Currently, the concept of creating yourself as a "brand" on the Internet is very popular. Today, one of the most common questions asked by industry professionals (or asked about this) is how they plan to become a “brand”, especially if they have their own business. Even 10 years ago no one even thought about it.
Start
In fact, 10 years ago, in 2009, the YouTube video blog was just starting to gain niche popularity. Blogging was still considered a weird hobby in the basement, Facebook started pushing people to share their thoughts on the Internet, and on Twitter you shared thoughts you didn't want to share on Facebook.
Nowadays, the concept of creating oneself as a “brand” on the Internet is not only popular and generally accepted, it is actually seen as a viable career path, a certain strategy.
By creating yourself as a brand, you become one of the people listed below:
- an influential person;
- ideological leader;
- personal branding expert;
- Internet identity
- blogger.
Now, some people claim that this social shift has occurred because social platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc., have “democratized” people's ability to acquire social status.
Before the digital landscape allowed us to create and acquire our own “status”, exaltation in society depended in large part on the fact that some confirmed external source spoke about this. For example, you cannot get the status of a musician if you are not working with one of the major labels. Or you won’t have your own TV show if you aren’t supported by a large network. What is the situation today? If you have 2.2 million followers on YouTube, the world is in your hands.
How does this happen
In modern society, there is a huge benefit to creating a brand. According to some beliefs, all of us, whether we are aware of it or not, somehow form a “brand creation” for ourselves on the Internet. And the reason is that, by definition, if you are online in any way, you are "playing the game." Even if you are here very rarely, your “lack of presence” actually works for you. Your indecisive social profiles tell the story to everyone who comes across them. Your Facebook status updates, no matter how simple, represent you on a scale.
There are three easy ways that can help turn yourself into a brand.
Everything that you do, did and will do in life, has a place in your story
In fact, people do not buy products. They do not buy books. They buy brands, and they buy authors. Therefore, you need to think about what unique “pillars” you can associate with yourself and your “personal brand”. What stories can I go back to again and again? Remember the most significant stories in your opinion, and write about them on the Internet. Ponder the lessons they taught you. Use them as cornerstones for everything else that you would like to write and share.
Do not try to avoid some parts of your life, thinking that “not everyone” will understand, appreciate or be open to communication. Use them. Find common topics. These stories are part of you, and they will help others feel that they know what you are like as a person.
Monitor what people see by being careful about the media associated with your name
The Internet is a TV screen.The most exaggerated example of this would be a YouTube blogger sitting at Lamborghini counting a stack of hundreds of bills talking about real estate. It doesn’t matter if this is the blogger’s “real life” or not - this is TV.
What matters is what you decide to do with your own brand. The quality of the media you use on the Internet says a lot. If people see that you are being shot with a high-quality camera, they believe that you are “professional, successful, etc.” If your photos are clearly taken by someone who knows what they are doing, people assume that you have the resources to invest in your content. This means that you are “professional, successful, etc.”
So get professional shots. Replace your Twitter cover photo. And understand, it doesn't matter what industry you are in: quality media tells a story about you.
The best way to write about yourself is to speak directly
And the more straightforward you are, the faster you scale your message. One of the most common mistakes is that people who think they "speak less" actually speak more.
This strategy works incredibly well in the real world. You enter a room, say, at a private event or dinner. You do not feel the need to run around and tell everyone how good you are. You let the conversation unfold naturally. And then, late at night, usually after a few glasses of wine, you decide to tell something.
Nevertheless, this is a terrible strategy for the Internet. You will not get anything by writing in your biography: "I help make the world a better place." Any reader, user, and one who just accidentally clicks the mouse as soon as possible wants to find out what they are looking at, it will not even occur to them what this really means. Do you work for a nonprofit organization? Are you the founder of a social networking startup?
People avoid telling the truth for one of two reasons:
- they are afraid to seem selfish (because they talk about themselves);
- they want to be "mysterious" (which is not so, they are simply confusing).
You’ll be 10 times better off just telling what you are doing, how you are doing it and why. Clarity is always good for you.