Brand ME

If you are over fifty the chances are you have not yet come across the term “Personal Branding”. If you are under 25 the chances are you are actively building your own personal brand.

Branding has different connotations for different people. Some people associate it with strong consumer goods advertising. Others associated it with lifestyles. For some, the idea of branding has become almost a negative one. And Personal Branding? Influencers on Instagram and YouTube quickly cottoned on to the power of personal branding. Associating themselves with a lifestyle, trend, or sports influencer quickly took on many of the corporate world techniques and applied to themselves. Some with spectacular financial results.

Rippling out from this the term Personal Branding has entered the mainstream. For people over fifty, self-promotion and turning yourself into a Brand might be the very last thing you want to do. But don’t stop reading just yet. Although the term Personal Branding might raise a few barriers there are a few things to consider. First. The World has changed. The idea that self-promotion is brash and unseemly has long gone. In fact, you are expected to promote yourself because if you don’t why should I “buy” you as an employee or supplier? This is not actually very new. We have always “dressed up” to make an impression, had a new haircut, practised for interviews. Hell, we even washed the car. So, the notion of presenting the best side of ourselves is not new. Personal Branding may be a relatively new phrase and has certainly taken it further, but we have all been doing it to a greater or lesser degree before.

Over the next few blogs, we will be looking at aspects of Personal Branding you might find interesting. But we will start with just one point. You, as a brand, happens anyway. The way you come across in day to day situations, at work, with family is part of the branding process. The language you use, the way you dress, the car you drive, the bike you ride all build a picture of you in people’s minds. This is now greatly amplified by social media – your photos, blogs, comments. And if you don’t use social media – that says something too (not positive). Your first choice then is whether you let your personal brand be defined by other people, second whether you make a choice on how to present yourself (and the distinctions between work and home are becoming ever more burred). The COVID-19 pandemic drove millions to work at home including journalists, reporters, and media commentators on our screens. While it became something of a joke, the way people reported form their living rooms became an obsession and the term “shelfie” was coined to describe the type and contents of bookcases that were inevitably used as a background as commentators and journalist sought to portray themselves variously as heavyweight and academic. And they are right. Small details like the background to your video-conference tell people about you and will add or subtract from your personal brand.

You are a brand, whether you meant for that to happen or not. Because of this, you need to be responsible for your own personal brand. If you don’t take control over it, you’re allowing others to do it for you. How?

Third Quarter Tribe is focused on helping people, particularly over 50, think through their options for later life working. This includes how you go about presenting yourself to newer and often younger audiences. Feel free to contact us at info@tqtribe.com for a friendly chat or go to our website at www.tqtribe.com for more information.