What do people think of first when they hear your name?

Personal branding is, in many ways, synonymous with your reputation and relates to how others perceive you. Are you a genius? An expert? Can you be trusted? What do you represent? What do you stand for? What will come to someone’s mind first when they hear your name?

As stated by the portal MojPosao, if you already have work experience in marketing, you surely understand the importance of building a personal brand. People recognize your name, what you do, what you offer, and who you really are. 

The question is, are you satisfied with the image you have built and the opinion people have of you? Is it time to improve or upgrade that image? 
If you want to solidify your personal brand or are just starting to build it, use some of the following tips: 

1) View personal branding as an investment 
Your personal brand is a potential that will last longer than your career. While your projects come and go, your image remains and adds value to everything you do. People will follow your brand from project to project, regardless of what you do. When you launch new ideas or projects, it is your brand that will give them significance, quality, and meaning. 

2) Define your public image
Your personal brand is shaped by the thoughts, words, or reactions of others. It is formed through how you present yourself in public. This is something you can influence. You can decide how you want others to see you and how they talk about you. Think about the goals of your personal brand. If you want to specialize in a narrow field, you must work on being recognized as an authority in that area. 

What opinion do you want consumers/clients to have of you? 

Your personal image consists of your public activities and investments in three areas: 
Who are you really? Think about the concepts by which you would like to be recognized in public.

Expertise. Every good brand includes a dose of expertise. If you do not want to specialize, at least make sure that you are good at what you do. 

Your style. This is not about what you say about yourself, but how you do it. Are you kind, enthusiastic? 

Do you have confidence? Are you quirky, eccentric, whimsical, but in a charming way? Your style must be as unique as your image. This does not mean you have to insist on being different and behave differently from who you really are. Find your style and be consistent with it. Do not copy others. 

3) Start a blog that reflects you
It does not matter what your priorities are or what topics you want to write about. A blog has one clear goal – it is a place where people have the opportunity to connect more closely with you. Include your mini biography here. People will not remember much information about you, so focus on telling a story that contributes to the development of your image. Use your personal story as a foundation for your expertise in the area that interests you. 

4) Be present
If people hear your name often enough, they will become interested and look into who you really are. Be active on social media. Support your projects by writing about them – expose them.
Keep your image fresh. Regardless of how high-quality your content is, there is always a risk of repetition and monotony. From time to time, spice up your image with something new – perfect a new skill.  Continue to learn and upgrade your knowledge. This is especially important if your expertise is related to the online world. The web changes at a dramatic pace, month by month. If you are an expert in a field, you cease to be one the moment you stop improving in that area for the past year. 

5) Do not unconditionally agree with people you admire 
If you do, you are building someone else’s brand, not your own. Focus on topics where you can say something new and thus make them more valuable. 

6) Make people talk 
Think about your image every time you talk to someone. What impression do you leave? If you do not usually respond to tweets, there is no point in changing that. Become recognizable for that, make it part of your image, and get people used to not expecting anything else from you. Try to build relationships with as many people as possible. Get to know them. This leaves a strong impression on the people you talk to and flatters them. Those you connect with best will talk to others about you. Thus, your personal image strengthens.  Build relationships with influential people. This way, you reach their contacts. Comment on what these people write, follow their activities on social media – not only will you learn a lot from them, but you can also contribute to the quality of the discussion. If you are influential but unobtrusive, your contacts will remember you. This is a plan that develops over the long term. You cannot expect someone influential to become a contact overnight. It takes months….but every effort pays off. Remember, your personal brand is an investment.