As a business owner, you have a lot of say in the direction your company goes in. That includes things like the values the company espouses, management practices, and company branding. Branding is especially important in today’s business environment. Everyone’s trying to stand out from everyone else, and branding is one of the key vehicles that allows you to do that. As the owner, your personal branding matters here too. In fact, there are some aspects of your personal branding that you would do well to make sure are in line with your company’s branding.
The Way You Talk
Branding is so much more than just your logo and the colors you choose to represent your company. Any business that really gets into branding will have guidelines on how they talk and the personality they put forward in interactions with the public. That should extend to you in your personal branding too. Make sure that the language you use and how you speak is in line with company branding. That will help you seem more seamlessly integrated with the company at large.
The Way You Dress
You should assume other people are watching you as a business owner. Dress in a way that is in line with, and properly reflects your company’s branding. If your business is more of a casual company, feel free to dress down a bit. Mark Zuckerberg is a perfect example of a business owner dressing casually. On the other hand, if you run an upscale formal establishment, that sort of dress would be in clear opposition to your company’s brand and would be more disruptive than anything else.
The Way You Groom Yourself
On a similar note, try to groom yourself in a way that is consistent with company branding and personality. Of course, you should still shower and practice basic hygiene on a consistent basis, regardless of your business. That should go without saying. Things like your makeup, hair styling, and skincare can have a little more fluctuation. You might want a more professional, carefully put together look or a more laid back, casual look, depending on the personality of the company. For example, if you lead a company with a youthful focus, maintaining a youthful appearance might be a good idea. Results from Botox procedures last for months and help reduce some of the classic signs of aging. Using other anti-aging practices would also fit in the same wheelhouse.
The Way You Express Your Values
Your values can be a huge part of your personal branding, just as they are a part of your company’s branding. It’s important for the two to be in line with one another. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think of your company’s values being an extension of your own, especially from the perspective of your employees and customers. If you were to suddenly come out as having values that were in opposition to those of your company, either you, your company, or possibly even both could be seen as being insincere, duplicitous, or fake. Not a good way to keep morale high or build positive customer relationships.
The Way You Support Charitable Causes
In the same vein, the charitable causes you choose to support as a business owner will ideally be in line with those values that both you and your business hold in high esteem. When the causes you support go hand in hand with the values you’ve said you have, you prove to those who are watching your company and you as the owner that you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is. You truly believe what you say you do. In a world where it’s increasingly easy to be fake, that sort of authenticity can be invaluable.
The Way You Approach Visibility
Visibility is crucial for branding. If you aren’t working to improve your visibility, your branding isn’t going to be as effective. The platforms you use both as a company and as the owner should be consistent with your values and the personality you’ve cultivated. Think about who you want your audience to be when you’re choosing the platforms you want to use and the ones you want to prioritize. Be consistent across platforms with both your personal and company branding.
One of the most crucial factors in successful branding is consistency. For the sake of consistency, your personal branding and your company’s branding should be more in line with one another than not. It’s up to you as to which one you adjust to more closely match the other, but there’s a good chance that it will be easier to make changes to your personal brand than that of the company as a whole. Unless your company is in need of some rebranding, you’ll likely be better off looking at how you can bring your personal branding more in line with that of your company’s.
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