The Personal Brand

Before I write this, I just want to say that this will be the last post ever on this blog. I have bought a domain name and will be creating an entirely new blog before late summer/September. Thanks to anyone who read this blog.

Personal branding is so important now, ironically even to get a job in corporate branding, that I have been having anxiety attacks. I knew that something has been wrong with me for the last six months and it hit me this morning like a lightning bolt. I have no brand identity. I have an identity but so does that one minnow swimming in a school of other minnows. Does it mean anything? Does that one minnow get noticed? Probably not.

For years my personal brand identity has been that I don't need one, and that anyone who has one is a conformist idiot. Now I realize that even to be recognized as a non-conformist you must be recognizable first, and this usually requires some form of conformity. This is actually quite philosophical and I don't feel like getting into that right now, but it's something to think about.

I used to think that blogging was emo and idiotic - now I realize it's essential. Social media is turning the way of swimming in that school of other minnows, so a social media brand identity is a must. Once a person recognizes you as a "brand" and thinks that it's something they would be interested in adopting into their psyche, they will demand the full experience. They want a personality to interact with. They don't know you, so you have to completely create the illusion that your brand "personality" is sitting in their living room, chatting with them, and genuinely cares about them. A website is a must to achieve this, even a personal one. This cannot be stressed enough.

There are so many brands that even personal ones are hard to pick apart from each other. Does it come down to appearance? I used to think that was disgusting and superficial, but now we live almost entirely in a world where people will pay only if they identify with a "friend." Appearances, then, are essential – they are the first thing that people notice about another person and the first thing that draws them in. Not only do you have to have an enticing product to offer, you better have an attractive store-front.

The part that gets me isn't the requirements of self-branding, because I know that I can be successful on that front. What gets me is how to create one. Are brands better when they're recognizable or when they create stereotype conflict? If I wanted to sell hotdogs, let's say, is it better to adopt the red-and-yellow shirt-wearing, ballpark personality or something completely off the mark, like a surfer who just happens to be into hotdogs? And, similarly, if I want to be a writer (and get paid for it), is it better to adopt the all-black wearing, chain smoking, scarf-wearing coffee-shop sitter persona (I'm pretty much already this, except more frumpy), or would it be better to be a 4'11 pin-up girl type with 6" hills and a killer writing portfolio?

This is tough. If someone has some experiences with self-branding, let me know so I can at least start. I feel like I'm too far behind now to catch up, even at 25. I feel like I let the opportunity slip-away during adolescence.