Be Good / Shutterstock.com
Whether you think of yourself as a “brand” or not, it’s time to start acting like a brand manager, for yourself. In the past, creating a business brand meant that our personal lives could sit safely in the background while our business brands flourished and took on lives of their own. However, in the interconnected age of digital media platforms, we no longer have the option to categorize our business and personal lives in such a way.
Think you can build a successful brand for your business that is lacking the personal brand of its leader? While it has been done in the past, more and more, we can point to the massive success of companies whose leaders are creating their personal brands along with their business brands. Mark Zuckerburg of Facebook, Steve Jobs of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla, or Ariana Huffington of The Huffington Post, all are popular personally and professionally. All of these leaders share a strategy for personal branding that drives their business platform forward using one essential benchmark.
When passion and purpose are aligned, it is easy to live your brand and be the energy behind its development. As small business leaders, others in your salon and organization look to you to set the bar for living your personal brand standards.
I recently heard an impactful quote and simply put, “Authenticity is the new currency.” Whether you own your brand direction or follow that of someone else when it comes to management of your personal brand, authenticity is the only message that will hit the mark. Living authentically goes beyond revisionist posts on social media and filtered photos that make us all look ten pounds lighter. When your customers are exposed to your personal brand through social media, they should get a glimpse of the leader who is creating direction for the business they trust. Remember this the next time you feel the need to post a political rant or tirade about an incorrect Starbucks order. As business owners, leaders and influencers, our social media is no longer private; but is it ours for the making. Be real and be careful.
While all of us choose to keep some social media platforms more private than others, if you are an astute leader, not only are you investing in social media, but those platforms are connected and analyzing data for you both personally and professionally. Maintaining continuity between your personal brand and your business brand is extremely important. There are a few rules to consider when developing your personal brand that should be guiding principles for all online activity.
Brynn Scarborough is the Director of Business Development & Marketing for JK North America, representing industry-leading brands including Ergoline, Sun Angel, Beauty Angel and SolTron. With the company since 2012, Brynn brings extensive knowledge of sales management, customer relations and public speaking, and continues to serve JK in key project and brand development. Pursuing an Executive MBA from the Sykes School of Business at the University of Tampa, Brynn invests heavily in pursuing industry-leading innovation and technology with Ergoline.
Copyright 2020 ist Magazine