Today’s world has become completely and irrevocably digitized. Technology has transformed the way we work, interact, buy, sell, learn and spend our leisure time. Everything is instantaneously available at the push of a button or the click of a mouse, and millions upon millions of individuals and organizations are clamoring for our attention. In the insanely crowded marketplace that is the internet, it has never been more critical to create a strong and lasting impression.
As someone who specializes in building the personal brands of modern serial entrepreneurs, Chris K. Hogan is extremely familiar with this subject. The former DJ, music producer, and electrical engineer has worn many hats, but it is the one he wears as the President of his highly successful full-service branding agency, ILIXIR, that he is the proudest of. “In my everyday life, I meet a lot of people who don’t fully understand how branding has changed, actually metamorphosed,” Hogan points out.
Branding is no longer purely about a company’s visual identity, such as a specific logo, symbol, packaging, design, etc. Instead, it has evolved into how you create a unique relationship with other people and clients through patterns of familiarity, interaction, identification, and memorability. Personal branding is how you distinguish yourself from everyone else and announce to the world what is unique about you and why people should be interested.
“Personal branding is about trust,” explains Hogan, who goes on to quote Zig Ziglar: “If people like you, they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” Trust, therefore, has become the single most important element in every transaction. And the catalyst for trust is authentic personal branding. “If your audience doesn’t know who you are, how can they trust you?” queries Hogan. “Therefore, every business, entrepreneur, founder, author, speaker, entertainer, and coach stand to benefit from the influence of a robust personal brand. The power of leveraging a personality through branding opens unlimited pathways for both profit and networking.”
According to Chris K. Hogan, there are two main benefits of building a successful personal brand. The first, is the advantage of direct audience monetization. Just as owning the email list was the holy grail back when email was king, now owning the eyes on social media is paramount. No longer beholden to an intermediary, personal brands have the advantage of owning their following and connecting with them directly. “The creative possibilities of utilizing direct 24/7 access to a growing consumer base are virtually limitless,” he explains.
The second advantage involves an ecosystem of valuable indirect benefits. To put it succinctly, a personal brand opens exclusive doors. It’s the qualification that permits entry into speaking conventions, green rooms, and business deals that were previously inaccessible. “Our clients’ best networking tool are their brands, giving them access to people they could never reach before,” shares Chris K. Hogan. Personal branding offers an instantaneous upgrade to quality connections and nearly unlimited business and social possibilities.
Whereas branding was once traditionally a means of creating a specific design or symbol for a company to advertise its products or service, it has changed almost beyond recognition. Branding is critical to your success because a potent personal brand generates feelings of trust, increases value, generates new clients, strengthens your presence on the internet and opens powerful portals for enhanced networking.
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