Some naysayers doubt the importance and benefit given by personal branding to one’s career and business, questioning the role played by what they perceive as a needless focus on hollow narcissism over offering better products and services. To condense everything about the principle into shallow self-promotion is incorrect; a personal brand is more than just about the person involved and also includes providing content that could benefit others.
As a career-building tool, personal branding encompasses both crafting an identity for a person and showcasing what he or she can offer to a company, its customers, and people in general. It also defines how people judge other based on their presentation and the reputation they build for themselves, hinging both on past achievements, present undertakings, and conscientious communication. While personal appearance and selling personal strengths and talents are an important part of personal branding, they do not lie at its core.
Personal branding has an effect on how investors see company leaders and their management: for instance, a businessperson with an established identity as an innovator and calculated risk-taker (with achievements to back it up) is likely to win the confidence of investors and the public than one with a less flattering image of an irresponsible and inflexible glory-hound associated with one too many failures.
A defined personal brand is intertwined with that of a clean online reputation; both go hand in hand with each other. The elements that make one’s personal brand are the foundations used in online reputation management, which builds upon these to protect a person from potential or active threats to their personal brand such as slander or negative events that could be overblown or otherwise detract from one’s personal achievements and career highlights.
The personal brand represents the part of oneself that is advertised—involving the better half of one’s personality, work ethic, and achievements—and taking control of it is a step in the right direction for one’s professional life. More than just an advertisement, it is a summation of the person and his or her achievements, and serves an important role in building one’s career and earning the trust of both professional contacts and the public.