Posted on June 7, 2016

This Brand is Your Brand

Believe it or not, you have a brand. It’s the sum total of all emotions, thoughts, images, history, possibility and gossip that exist about you.

With many thanks and regrets, the internet has made the vast world in which we live a much smaller place. You can close your shades at night, turn off your lights and lock your doors, but if you have even one social media profile, you have an opened a window to your life 24/7. The key is to have some control over what people feel, think, picture, know and say about you.

Nowadays you don’t need to be a Cher, Madonna, Richard Branson, or a Donald Trump to be distinctive and be identified. I saw a video recently of a homeless man playing a public piano somewhere in Florida which had gotten over 8 million views. He has a brand.

Even animals have brands. Cecil the lion, the cat who nursed baby ducklings, the cute puppy, the cuddly kitten, the baby bear and so on.

So what is YOUR brand?

Do you know?

It may be time to take inventory of all your social media profiles and ask yourself some questions.

  • Am I portraying the image(s) for which I want to be known?
  • If someone scrolled through my posts what would they think of me?
  • Are all my social media sites uniform and sending the same message?
  • Do I offer value and positive insights or am I a complainer and a glass half empty person?
  • Have I offended or been offended about the political or religious views of others?
  • Do I fact check before jumping on the band wagon of a rumor or something else that would incite negativity?

Think of one of your online connections right now that you’ve never met in person. What are the feelings and thoughts you have about them? What images come to mind, what is your history with this person? Is there gossip that comes to mind or is it possibility? Do you like this person? Why did you connect with them?

Because you liked their brand.

Why have you terminated some of your connections?

Because you didn’t like their brand.

When posting online, you need to build a brand forged from honesty and integrity because that brand is your brand.