If you have had any kind of pulse on the sports world in the last 30 days, I’m sure you heard about or know of ‘The Decision,’ with LeBron James announcing his departure from Cleveland. I could debate the entire debacle until I am blue in the face, but it got me thinking about personal brands and just how fragile they are.
Tom Clark from Fast Company wrote about personal branding almost 13 years ago, and much of what he talked about still holds true today. I may be getting ahead of myself, so let me take a quick step back and provide a brief introduction to personal branding. Well, I’ll let Mashable do that: “Personal branding, by definition, is the process by which we market ourselves to others. As a brand, we can leverage the same strategies that make celebrities or corporate brands appeal to others. We can build brand equity just like them.” The average person comes in contact with roughly 70+ brands throughout the course of any given day, most of which are overlooked. The one brand that people tend to overlook as much as others is easily the most important, their own. Personal branding has been around for quite some time, but with the onslaught of technology and social connectivity, it is important to be aware of your brand now more than ever.