What a Brand Is—And How to Work It

The word brand is often misunderstood. It used to be a word that only marketing and ad-agency types used.

Today, because of the Internet, everyone who has a presence online also has a brand—whether you want to or not.

So if you have a social networking page, guess what? You now have a brand.

Your brand may be good, quirky, bad, or indifferent—but it’s there.

You need to be aware of it for 1 thing.  And 2, work it to your advantage.

What Is A Brand?

A brand is what other people think of you. That’s it in a nutshell.

It’s also a series of promises or expectations that flow from their impression of you.

If you are a salesperson, they expect you to sell. They expect you to be well-dressed, well-groomed, personable, maybe a little aggressive . . . based on their impression of the salesperson brand.

If you are a multi-millionaire, they expect you to own things. Nice things. Luxuries that they don’t have. Like mansions, expensive sports cars, and yachts. As a multi-millionaire, everything you do is expected to be a cut above.

Products vs. People

Some people think of a brand as being a product.

Not so. A brand can be a person.

Athletes are the perfect example of this. Multi-million dollar endorsements follow successful athletes like a good dog would.

And people will buy the shoes, the shaving cream, the phone. Why?

Because those athletes are a brand that they want to emulate. The brand contains certain promises. Like superiority. Power. Success. Everything you want in life coming to you—easily!

Wow. No wonder athletes brands mean big bucks.

Find Out What Your Brand Is

So, what’s your brand?

Don’t know? It’s time to find out.

Remember that brands operate on an unconscious level.

When we meet a person and size them up, we are typifying them based on our impression.

If we see torn clothing, we assume they are lazy or hard up for cash. If we see expensive jewelry, we get another impression.
If someone carries themselves well, we think “that is a classy person.”If they got sloshing drunk, we think “that is a drunk.” A classy person is a brand; so is a drunk.

How does this translate on the Internet?

Your photo, your words, your website, your articles, sites, blogs, and posts . . . those are all clues to your brand.

It’s also what other people say about you. Try Googling yourself to find out. It can be an enlightening experience.

If you can’t size up your Internet presence, ask someone you trust to do it. Tell them to be brutally honest. You need to know how a stranger would view you based on what they can find online.

Only when you know the truth can you begin to fix it.

Controlling Your Brand

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. You have to be concerned about your brand.

A future employer can simply type your name, hit enter, and find out a whole lot about you.

Your future spouse, too, and your customers, even your neighbors.

Get the picture?

So if what you are portraying online doesn’t match up with what you want it to be, get busy.

Clean up your social networking site pages. If you want to be perceived as professional, take out anything borderline questionable. Make it private, too, if you can. In extreme cases, remove it, and start over.

Even your quick posts need to reflect your brand.

Don’t be an over sharer—we don’t need to know the intimate details of your life.

Or that you’re doing the laundry. Or you had a rough night last night. Or that you hate your boss.

It works the other way, too.

Promote the positive things by submitting intelligent articles in your field. Talk about your charity work (not too much). Post insightful comments on professional blogs.

It’s ok to show a little bit of what makes you different. As long as it doesn’t conflict with your brand.

Here’s the key: Know what your brand is—and what it should be. Then, before you do anything, think: Is this helping or hurting my brand? If it hurts, don’t do it.