What is your personal tagline?

Five Tips To Create Your Personal Brand

Identifying specific attributes and building a brand isnt just an essential strategy for companies, its also important for individuals. A strong personal brand is one that is recognizable, appropriate to your environment and, most importantly, authentic.

Whether youre a C-suite industry veteran or a new hire looking to make a good impression, here are some ideas for creating or updating your own signature brand.

1. Start With A Signature Style

One of the first things people will notice about you -- for better or for worse -- is personal style. Whether your company has a formal dress code or encourages sneakers and jeans, a signature look is one way to stand out. For maximum brand value, this should mean one signature thing and nothing more. My personal choice has been jumpsuits, or an overall monochromatic look. Now, of course, this does not mean I went out and bought a jumpsuit for every day of the week. Instead, I chose to begin wearing jumpsuits at industry events, business dinners and important meetings like our companys sales kickoff.

What you choose to wear is just as important as when you choose to wear it. While its probably impossible to debut a new, work-appropriate style thats never been worn before, blatantly copying someone elses signature style loses value, too. In the case of former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, stealing the Steve Jobsblack turtleneck look was perhaps one of many indicators that she was too focused on a narrow image of success, but it also didnt make sense for her unique brand either.

2. Social Media And The Online Persona

In this digital age, our social media presence has become one of the most visible elements of our brand. Our work and personal lives often blend on social media, especially when your accounts are public. If you do choose to have certain social media accounts public, its important that they reflect your brand. Understandably, the tone and content may differ depending on the platform, as you may not post the same things on Facebook as you would on LinkedIn, but the overall message should not stray from your brand.

Playing around with the perspective of your social media can also amplify your brand. For example, I have a friend who is a kindergarten teacher and her online brand is through the eyes of her children. Instead of viewers seeing everything through her eyes, they get to see things from the unique perspective of a child.

However you choose to use [or limit the use of] social media, make sure that it is an accurate depiction of you. And at risk of sounding old-fashioned, remember that what is on social media -- and online, in general -- lives forever on the internet, so take caution in posting content that may not age well with time.

3. Yes, Having A Good Headshot Matters

Having a good headshot that represents you is extremely important, especially with peoples ability to research you on LinkedIn and other online sites before connecting. This not only means a photo that you are proud of, but one that makes sense from a business perspective.

All too often, we see the grainy selfie that looks like it was taken on an old iPhone or the classic friends wedding shot with a cropped-out date or drink. Your headshot is an essential part of your personal brand, as it can serve as a first impression to potential colleagues, bosses and customers.

Todays smartphones can take a great headshot, so ask a friend to do you a favor and spend an hour on it together. Find a nice outside location [Im partial to a cool building background] and get a good shot.

4. Taglines Are Not Just For Marketers

When we think of taglines, we may think of marketing and ad campaigns like Nikes Just Do It, Apples Think Different and McDonalds Im Lovin It. But taglines work for a reason; they are catchy, they are repeated frequently and they stick. Developing your personal brand is like your own form of self-marketing, so why not develop your own tagline?

Steve Jobs used to always leave us with one more thing, a phrase he would end Apple keynotes with before revealing the most exciting and often unexpected product announcement. My colleagues go-to is lets chat that, meaning, lets discuss this further. Its catchy and conversational and has become a phrase we all associate him with.

Taglines should sound like you and should not be unnaturally forced into conversation. Like all elements of your brand, it should flow naturally as an extension of you.

Similar to a tagline, your signoff, whether that is within your email signature or how you end calls, should be unique. This should be something simple but consistent, and authentic to the communication channel you are using. I prefer the email signoff Best. Or if Im really, really happy, Ill use the avocado emoji.

5. Share Your [Work-Appropriate] Personal Passions

Finally, if your personal brand is going to be authentic, it cant be all business. Sharing a work-appropriate passion is important, too.

For me, I have a spirit food: avocados. I have an avocado stress ball on my desk, avocado leggings I wear to yoga and an avocado image on my LinkedIn page. For my boss, its wine and music, which are great conversation starters and provide ideas for team outings.

Of course, we all have many passions, but pick a few fun ones to share and you may be surprised by the opportunities that open up personally and professionally as a result.

Your personal brand is how co-workers, executives and prospective customers will see you, so its critical to be consistent and authentic. This doesnt mean identifying all the little ways in which you are different from your colleagues but, rather, developing your personal brand should involve choosing select brand indicators. Remember, the first step is to identify the few personal attributes that make up your individual brand identity. The real, long-term challenge is making them stick.

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