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How do I incorporate trends into my personal brand, but still be true to myself?
I like the idea of trends and would like to use them in my own personal brand. Is there a way I can still incorporate them into my brand, but not lose who I am?
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3 answers
Oren Hodes
Founder & Coach
1
Answer
New York, New York
Updated
Oren’s Answer
The short answer, don’t force the use of “trends” in any of your personal stories or branding unless it feels relevant. If you are talking about who you are today, and how you want to contribute to the world tomorrow, it will resonate with a lot of people.
A personal brand is only powerful if it is truly authentic to who you are. You need to do the inner work and introspection to get that clarity. Of course we all evolve over the years but try to think about the deeply rooted values you hold close to you (those are what stay quite consistent throughout your life) and how they come out in your work & life.
A good exercise to try is to reflect on what you hope the world will look like in 100 years from now. Now think about who you aspire to be to contribute to that vision. Write down guiding principles and affirmations to yourself to step into the shoes of that future person. Spoiler: you can be that future you, today!
Hope this helps! Keep being curious, reading about the “trends” that light you up inside, and it will come naturally.
Write down your values (tip: reflect on people you admire and why)
Write down a vision of a positive future of the world and how you hope to contribute to it
Write down your personal brand based on the person you described
No go out and embody that brand, it’s only words unless you live it
A personal brand is only powerful if it is truly authentic to who you are. You need to do the inner work and introspection to get that clarity. Of course we all evolve over the years but try to think about the deeply rooted values you hold close to you (those are what stay quite consistent throughout your life) and how they come out in your work & life.
A good exercise to try is to reflect on what you hope the world will look like in 100 years from now. Now think about who you aspire to be to contribute to that vision. Write down guiding principles and affirmations to yourself to step into the shoes of that future person. Spoiler: you can be that future you, today!
Hope this helps! Keep being curious, reading about the “trends” that light you up inside, and it will come naturally.
Oren recommends the following next steps:
Michael Belanger
Corporate Communications
17
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Michael’s Answer
I believe you can definitely incorporate trends into your personal brand without losing yourself. I think the key is to just pick the trends that you actually like and that would still be something that fits your personality and who you are. For example, if you are into dancing then it might make sense to pick up on dance trends but if you are not then that probably wouldn't be a good trend for you to incorporate. You can stay true to yourself as long as you genuinely enjoy it and not do it JUST for the perception.
Figure out which trends call to you and feel authentic to your personality and start incorporating them without overdoing it
Michael recommends the following next steps:
Jess Katz
Head of Talent Branding at Snyk
3
Answers
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv District, Israel
Updated
Jess’s Answer
If you're incorporating trends that mean something to you and you are passionate about them - then those trends will only help you elevate your personal brand. It depends on how you define a trend. For example, if an event is happening in the news that you're passionate about and everyone is talking about it, as long as you also want to share your personal thoughts and feelings about it - that is definitely a part of your personal brand, and can make an impact. If you only want to incorporate trends to reach more people but those trends don't really matter to you, it may make you feel and seem inauthentic.
The great thing about having a strong personal brand, is you get to choose how you tell your story. Some questions I always suggest asking yourself when designing what your personal brand is:
1. What do I care about? What am I passionate about?
2. What are my overall professional and personal goals?
3. What do I want to be known for?
4. What do I have to offer others?
5. Who do I want to put my brand in front of?
6. When someone hears my name, what do I want them to think of?
7. What are the types of things/events that I want people to think of me for?
I then always encourage people to make a list of what you feel your current personal brand is today - feel free to ask family, friends and mentors for their perspective on this as well. Then make a list of what you want your personal brand to be -- this exercise helps you identify where some gaps may be and can lay the foundation for building the personal brand that is most aligned with who you are.
Once you have an idea of what your personal brand is, here is some advice for how to build it - and you can definitely integrate trends here:
1. Have a clear goal for what you want to achieve by having a personal brand and who you want to be in front of.
-Goal examples: Become a thought leader in my field, be asked to present at conferences, get a new job, become a mentor for others or find your own mentor
-Target Audience examples: Others in your field, potential clients, social media followers who have similar interests to yours
2. Determine where your target audience is (examples: Which social media platforms are they on? Which events do they attend?)
3. Network: Join online communities like Facebook groups, or send cold LinkedIn messages to connections and ask them out for a virtual or in-person coffee
4. Post relevant content to social media: If there is a trend for example that you care about, you can post content about it.
I hope some of these tips help!!
The great thing about having a strong personal brand, is you get to choose how you tell your story. Some questions I always suggest asking yourself when designing what your personal brand is:
1. What do I care about? What am I passionate about?
2. What are my overall professional and personal goals?
3. What do I want to be known for?
4. What do I have to offer others?
5. Who do I want to put my brand in front of?
6. When someone hears my name, what do I want them to think of?
7. What are the types of things/events that I want people to think of me for?
I then always encourage people to make a list of what you feel your current personal brand is today - feel free to ask family, friends and mentors for their perspective on this as well. Then make a list of what you want your personal brand to be -- this exercise helps you identify where some gaps may be and can lay the foundation for building the personal brand that is most aligned with who you are.
Once you have an idea of what your personal brand is, here is some advice for how to build it - and you can definitely integrate trends here:
1. Have a clear goal for what you want to achieve by having a personal brand and who you want to be in front of.
-Goal examples: Become a thought leader in my field, be asked to present at conferences, get a new job, become a mentor for others or find your own mentor
-Target Audience examples: Others in your field, potential clients, social media followers who have similar interests to yours
2. Determine where your target audience is (examples: Which social media platforms are they on? Which events do they attend?)
3. Network: Join online communities like Facebook groups, or send cold LinkedIn messages to connections and ask them out for a virtual or in-person coffee
4. Post relevant content to social media: If there is a trend for example that you care about, you can post content about it.
I hope some of these tips help!!