Personal branding
Encyclopedia
Personal branding is, for some people, a description of the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brand
s. It has been noted that while previous self-help
management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. Further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body
, clothing
, appearance
and knowledge
contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in a 1997 article by Tom Peters
.
Personal branding often involves the application of one's name to various products. For example, celebrity
real-estate mogul
Donald Trump
uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g., Trump Steaks).
by Napoleon Hill
. He introducted the idea Chapter 6, Organized Planning, in the section 'Planning the Sale of Services'. He speaks about the "was and mean of marketing personal services". The idea surfaced later in the 1981 book: "Positioning: The Battle for your Mind", by Al Ries and Jack Trout . More specifically in "Chapter 23. Positioning Yourself and Your Career - You can benefit by using positioning strategy to advance your own career. Key principle: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Find a horse to ride".
It was later popularised by Tom Peters
and more recently by Dan Schawbel
.
, LinkedIn
and Twitter
.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
s. It has been noted that while previous self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. Further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
, clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
, appearance
Human physical appearance
Human physical appearance refers to the outward phenotype or look of human beings. There are infinite variations in human phenotypes, though society reduces the variability to distinct categories...
and knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
contained within, leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in a 1997 article by Tom Peters
Tom Peters
Thomas J. "Tom" Peters is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence .-Life and career:Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
.
Personal branding often involves the application of one's name to various products. For example, celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
real-estate mogul
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g., Trump Steaks).
History
Personal branding, self-positioning and all individual branding by whatever name, was first introduced in 1937 in the book Think and Grow RichThink and Grow Rich
Think and Grow Rich is a motivational personal development and self-help book written by Napoleon Hill and inspired by a suggestion from Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie...
by Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success...
. He introducted the idea Chapter 6, Organized Planning, in the section 'Planning the Sale of Services'. He speaks about the "was and mean of marketing personal services". The idea surfaced later in the 1981 book: "Positioning: The Battle for your Mind", by Al Ries and Jack Trout . More specifically in "Chapter 23. Positioning Yourself and Your Career - You can benefit by using positioning strategy to advance your own career. Key principle: Don’t try to do everything yourself. Find a horse to ride".
It was later popularised by Tom Peters
Tom Peters
Thomas J. "Tom" Peters is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence .-Life and career:Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
and more recently by Dan Schawbel
Dan Schawbel
Dan Schawbel is an American author, entrepreneur, speaker, and a Personal branding expert who educates individuals on how to build online personal brands for career and business success...
.
Social Networking
Personal branding has continued to gain in popularity as a tool to manage reputation online, especially though social networking sites like FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
See also
- Impression managementImpression managementIn sociology and social psychology, impression management is a goal-directed conscious or unconscious process in which people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event; they do so by regulating and controlling information in social interaction...
- Online identity managementOnline identity managementOnline identity management also known as online image management or online personal branding or personal reputation management is a set of methods for generating a distinguished Web presence of a person on the Internet...
- Online Reputation ManagementOnline reputation managementOnline reputation management is the practice of monitoring the Internet reputation of a person, brand or business, with the goal of suppressing negative mentions entirely, or pushing them lower on search engine results pages to decrease their visibility...
- Reputation capitalReputation capitalReputation capital is the quantitative measure of some entity's reputational value in some context – a community or marketplace. In the world of Web 2.0, what is increasingly valuable is trying to measure the effects of collaboration and contribution to community...