The Importance of Personal Branding

Personal branding is hugely important in the digital age, but for some it can be a bit of a minefield. It all depends on your situation and company culture, but having employees who create a strong personal brand is seen as threatening by some. However, this should not be the case.

From the point of view of the person who wants to create a personal brand – the concept is something of a no-brainer. You should aim to be positioning yourself as a thought leader, someone who is approachable and knowledgeable. Your personal brand is also your opportunity to show a little personality – something that’s hard to get across on a corporate website.

For many people in startups or agencies, the company is quite centered on the individual anyway, but there is still a need for a personal brand. Keep in mind what you’re trying to achieve – is your personal site aimed at generating more leads, or is it simply a place for you to share extra content for instance? For many, a personal site will be kept almost exclusively personal in terms of its’ content, but bear in mind that potential business partners, or future employers (and employees) are likely to check it out, so keep that in mind when writing your content!

Make sure that you plan your personal brand out fully. Spend time on it, just as you would a corporate brand. Think about your colours, key messages, straplines, and logo, and think carefully about what imagery you put up on the site. Show something about yourself that people will engage with – for example on my Ben Harper Digital site I’ve put in a section about the sports teams I support. My love of the ‘niners often generates a little conversation with potential clients and always helps to break the ice.

Ultimately, if someone feels they know something about you, they are more likely to engage with your content, use your services, and recommend you. In theory, everyone wins – so why are some employers so afraid of personal branding?

Well, for many corporates, the idea of having their employees empowered by having a personal following is a worry. Not only does it make their employees more powerful when it comes to contract negotiations, it also makes them a high profile candidate for roles in other organisations. Add to that the worry of the personal becoming bigger than the corporate brand and the effect that could have on client retention should said employee leave, then you can understand why some companies would worry.

However, corporations need to learn that they can’t (or shouldn’t) try to control their employees lives, especially what they share in the digital sphere. Sharing confidential work information is a no-go area, and as long as that line isn’t crossed and there is no conflict of interest then there is no reason for there to be issues. It’ll depend on employment contracts and so on, but more employees will be incentivized to push any leads that their site generates into the business anyway, meaning that everybody really does win.

At Datify we encourage our team to be the best that they can be – and this includes having their own personal sites if they wish. Ultimately, as a responsible employer you want your employees to be known as though leaders as it subsequently builds the corporate brand too.

We’d recommend taking a pragmatic approach – if you’re an employee or business owner, talk to your boss or partners and tell them the plans behind your personal branding, take their opinion on it, and see how you can work together to make it as good as possible and to the benefit of everyone.

The Importance of Personal Branding