As a public relations major getting ready to enter the workforce, if there’s one thing that has been emphasized in both my classes and internships, it’s the importance of building your own unique brand and personal image. In an era of social media and competition, there are a million different people/companies who are doing the same exact thing you are. The only way that you can differentiate yourself from the pack is to show your audience why you are different, what you can bring to the table, and what sets you apart from your competitors. The best way to do this is by taking a good look at who you are and more importantly, how you want to portray yourself, and creating your brand image from there.
The great thing about branding is that you can actively choose how you want to present yourself to your publics. You alone have complete control over how you want to be seen. A few of the articles and blog posts I took a look at this week gave some tips on how to set yourself apart in the blogosphere and create a compelling brand image that will keep your audience coming back for more.
An article from domain.me by Sarah Green titled Key Strategies for Using Blogging to Build Personal Brand had some helpful tips on how to begin building your “personal brand” that I would highly suggest checking out. In this post, Sarah touched on a key point about the importance of cultivating a great image in this industry that I really resonated with. She states, “Even if you are not looking to build your own personal brand, people are still going to judge you by your content and base their opinion about you based on what you post online. This is why you better do something about your online image anyway and make sure you beat them to the punch”.
I think that this is something extremely important to keep in mind. Even if you aren’t actively doing anything to promote or create a brand image, even not doing anything is still going to send a message to your publics. In a world so enamored with social media and online profiles, it has become a part of our nature to judge by what we see. Because audiences are not likely to take the time to take a deeper look into a company/individual, you simply can’t afford to not create a brand image. People are going to judge anyway, so you might as well put in the time and effort to create an image that will resonate with people and accomplish the goals you wish to set out.
It can definitely be intimidating to begin to tackle creating your own brand image. I can relate to this on a personal level. I often find myself comparing my social media/blogging platforms to other successful platforms. It seems like there is so much creativity going around in regard to both content and aesthetics, it can be hard to keep up with the trends and stay current. To help combat this, Jeff Foster from problogger.com has cultivated a great list of 7 Ways to Build Your Brand in the Blogosphere.
The two most important tips I took away from this article are to send bloggers your product and make sure that you are giving them the opportunity to provide feedback and voice their opinion. Although from the public relations perspective, it can be hard to not have complete control over the message, in the end doing so is beneficial for both parties. Letting the bloggers know that you respect their opinions and value their input not only makes them feel good, but will also make them want to work with you in the future. On the other side of the spectrum, audiences love to hear real, authentic reviews. They can smell an endorsement or product placement from a mile away, so your company/product will get some great positive buzz knowing that the reviews are truthful and not forced.
As an avid YouTube watcher myself, I can definitely tell when a blogger or influencer actually likes a product, or is simply being paid to make positive comments. If I know the influencer genuinely enjoys the product, I am much more inclined to trust their review and actually try out the product.
If you’re in the PR world, you definitely need to recognize the importance of utilizing influencers. An article from grouphigh.com on Social Media Influencers points out the statistic that “90% of consumers trust peer recommendations”. In supporting the idea that utilizing influencers in an honest and transparent way is the best strategy, the article also states, “Consumers want authenticity from the brands they interact with. When marketers equip influencers with an entire experience to share about a brand or product the posts are more engaging”.
If you take anything away from this week’s post, I hope that its to start working on creating your own personal brand image. Whether you’re starting from scratch or have an idea of what direction you want to go in, there is always room for improvement. Social media and technology are constantly changing. Nothing is stagnant, and this goes for the public relations industry as well. In order to stay current and continue connecting with our publics, we need to focus on creating brand images that resonate with our publics on a personal level. It all goes back to the age-old adage; honesty is the best policy. Keep it authentic and true to your personality and core values, and you can’t go wrong.
Maria's Musings 