Personal branding may have been the most overused term in recent years yet it has become the singular most important thing to focus on in your career whether you are an entrepreneur or if you work for someone.
With over 2 million posts on personal branding on just Instagram itself, this term has quickly become a buzzword especially in corporate. However, the most common question I get from my clients is, what exactly should I focus on when it comes to my own personal brand?
Personal branding is rather fluid so it should not stay stagnant at all. So in today’s ever-changing world, it only makes sense that your brand follows through with what’s relevant.
The top 3 personal branding trends I foresee in 2023 in no particular order starting with trend number 1: PSI , which stands for Para social interaction.
This trend is particularly relevant for those of you who are actively building your brand online.
What is PSI? It refers to a psychological relationship experienced by the audience towards someone they follow on social media platforms.
When your online persona is vulnerable, authentic and your audience feel like your content is speaking to them on a very personal level, you become the top of mind for them when your service is required.
So when you write content on social media or when you speak in public, be sure to sprinkle in your own personal stories in there. Be candid in sharing your journey instead of only sharing your success. Of course the caveat here is to be intentional when you share these stories. Make sure these stories are not just on brand for you, but also are able to add value to the lives of your audience.
The key is : you want to aim to be relatable, not aspirational
The second trend I foresee in 2023 is to humanize your company brand. This means you need to ensure the people in the organization are able to carry the company’s brand.
Most times what I observe is perhaps the leader is very much on brand but the associates aren’t. The dissonance of employee brand can be harmful to the company’s reputation.
Take for example one of our clients who is a reputable government agency here in Malaysia. The CEO has such an amazing brand presence however when the senior staffs of the agency needed to represent him in events, people often mistake them for either being juniors or were not able to relate that they came from that agency. After going through an intensive program in shaping the team in the 4 key pillars of branding, their brand was more cohesive and that reflected positively on the organization.
An outsider’s perception to the brand is very much dependent on their experiences with the people in the organization itself so this year start investing in branding your people!
The last trend of 2023 is on purposeful branding. What is the cause you are trying to advocate here that shapes your brand?
Now don’t get me wrong. This does not mean that you need to have a CSR element to your personal brand. It’s great if you do, but it’s totally fine if you don’t.
What purposeful branding means here is, is there a big WHY behind who you are and what you do.
Recently we are seeing a trend where audience resonate more with people who’s brand strategy has a consistent cause or purpose they are trying to advocate.
In my case, the big why behind my brand is that I am passionate in helping professionals match their substance to their perception so that they can achieve the success they deserve. This stems from my 10-year corporate stint, seeing how so many people are being missed out because they were not strategically visible.
Key takeaway here is is: Don’t brand yourself just to be popular because that fizzles out very quickly. Practice purposeful branding to create longevity in your brand.
Hope these tips provide good insights for you in your journey of discovering your own brand identity!
