In 2012, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon & one of the most iconic personal brands, gave his definition of a personal brand. He said that personal brand is what people say about you after you have left the room. This has been the most widely used definition of the personal brand ever since. Although this definition is still valid, now there is a new dimension to it, which we all have to consider. After many things have gone digital since the beginning of the pandemic and a lot of though-leadership is happening online, we all have two personal brands- a physical one and a digital one.
So today, your personal brand is what people know about you BEFORE you enter the room. A strong digital personal brand can open many doors for you and create numerous opportunities or work against you. Today it is not only about whom do you know, but more about WHO KNOWS YOU. Expanding your reach, expanding your circle of influence, and building your visibility and credibility before physically meeting people is becoming vital for professionals across all industries who take their careers seriously.
We don’t have to wait until we enter the room to get people to know us and learn what we stand for. Instead, we have to take strategic action and ensure that our digital personal brand works for us right now.
