Why personal branding?
In recent times, if you observe people like to engage with people (influencers and thought leaders) rather than a corporate brand and that number has been steadily rising in the last 3 years by up to 400%.
Personal branding allows you to become an influencer, thought leader and at bare minimal more employable than the other's as you get carve an image of yourself and let the world know about your skills by showcasing them both online and offline. People question that personal branding is for celebrities, sports personalities, and politicians but that is not the case anymore. I am sure you have heard names of Robert Kiyosaki, Gary Vaynerchuck and Vivek Bindra who carved out their niche by letting their ideas being heard and forming a cult following and becoming influencers in their own right.
So, if you are an expert in your domain and already have your ideas, which you believe can add value, create an unparallel offering and get you to a position where you can leverage your skills to be one of the industry-leading figures, personal branding is for you.
If you are a recent college graduate, who dreams of changing the world with thought-provoking insights and change the way an industry functions, with new ideas and strategies fuelling growth, personal branding is for you. No matter, which stage in your professional life you are at personal branding can do wonders for you by allowing you to:
Be known in the industry that you are aiming to make your mark in, connecting you to right kind of people and letting your network creates opportunities for you, getting you connected to your dream job, easily connecting you to speaking opportunities, allowing you to be a partner with the corporates in respective functions, getting you promotions if you are in a career as people can see your potential.
The reason personal branding can work for you is that it gives the opportunity for people to know you, engage with you, build trust and that results in buying from you. If you were to ask another question, whether personal branding is sustainable. The answer is 'Yes'
Take the example of Michael Schumacher or M.S Dhoni or LeBron James or David Beckham. No matter how many teams they change or get transferred to, one thing that they own is their streak and statistics which make them a personal brand to be reckoned with and the fan following (brand loyalty) is no longer for the team they are in but for the personal brand they are.
Another example of a great personal brand is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. He started out as a bottom card wrestler and failed miserably in his first gimmick. In his next gimmick, he came in touch with who he as a person really was and that gave him a push and with a lot of hard work and showcasing his personality, he became one of the top known wrestling stars. As soon as he was near the peak of his career, he took acting classes and after a first few hits and misses, today, he is one of the topmost Hollywood actors, which is a known household name worldwide. While being an actor, he partnered and invested with production houses, successful movie franchises, and a shoe brand and now his success is unparalleled to that of anyone, who went from wrestling to movies, as he is no longer selling his skills but an established brand, which adds value due to its connection with people.
Another example can be of Elon Musk. If you have read so far, can you check out how many followers does he have on twitter vs Tesla or Space X. If you found it out mention in comment below. The reason for that staggering difference is because he is a bigger brand than all the brands he has ever created because his story is one that inspires a lot of young entrepreneurs and starters. It is the person and the connection that makes him bigger than his own corporate brand successes. As, Steve Jobs said 'It's not about doing it better than the competition, but it's about doing it differently.
Are you going to be a personal brand of the future?