Quick. Name three soda drinks. Did you have to think about it very hard, or did several names pop right up for you? Now, how did you come up with these names? Was it a matter of thinking of flavors of soda and going on from there or did you come up brand names first and flavors second? Does flavor even matter? After all, most people do not add the ancillary description “cola” to the names of the beverages that they chose; they order a Pepsi or a Coke and know that they are understood.
Brand image is important, not only because it locks a product into the consumer’s mind, but because it does so with a pure economy of words. If a product can come up with a strong enough branding image, all others of its kind will be relegated to the bottom of the heap, unable to climb out from the shadows. Are there off brand, store brand and regional brand cola flavored sodas? Of course the answer to that question is yes, but they only survive in the market by their undercutting prices, not by head to head competition. It is the rare person who says that they prefer a Royal Crown over the two big dogs, Pepsi and Coke, yet RC remains on the shelves and by all accounts probably sells fairly well, all things considered.
People brand themselves as well, regardless of whether they are the CEO of a huge corporation, a small business owner or the young graduate just starting at the bottom rung of her career ladder. Even the freelance writer is a brand onto themselves- and depending on how hard they work and hustle, their brand image can be a positive one or leave a lot to be desired.
Remember when you were asked to think of three soda drinks? Now think of three people who exemplify the quality of “honesty”. Did you think of the three people easily or did you have to work at it? Were the names of those you know personally or famous people that you admire? Every person that you come in contact or that you have knowledge of have an image, which becomes their brand. We know them by their brand, their brand image. We know that Phil from accounting is “honest” and “hard working” but may not know that he plays baseball every Saturday or that his wife’s name is Jillian. His brand, the image that he is known for at the office is what is the important factor in this situation. If we knew Phil from the baseball games, we would possibly not know nor care that he had the highest grade point average of his graduating class or that his accounting department lead thinks that he is a financial genius.
What image do you want to present to your professional contacts and coworkers? Whenever you are at a meeting, or on a business trip you present your image, your brand. If you make a bad impression, you harm your image and may not be asked to go back to represent the company at the upcoming trip. Opportunities may start passing you by because of it. Negative branding may then slow or stall your career.
Branding, whether for a product or for personal branding is rarely permanent. As soon as a campaign is released, a new one is already in the works. By the time the marketing images for a product are becoming stale in the target audience’s mind, a new one is ready to recapture their attention. The product did not change at all, only the way it was presented to us, and yet we sit up and take notice of it.
Personal branding works the same way. So, we made a poor impression at the business meeting last week. A new one this Friday is a new opportunity to really wow them with our knowledge and our poise. We can work hard to learn everything we can about the topic being presented. We can make sure that our physical appearance is beyond approach and that mentally we are laser beam focused on what we need to do. Just as Pepsi changes its image, but not its inherent properties, we can present a different image of ourselves to our coworkers but not have to change who we really are.
Demetrios Tzortzis is a social media expert whose systematic approach to online marketing has effectively helped thousands of people across the globe grow their business. Demetrios works as a coach and mentor to help businesses maximize their Internet presence through strategic online marketing and brand maximization.
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