If you’ve ever heard phrases like ‘He really is well-beloved by the public’ or ‘They really know about the topic’ directed to a public figure or influencers, it’s all thanks to their successful personal branding.

Personal branding is one of the branding and marketing jargon one might often hear, especially since the rise of internet personalities and influencers era. In Indonesia, the word personal branding was popularized as people became aware of the importance of branding, brand image, and digital marketing.

While it is counted under the umbrella of branding, personal branding specifically refers to the image branding of an individual, unlike general branding that often refers to a company, product, service, or business.

Despite the main difference, personal branding still talks about ‘selling’, in a sense. We’ll discuss the power of strong personal branding, starting from the definitive meaning, and how to create personal branding.

 

What is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is like creating a persona for oneself. It is an intentional and deliberate way of behaving to direct and influence the public perception of an individual.

And often used interchangeably with self-branding, though some would argue that self-branding is showcasing an authentic self rather than creating a strategic image.

So in a sense, personal branding is what the public associates with a certain individual. Here are some examples of successful branding done by public figures to help you understand better:

 

• • Kim Kardashian -> trendsetter and glamorous fashion & beauty icon
  • Juna Rorimpandey, or Chef Juna -> stern, cool, and intellectual chef
  • Raditya Dika -> witty, creative, and unproblematic stand-up comedian

 

In some rare cases, rebranding is perfectly applicable for branding. It is normally more difficult than the usual rebranding since personal branding is often tied to an individual’s personality, and rebranding means the person needs to change their behavior and personality, especially in public.

One of the most noticeable personal branding is done by Prabowo, the Indonesian presidential candidate for the 2024 election. As a military man, Prabowo has been known as a firm nationalist with a rather strong personality up until last year. 

 

However, in 2023, he changed drastically to be publicly perceived as an adorable middle-aged cat lover adored by the people. Prabowo’s personal rebranding is so iconic that many have easily forgotten his previous persona in politics. 

 

Building A Career from Personal Branding

After understanding the meaning of personal branding, the next question would be: ‘Why are they doing that?’ and ‘What’s the purpose of personal branding?’.

The simple answer would be to build their career. This doesn’t just apply to influencers and internet personalities, but regular people too. The importance of personal branding is often missed by people because they assume that they don’t need to go to that extent since it doesn’t benefit them.

Here are some of the benefits one could achieve from personal branding, and how that could turn into a career booster.

 

• Build credibility and reliability

When you constantly present yourself in a certain way, people will build trust with you. It means you’re reliable in certain field, and know your stuff. 

Just like Kim Kardashian who constantly surrounded herself with luxury brands and socialite life, people would follow her fashion and beauty choices, believing that she wouldn’t stoop to a lower quality than her class.

As for non-celebrities, coworkers and boss will obviously prefer the professional you rather than the guy who can’t separate their work and personal life.

 

Also Read : How Creative Agency Helps Your Business

 

• Makes you stand out from the crowd

To achieve success, you need to stand out one way or another. Whether it’s through skills alone or personality. 

Whichever it is, it won’t work if you don’t make it your mission to brand yourself with your advantage. Elon Musk would be just another tech CEO if it weren’t for his outrageous innovations and opinionated persona on social media.

 

• A source of limitless potential

If you stand out from the others, you will be given a competitive advantage with your skills. It gives you an extra point because they know you’re that good.

So the next time your boss needs a new supervisor, you’ll be a likely candidate because they know they can trust your skills.

 

• Give you a chance to make an impact

This is one of the reason why a campaign by celebrities is more likely to produce real results than done by regular people. Because they earned fans and followers through their strong branding.

If you’re the type to start a change, personal branding is a must. Influencing people to start a change takes a reliable leader, and the people wouldn’t know that you’re reliable if you don’t brand yourself as one.

 

• Online screening happens unexpectedly

This is crucial if you’re planning to look for a job or trying to sell a product. In this digital age, your online persona can determine the decisions made by customers or employers.

 

How to Start Personal Branding

Starting a personal branding might be confusing for some people. Because what exactly can you do to start your own personal branding?

Look no further, these tips will give you an idea of how to plan your personal branding.

 

• Start behaving consistently

One thing to note about personal branding is, you need to be consistent. If you’re aiming for a professional image, you need to be confident in yourself. 

Present yourself as an expert, be knowledgeable, while also be respectful of others’ opinions.

 

• You are what you wear

If you want to be perceived as a bold fashion diva, wear something bold. Be experimental. Leather jacket, boots, statement piece, whatever you name it. 

Because a fashion diva wouldn’t appear basic. So unfortunately, a simple t-shirt and jeans wouldn’t do your fashionable persona any good.

 

• Speak up more

Standing out means speaking up more. An individual is easily noticeable if they speak up more, especially in topics they’re interested in and knowledgeable of.

This also applies to your professional opinion. No matter how skillful an individual is, it might not be as impactful if they don’t come forward with their mind.

 

• Post your thoughts online

Social media, here we go. This isn’t a must-do tip, but definitely a very helpful tip. Online persona is easier to see than daily behavior. So make sure to be as active as you can with ideas, opinions, works, and stories online.

 

Bottom Line, Personal Branding is Marketing Yourself

A lot of CEO does personal branding to convince people to buy their products. It is a great marketing move because strong personal branding from the owner is another marketing channel that can be utilised. 

However, if you’re looking for company branding for your business, you can always count on Avond Studio to create a remarkable impression for the people.