Open Thread: How Are You Developing Your Personal Brand?
Just like “influencer,” which sounded ridiculous when we first started hearing about it, the concept of “personal branding” seemed kind of silly when it became a thing several years ago — but now they're common. We haven't focused on personal branding since 2015 (!), so for today's open thread, let's talk about it!
So that we're all on the same page for a discussion, we'll share a couple of definitions of personal branding. It definitely isn't just for entrepreneurs, influencers, and “thought leaders,” though those individuals' techniques don't always overlap those of “traditional” employees.
Your reputation is made up of the opinions and beliefs people form about you based on your collective actions and behaviors. Your personal brand, on the other hand, is much more intentional. It is how you want people to see you. Whereas reputation is about credibility, your personal brand is about visibility and the values that you outwardly represent. — Harvard Business Review
A personal brand is a marketing strategy to promote yourself and your career. When creating your personal brand, you can consider your unique talents, skills and goals that distinguish you from your peers. Understanding how to create a personal brand can help you manage your professional image and market your skills and experiences to attract potential employers. — Indeed
{related: how to work with a recruiter: 7 great tips}
Interestingly, this topic hasn't come up all that frequently in Corporette comments over the years, but a peek at Google Trends shows steady growth of web searches for “personal brand” since the time of our last post. Most of the comments around personal branding here have been negative (i.e., “Um, no, how silly”) but then most of the lengthiest conversations took place in 2016 and earlier.
Readers, now that we're in 2024, we're interested to hear about how much you think about your personal brand, how you develop it, and what your goals are for how others see you as a professional? What tools do you use? Are you in a career or have an employer that limits you in how you build your personal brand — for example, where blogging about your profession would be a no-no? Do you feel that your personal brand is more or less important if you're not getting a lot of face time with your superiors?
{related: are there differences between LinkedIn and your resume?}
Fun fact: “Influencer” in its original sense was first used in 1662.
Further reading:
- “How to Define, Develop, and Communicate Your Personal Brand” [Harvard Business Review, 2023]
- “Personal Branding in the Digital Age: A Guide for Lawyers and Senior Business Professionals” [The Social Media Butterfly, 2023]
- “The Importance of Personal Branding for Junior Lawyers: A Roadmap to Success” [The National Law Review, 2023]
- “Your personal brand is crucial for your next promotion and raise. Here’s how to create one” [Yahoo!Finance, 2023]
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / nevenova.
I don’t think about my personal brand too much – I find it extremely anxiety inducing to place so much emphasis on how others perceive me. I do think about how do I want my work product, impact, contributions, and communications to be known and ensure my behavior and work aligns with the kind of impact I have.
TJ and reposting from earlier thread:
We’re off to London in a couple weeks – family of four (including daughter age 12 and son age 7). We’re looking at afternoon tea either at the Dilly or Fortnum & Mason. Son may not enjoy the entire experience (he’s there only for the dessert rather than the experience, daughter is excited about just going for afternoon tea and doesn’t have a preference where) so not looking at the more upscale places like the Savoy or Langham. Between the Dilly and Fortnum & Mason, any recommendations? If it helps, we’re looking at places with a set veg menu and both of theirs looks great. F&M is also twice as expensive as Dilly which is a consideration. TIA!
Fish and chips at Fortnum and mason might work well for kids. Their milkshakes used to be good too.
I am a lawyer. I can see if I were in a a field where i needed to look for clients or looking for a new job why a brand might matter but honestly for the most part i try to keep my linked in profile up to date and my others private. not doing a lot of branding.
what do those of you in establish relationships do for valentines day, if anything? we are going to dinner and i am sure that my boyfriend will bring my flowers or a little something but i don’t want to get him sweets and i can’t really think of any other “token” type of gift and he just doesn’t need anything….. i thought i might book massages but should i have something tangible?
We are going to visit the local nursery to pick out a houseplant. 18 years together.
that is lovely
when we were first together, that was usually a time for new/special lingerie
after 15 years we’re just grabbing lunch and will definitely have a midday martini
We make heart shaped pizzas and I might bake something for dessert if I feel like it. I don’t like flowers or chocolate and am not big on gifts in general so we don’t usually do them.
Married 12 years. Nothing. My husband is traveling for work (he had a say in when the trip was scheduled, but I was fine with him being out of town this week). Our only child’s birthday is the weekend after Valentine’s Day so that’s kind of overshadowed the holiday since she was born.
Nothing. We never have done anything at my urging; DH does not care about any holiday so whether we celebrate would be up to me. If we were the type of people who loved to cook, maybe we would make a different or fun meal at home, but we are not. And I have no interest in going out on the same night as everyone else does to celebrate what’s true for us the other 365 days per year. I’m happy it works for other people, but it’s just not a thing for us. So we skip it.
I love the colors and any excuse for a break in the routine. I’m blowing up some balloons, buying some flowers for the dining table, getting my husband a few small treats (think card, candy bar he likes), and we will probably order pizza or do a “fire picnic” with fancy cheese and crackers. It’s mellow, at home, but fun. Married 10 years.
My mom’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day and my daughter’s birthday is the day after, so we do not ever celebrate as just a couple. I do get my kids small gifts for Valentine’s day though.
25 years here and most years nothing, it’s not a hugely important day for us…he’s bought me flowers a couple of times when I’ve asked for them, and we’ve done the token chocolate thing a few times, but that’s it.
I don’t think you mean for your “ugh” to be insulting, but it is. My job title includes thought leadership, and supporting this role has been instrumental for the health tech company I for in gaining credibility in our industry and making in-roads with our target audience of those in the hospital C-suite. It’s very much not a fluffy role–I’m a SME with 15+ years experience in the industry in addition to having a master’s degree in journalism, 5+ years experience in research, 5+ years in product development and significant experience speaking to industry groups at the regional and national level. I suggest maybe scanning the backgrounds of those with similar roles before laughing at a seemingly fluffy word. You’re likely to find many seasoned SMEs with significant consulting, compliance, research, or similar expertise with national publishing and/or speaking crossover as well.
That said, personal branding is different, even though some of the activities might look the same. I think it’s a “marketing” of yourself. You grow your personal brand through consistent accountability and mentoring and outreach with others in your field. You’re not just regarded by peers as dependable and having notable expertise but also for being the one who brings people together and advances knowledge in your field or has a voice in direction. What this looks like in practice is often serving in leadership roles in professional and personal groups, serving as a SME for trade media, supporting advancement of education in your field, and fostering a deep network of similar experts in your field. My advice to someone looking to strengthen personal brand is to start small by getting active in professional groups and taking on increasing responsibilities and roles. Spend time publishing or speaking at the local or regional level or smaller industry groups until you start getting invited to speak for larger audiences. Put in the hard work to be the one who participates on a panel or develops a webinar. Don’t shy from opportunities to be interviewed for articles or who bylines articles on topics of interest. Spend time getting to learn your industry’s movers and shakers and find ways to add them into your network (sometimes it’s as easy as reaching out to share thoughts on what they have recently published or making a point of introducing yourself at an industry event).
Hi, Anon! My remark was a knee-jerk reaction to the casual overuse of the term “thought leader,” not to true authorities, experts, and people who hold the role of SME. We’ve updated the post accordingly. Apologies, and thanks for reading Corporette!
I know it isn’t supposed to mean this, but “personal brand” always makes me think of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde with her pink, scented resume.
In general, I am very uncomfortable with self-promotion (and I have the behind-the-scenes roles to match), so this is actually something I should focus on, because I won’t do it otherwise.
I don’t think too much about having a personal brand because I don’t think too much about what other people think about me. My focus is on the kind of person I want to be and I make sure all of my actions line up with that.
As an aside, the term “influencer” will forever sound ridiculous to me.