Done. You already are a brand....your own personal brand. Get excited, but get ready because your work is not over.
People as brands evolved along with Web 2.0 - making it a new and exciting phenomenon. In the early 90s the Internet was a scary, anonymous place. The children of my generation were warned to avoid chatrooms at all costs, to never give out personal information and to dutifully delete all of the spam emails I received from various porn sites (seriously, I was like 14, how did they even get my address?!). But nowadays, people use their real names on Facebook, their entire resume and job history is posted toLinkedIn, and their home addresses are listed on Zillow (seriously, take a look). This development of sharing bits and pieces of personal information online has brought about a unique opportunity. For the first time ever, people can completely construct an online identity derived but not divorced from who they actually are.
Believe it or not I have a degree in this - in college I worked in a Social Media Research Lab that studied the relationships people had between their actual selves and their online selves. Many people who are still primed with fear of the 90s Internet assume that online personalities are completely divorced from who someone is in real life. What the lab I worked in uncovered, is that while a complete severance is more than possible (after all look at the opportunities afforded by online profiles...you have complete control over what is said, unlimited opportunities to edit and the sole curation of friends, photos, and organizations you're associated with), many people operate online with the anticipation of real-world future interactions. I can't be catfishing potential employers if I ever want to be hired, nor can I lie too dramatically on an online dating profile if I expect to bring the online flirtations into the real world. That sweet spot sandwiched between complete deception and utter honestly is called an ideal self-image.
An ideal self-image is something that every individual gets to create online - and in many cases your ideal self-image becomes your brand. As an example, I'm going to case-study myself. When I began to build my online identity back in middle school, I idealized my life without even realizing it. I only posted my favorite photos, I interacted the most with my favorite people and I associated myself with groups I thought others would think cool. What I was left with was my absolute favorite version of myself. Even now, if I ever flip through my own Facebook photo or twitter feed I'm left thinking "wow, my life is awesome," and that's because I tend to post only the best and most exciting things. The boring nights I spend sitting on my couch in front of my Netflix cue isn't often memorialized. Go ahead and take a look at your own social media profiles, the results from my collegiate lab work say that you more than likely had the same experience I did.
Now on to the important questions - How exactly does this idealized self-image become a brand? and How am I a brand already?
At its core, a brand is a construction of feelings and ideals, which is why they are often so hard to define. Every post, interaction, profile and photo I have uploaded to the internet since my tender early teen years has added to my own personal construction. If you have an online presence that means that all of your posts, interactions, profiles and photos have contributed to your personality construction as well. This becomes a brand when it has your name on it and when you have something to sell - and everyone has something to sell. Personally, I am selling my education, job history and ability to think critically to employers, and my hobbies, persona, likes and dislikes to my friends. Everyone in my life has bought into my brand in one way or another. The challenge then becomes setting a high standard and maintaining the quality of your brand.
This really happens at two levels. At the superficial level, make sure you maintain consistency. If you were to check my Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn and Gmail, you would find the same profile picture on each one. This way, when someone is trying to find me, they never have to reduce to squinting at the tiny profile box and wondering is that her?. I update my picture about once a year to remain current and I always go with black and white so that I can say "look up my name, I have the black and white picture". My profile picture is my personal logo. I also list my name the same way on every profile to maintain consistency, and I like to write everything in the same witty, self deprecating tone. Keeping it easy to find and easy to identify is key.
At a deeper level, you maintain the quality of your brand by maintaining consistent, professional content. Over the years, I have tried to present myself as intelligent, observant, kinda funny and lighthearted when it comes to my opinion of myself. I have set that expectation and I plan on sticking to it. That means no cuss-filled twitter rants, no god complexes and no foolishness for me. If your brand consists of someone who regularly engages in that type of behavior (cough cough, Jenna Marbles, Glozell - both of whom I love for the record), then suddenly posting a critical thought piece on the modern effectiveness and antiquated practices of the United Nations would be just as disruptive as a racial slur would be for my brand. It's as simple as setting expectations, finding your audience and then fulfilling their expectations.
Hold yourself to the same standards that you hold established brands to. Historically, well known and well-loved brands have crashed when they acted out of character - just look at the Chick-Fil-A homophobia scandal or the messy tweets JCPenny sent out during the Super Bowl.
Take pride in your online identity. You built it yourself, and by nature, you are emotionally attached to it. Figure out your ideals, the personality you want to espouse and a strategy for doing so and stick to it.
P.S. Has the title of this blog begun to make sense yet? I brought my personal brand into this world with me....back in 1989 :)