cent of people have truly defined their personal brand. Even less live it out. If you care about your career, you don’t want to contribute to those statistics. Here are nine things you need to

remember:

Whether you invest in it or not, you have a brand. You want a good one! Before you meet anyone new these days, they will have asked about you from others or searched for you online. You have to take your personal brand seriously.

You become more valuable to your employer when you invest in your brand.

Instead of fearing alignment with your business - leverage the relationship and

the relationships you have with your colleagues. The best way to build

your individual brand is to use your internal network.

Learning is a cycle. What you give you get back in spades. Personal branding is a way to share your knowledge and experience, but also enables you to soak up the learnings of others.

Life and business is not about the individual, but the strength of the

individuals as a collective. Everyone

likes to win. A winning team consists of many strong personal

brands. Manage your personal brand well in concert with your team and you are taking equity in your organisation’s

brand.

Innovation is only possible when people are empowered and encouraged to be themselves. Your personal brand thrives in an environment that celebrates differences, where everyone works together for the betterment of a healthier whole.

When you invest in your brand, you constantly challenge yourself, and you

improve. As you improve, you get more from your work. It’s the key to

fulfilment; and the other half of

happiness.

Social media is the great leveller of professionals in the modern age. Never has there been a better time to captialise on this opportunity. Organisations pay huge sums to

humanise their brands. You are a key part of that but unlike an organisation you don’t have to spend millions of dollars to benefit.

By sharing more about yourself and giving an insight into what makes you

tick, you become more accessible. All of a sudden there is an opportunity

for those who have shared values or experiences to connect with you.

Finally, as put in Forbes, personal

branding is a leadership requirement, not a self-promotion campaign! A personal branding culture that ties to an organisation’s brand building efforts should be the aim of every business. It’s not easy but again highlights why you need a brand mentor.

Aaron Crowther