Having a personal brand identity crisis?
Your personal brand is your way of showing others your value, your passions and what makes you different. Your brand is important whether you’re starting a business, supporting a cause, looking for a new position or growing a career at your current employer.
In 1997 Tom Peters introduced The Brand Called You in Fast Company Magazine – explaining everything you do (every email you send, project you start, introduction you make and how you make it) is a part of your brand:
Introduce your brand:
Do you know what your brand is? Try starting with your bio. In Why You Need a Bio In Your Personal Branding Toolbox, Anna Rydne talks about using your perfect bio to market yourself:
Content Marketing can help:
With Content Marketing you can share your brand and make it memorable. If you’re a photographer, why not post your stills to Tumblr and Instagram and integrate them into your blog? How about posting time-lapse videos on YouTube and Vine and linking to them via Twitter and LinkedIn updates? Use a tripod to for a serious selfie (self portrait) instead of a normal head shot. Share a photo each week on your blog and what it means to you and your client. Show others your value by showing them visuals that tell them about your brand and what makes it (and you) singular.
Are you a sales guru? Take to SlideShare and create presentations on powerful strategies. Share them via LinkedIn and Twitter and be sure to link to the best one with a QR code on your resume or portfolio. Get some videos online, introducing yourself and your selling strategies; remind viewers what drives sales: relationships. (Share your recommendations on LinkedIn so they can see yours.) Read sales blogs and comment thoughtfully and frequently!
Work for a nonprofit or support a cause? Take video footage you can share from events and functions. Connect with your audience by showing them why they should help you make a difference with photos of the people, communities or animals you care about. Share them via your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts and add them to Pinterest with thoughtful captions. Blog about the people you’ve worked with and how they’ve changed your life – make sure you mention how much you want to change theirs.
Your personal brand should tell others why you care about what you do but mostly, why they should. No matter what you use to brand yourself, remember there needs to be an emotional value. Ask yourself, “How does this make me feel?” before you post it. The answer should always be remarkable.
More Than Words 
Bios are so difficult to write! Good article, thanks for the tips!!
Agreed!! Thanks for commenting, Jenna.
Any recommended reading for starting a personal brand?
You can and should definitely apply Seth Godin’s
Purple Cow
to your personal branding strategy. Show people what makes you different.
Great points. I never thought about it that way.
This is awesome. Thanks.
I struggle with this a great deal.
I write for a living, mostly journalism — as do thousands of my competitors.
I know I’m good (NYT published, etc) but have a difficult time articulating what makes me (sigh) unique. We all sound the same and I am very wary of puffery or false claims to being Special when that tends to be in the eye of the beholder…no?
You are special. Here’s a start: Meet Caitlin Kelly: redhead, New Yorker, author and (saucy) keynote speaker. Her stories and company profiles make regular appearances on Sundays in the New York Times Business section. Caitlin was nominated for the Hillman award for her tell-all, Malled: My Unintentional Career in Retail, acclaimed by both the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. More than 5,000 subscribers follow her blog, Broadside, for candid and unselfish commentary on living, working and writing. As a keynote speaker she delivers sharp-witted and practical advice on managing and motivating professionals in Retail.
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