If you're branding and you know it clap your hands. If you're branding and you know it clap your hands. If you're branding and you know it then your words and actions should show it. If you're branding and you know it, clap your hands!

Ok. So my song was pretty lame, but the topic is not. Personal branding. Whether you know it or not, and most people don't know it, you are always adding layers to your personal brand with the things you do and say both in person and online. Don't believe me? Get a piece of paper and pen, or use your phone. I'm going to give you some words, and I want you to immediately write down the name of the first person to come to your mind. Ready?

Dog lover
Loves wine
World traveler
Sunshine and positivity
Foodie
Would you just stop with the political posts already
Pumpkin Spice
Loves cars
Negative, whiny, downer
Craft beer drinker
When I think of anything related to music I think of

If you came up with at least one name for every one of these words or phrases. This is the essence of branding.

According to Unmarketing, "A brand is not a logo. A brand is what you think and feel when you see a logo." Therefore, what you think and feel is dictated by the story a brand tells. When it comes to people, everything we do, or sometimes don't do, and say, tells a story about us and plays a part in building our personal brand. When people see us or our name, they immediately think and feel something about us based off of the interactions they have had with our "brand."

If you think about the exercise above, you realize you had a person for each one of those words. If you think about it a little more you realize that because of the brand you have built for yourself, there is a group of words that people would also impulsively associate with you as well. Have you ever given thought to what these words might be?

As an example, at one point in time, I was a prolific coffee drinker. For my birthday people on Facebook very generously sent/messaged me $5.00 gift cards. At the end of the day, I had quite a few trips to make to Starbucks. $500 worth in fact! When people thought of me, they immediately thought coffee. For the last two years, I've been drinking a specialty tea, and rarely post about coffee anymore, but guess what I still get for my birthday each year from people that know me on social media?

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Building Your Brand: What Your Social Media Says About You