Personal Branding in an Online Environment

Good morning everyone and welcome back! I hope you have all had a good week. As this year speeds along, I feel it is important to talk about building a positive reputation in our lives. While this looks different for everyone based on our personal beliefs, most people do enjoy being able to say they have had a positive impact on somebody's life. With that in mind, this week we are going to be talking about how to incorporate our own personal brand into our online presence. 

Taylor Swift once said,

Big reputation, big reputation

Ooh you and me we got big reputations, ah

And you heard about me, ooh

I got some big enemies

Big reputation, big reputation

Ooh you and me would be a big conversation, ah

And I heard about you, ooh

- End Game

In other words, everyone has a reputation. Some people have great reputations, while others have bad reputations that may result in having a ton of enemies. However, as social media has become more popular over the past few years, our reputations have proven to be harder to maintain unless we are living in a moral way 100% of the time. Sadly, many people participate in immoral behavior on a daily basis, which sometimes can ruin a person's reputation.

One way many influencers, celebrities, and bloggers try to manage their reputation online is by actively participating in personal branding. Founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, described a personal brand as “what people say about you when you’re not in the room" (Castrillon, 2019). Personally, I could not agree more. With our online presence having the ability to reach more individuals than we ever could as individuals, it is important to make sure that we are representing ourselves online in a way that is most beneficial to the brand we are trying to create for ourselves.

In 2018, Forbes' released an article titled "10 Golden Rules Of Personal Branding." In this article, they go on to describe the rules that must be followed in order to create a successful personal brand. The rules are as follows:

1. Have a focus.

2. Be genuine.

3. Tell a story,

4. Be consistent.

5. Be ready to fail.

6. Create a positive impact.

7. Follow a successful example.

8. Live your brand.

9. Let other people tell your story.

10. Leave a legacy.

These rules are in place to help individuals like you and me create a personal brand that we are proud of (Chan, 2018). This list is not all-inclusive, but it is a great starting point to help you begin establishing your online reputation. By following this guideline, people all over the world can create a positive reputation much like celebrities have done over the years. 

Let's talk about some famous individuals' personal branding that most of us are familiar with... 

Jojo Siwa

If you don't know who Jojo Siwa is... this young Popstar started out as a dancer for the Abby Lee Dance Company on the reality TV show Dance Moms. Since then, she has used her introduction to fame to create her own personal brand worth millions. Not only does she sing and dance, but she has two YouTube channels, her own birthday party materials, and a collection of over one hundred colorful bows that young people all over America wear every day. In fact, over 80 million bows have been sold so far.

Jojo signed her first personal brand deal with Nickelodeon when she was 13. However, she did not just leave the business deals to her managers to deal with. Instead, Siwa decided to take a hands-on approach to try to deliver her fans with genuine products that she would love as well. She wanted everything she sold to feel like it was an extension of her. She wants to present a brand that parents can be certain is a positive influence on their children. She has also made it known that no matter how large her business becomes, she will continue to make relatable content for her fans. She understands that her audience is a big part of her brand (Ward, 2020).

David Dobrik

David Dobrik's claim to fame began when he started posting videos on Vine. Then, he moved these humorous videos of the "Vlog Squad" over to YouTube. These videos contained clips of him and his friends doing crazy tricks and challenges that others found very entertaining. Since then, he has also made a name for himself on TikTok. His content reaches a fairly large variety of people within his 24 million followers, which has given him a unique opportunity to gain brand deals with several companies such as Bumble, SeatGeek, and Warner Bros (David Dobrik). His reach does not stop there as he also sells his own merchandise, and is known for giving away luxury items on his social media channels.

However, David's career has not been all sunshine and rainbows recently. Over the past year, Dobrik lost many of his major brand deals, had his YouTube page demonetized, and departed from Dispo, a photo-sharing smartphone application that he founded (Brown, 2021). This big loss was the result of a woman coming forth and reporting that she had been sexually assaulted during a Vlog Squad video in 2018. Even though David was not the abuser, he was held accountable for providing an opportunity for this misconduct to take place. He quickly realized that no matter what was going to happen over the next few months, his personal brand was being tarnished and in turn so were the brands he was associated with. 

David has recently begun posting online again for the first time since the allegations; however, it may take years for him to re-establish a positive personal brand. While it may take a lifetime to build a positive reputation in which you are proud, it only takes one mistake to bring it all to the ground. 

Intentionally building your personal brand both in-person and online will leave you with a reputation you are proud of. Even when your time on this earth is done, your legacy will still stand. What do you want to be known for? What personal brand are you building today that will follow you forever? 

References:

Brown, A. (2021, September 7). David Dobrik is back on YouTube. but will his millions return, too? Forbes. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/06/16/david-dobrik-is-back-on-youtube-but-will-his-millions-return-too/?sh=2d6dc50e4111.

Castrillon, C. (2019, February 13). Why Personal Branding is More Important Than Ever. Forbes. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2019/02/12/why-personal-branding-is-more-important-than-ever/?sh=1c23aef02408.

Chan, G. (2018, November 8). 10 Golden Rules of Personal Branding. Forbes. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-branding/.

Forbes Magazine. (n.d.). David Dobrik. Forbes. Retrieved September 26, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/profile/david-dobrik-1/?sh=6add4a5d3bd2.

Ward, T. (2020, March 25). Beyond the BOWS: How JoJo Siwa Built a Business Empire. Forbes. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomward/2020/03/25/beyond-the-bows-how-jojo-siwa-built-a-business-empire/?sh=46eb91ac2001.