Twiststl

It’s been almost 13 years since Tom Peters published the article “The Brand Called You” in Fastweek Magazine. Peters’ article acknowledged the importance of personal branding years before most people started buying into the concept. Today, the idea of personal branding is not only alive, it’s flourishing. With the emergence of social media, individuals are now able to create and promote their own personal brand to a larger audience and more effectively than was possible in 1997.

In the past, celebrities were the only people with strong personal brands, and to a certain extent their brand was a product of the advertisers that wanted to use them to sell a product, service, or lifestyle. Take for example the Olympic stars of yore. After the medal counts were in, advertisers would consider which athletes had been most successful, the popularity their sport, and which ones were the most likeable before determining who would get their face on the front of the Wheaties box or on the cover of Sports Illustrated. What advertisers were doing was essentially assessing the personal brand of these athletes and determining who they could best use to their advantage. But the system has changed. Athletes no longer have to wait around to be made into a household name; they can do it for themselves. Social media gives individuals, particularly those that already have a following, the opportunity to proactively create their own brands and promote themselves.