رویکرد استراتژیک برای برندینگ سلف A strategic approach to self-branding

Introduction A “brand” is a “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (Common Language in Marketing: Dictionary, n.d.). This seemingly simple concept has many meanings and has produced thousands of articles. According to Moore and Reid (2008, p. 421): (1) “Brands, from all periods in history, display two immutable characteristics related to conveying information to stakeholders: information to indicate the origin of the product and information about quality.” (2) “The evolution of brands shows a movement to greater complexity in character, including the addition of image or meaning to information elements.” (3) “Brands, from ancient times to today, played critical roles not only for end customers, but for also for stakeholders throughout the channel.” In this article, we look at the aspect of branding known as the “self-brand” or “personal brand” or “professional brand.” Self-branding denotes how we want to be perceived by employers, potential employers, clients, professional peers, and others in a way that will boost short- and long-term career prospects. In our career roles, self-branding can be a tremendous marketing asset or a drain on career potential. By taking a holistic, strategic perspective with self-branding, we can greatly enhance chances for success – just like companies and their products do. To succeed in self-branding, a person unfamiliar to the target audience must well communicate his/her attributes: How does this person fulfill a specific job’s requirements? How is he/she better than other candidates? If a job applicant is recognized in the marketplace, he/she must proactively reinforce a positive image and communicate that his/her career path has been strong and will continue to be (Evans, 2014a). In either case, individuals must be able to answer self-branding questions such as these. Yet, many professionals are unprepared for at least some of them: • Can you summarize yourself professionally in 15 words or less? • Do you have the skill set that employers want? • Is your skill set distinctive? • Do you regularly review and update your self-positioning statement? • Do you regularly add to your skill set? • Is your self-positioning statement well-articulated on your resume and at your LinkedIn profile? • Do you seek out feedback about your personal social media sites or listings? • Is your self-branding an honest reflection of yourself? Because self-branding is a type of branding, we begin by examining four topics that place self-branding in the proper context: an overview of branding, brand personality and brand (product) positioning, brand equity and related topics, and corporate branding. Tables 1–4 highlight selected academic research on these aspects of branding; for each article, the author, date, key topics, and major contributions are outlined.