"The New Brand Formula" by Travel 2.0 is licensed under CC BY 2.0Online Personal and Professional Branding: Image is STILL Everything. 

Online Personal and Professional Branding: The Importance of the Narrative 

Cultivating a personal or professional brand is a very natural thing. We all do it, even without realizing it, because we consider our reputation and how people perceive us. The translation to branding sounds like we are all wearing a label, but perhaps a better image would simply be a name tag. Your brand is who you are and how you want to be seen by others. 

 

 

 Debbie Millman: How symbols and brands shape our humanity

"What's Your Story?" by timhettler is licensed under CC BY 2.0

 Allen Gannett, chief strategy officer at Skyword and author of The Creative Curve explains it best:” The most effective personal branding strategy these days is to build a true narrative - single character monologues are boring in Tinseltown, and even more boring for your personal brand. (Chan, 2018).”

Generally, there is a linear fashion to a story, with a beginning, middle and end. There must be conflict emotion, heart, a hook of some sort. No one wants to read about an uncomplicated trip to the grocery story.  Attention demands an emotional investment. From the inciting incident to the denouement; the window to create that connection and influence the audience perception is very small.  The first step is understanding where you want to go with your brand, and use that knowledge to guide your story in the direction you wish to go. 

References

Chan, G. (2018, November 8). 10 Golden Rules Of Personal Branding. Forbes. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-branding/?sh=2808fd6758a7

Millman, D. (2020, February 14). How symbols and brands shape our humanity. TED Talks. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/debbie_millman_how_symbols_and_brands_shape_our_humanity