Some people have a hard time with commitment. Are you one of those people? If so, it’s time to change. When it comes to your personal brand, take the bull by the horns and make a commitment to build your brand well.
Developing your personal brand takes work. Just like relationships, there will be ups and downs when developing your personal brand. Some days, it will feel like you are making connections and interacting with your network and other days you will struggle simply to find the time to do so. In order for your personal brand to be successful, you have to commit time to it.
Never Stop “Dating” Your Personal Brand
When I asked my grandparents how they stayed in love for more than 50 years, they simply replied, “We never stoped dating.” They made a commitment to never let their relationship get boring, and it never did. The same goes with your personal brand. Continuously engage your audience and interact with them. Share fresh ideas and change things up. Engage your audience on more than one platform (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and use the appropriate voice on each network. You have to court your network in the same way you would court a potential suitor.
Balance ”Give” and “Take”
Equally important is giving back to your network what you take from it. Use your network in a positive way and learn from your peers. The more you learn, the more you can give. The most important aspect is to find the correct balance of give and take. I always say that in a relationship, each person should strive to give 110 percent every day because some days one partner won’t be able to give 100 percent. If each person strives to always give 110 percent, when one partner can’t, the difference will be made up. The same goes with the relationship between your personal brand and your network.
Always Kiss Goodnight
At the end of the day, embrace your personal brand. Acknowledge your hard work and be satisfied with it. The influx of knowledge that surrounds you might have you feeling inadequate at times, but understand that your efforts make a difference. Also, make sure you are satisfied with your personal brand before you go to sleep. If there is something bothering you in regards to your personal brand, take the time to fix it. The more you enjoy developing your personal brand, the better it will be.
Your day-to-day relationships go hand in hand with your personal brand. The efforts you are putting into your personal brand should mirror the efforts you would put into a relationship you really care about. The more you “give” to your personal brand, the more success you will have with it. And at the end of the day, don’t break up with your personal brand- marry it.
Author:
Jamie Mitcham is a recent graduate of Oklahoma State University and the current communications coordinator at Casady School in Oklahoma City. Connect with Jamie on Twitter at @JamieMitcham and read the rest of her bio here: http://studentbranding.com/contributors.
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