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Personal branding is not all that different. It is the process of marketing yourself to employers, mentors and your peers to show them the kind of individual you want to be seen as. With the increase of social media and many other online networking opportunities, it is important to be aware of what you are posting and how people may perceive your brand based on your online profiles.
Stanford University’s MBA program emphasizes the importance of a personal brand in their teachings. Stanford offers a 2-week intensive course entitled “Project You: Building and Understanding your Personal Brand” taught by model, entrepreneur and business CEO, Tyra Banks. In this course the students learn how to initially brand themselves and how to protect that image as they venture through life. As university students, posting and sharing with friends is the norm and done so frequently that it has become like second nature. Banks says: “If you have a public social media account then you have a brand”, and majority of people fall under this category. The social media branding method should be taken advantage of and strategically used to market in one of the simplest ways. Sharing articles that matter to you and posting opinionated pieces can set you a part from others, while creating an online presence that showcases your personality and beliefs.
As Pepsi demonstrated to the world, a reputation that takes years to build can be destroyed in seconds…so use the Internet wisely. Google your name, monitor your accounts and create a brand that you can feel proud of.