Introduction:
You may have heard the word Brand thousands of times in your life, but for many its real meaning may not be clear. That is why in this post I will try to explain how we can understand the real meaning of this very important concept. We will also learn about the meaning of personal and business branding.
What is the meaning of Brand?
A brand is a feeling that people have about you or your business. It is the perception about you or your business in people’s minds. A brand is not only about a catchy name, a logo, or a product. A brand is about what thoughts come to someone’s brain when they get to know about you or your business. It is about what kind of image is created in people’s mind about what you are and what you offer in the world. It is about what stories people have about you or your product; What stories they tell their friends and family about you and your business.
Your brand is created with everything you tell or not tell the public. What they see and what they do not see, everything contributes to create a brand around you and your business.
If you have a strong portfolio of your recent projects explained in detail on your website or if you are posting information about astrology on your Instagram page or if you are nowhere to be found on internet at all; all these things are suggesting something about you.
All your activities and non- activities together are creating an image about you and your business in public’s mind. All of that is creating your reputation or you can say your brand.
What is the meaning of a Personal Brand?
Your personal brand is your reputation in the eyes of the other people. It is the image people have about you in their brain. It is what they think about you, which includes what they think you are capable of doing, what they think your thoughts and opinions are, what they think your skills are, what they think you can be helpful for and so on.
A good personal brand is a factor that can take you far in your career. It is what helps you increase your income; it is what helps you make long lasting connections; it is what exposes you to new and amazing opportunities.
What is a Brand of a business?
A business brand is similar to what I have written above but with some differences. A business brand has even more facets and nuances to it. It is about user experience, what someone feels while using your product. It is about what story your business tells, about how your business impacts the society and the environment, and many such factors.
I will try to make it more clear with the help of an example. Let say you have three options of pens to choose from. The first pen is a regular blue ball point pen with transparent body and a blue cap that costs 10 rupees. The second pen is of 130 rupees, having a sleek design and a slim red colored body. And the third pen is of 200 rupees, but its body is made from very nice wood.
What do you think about each of these pens?
By now you must have already created a few stories about all these pens in your mind. This image that you have in your mind about them is what is we call their brand.
Can Brand of a Company Change?
You created a brand about those pens in the example above with the little information I provided. But as these companies run advertisement campaigns, tell their reasons of making these products, tell you about their vision and mission, or you get use these pens yourself; the image of these products in your brain will also change. Which in turn changes their brand and reputation in public.
That is the reason why the brand of a company or a business is never exactly the same all the time. The reputation of company may change with time and that change could be for good or worse depending on many factors.
Conclusion:
Now that we understand the meaning of this concept called brand, personal brand and business brand, the last thing I would like to tell you is that branding is not about what we think we are but what others think we are.
Sometimes people misunderstand the meaning of brand and think it is what they think they are or what they feel about their brand. But it is not completely true. Some people may get it right, but a vast majority do not. Thus, in such cases being self-aware and open to hearing others feedback and thoughts is very important. This way one can work upon and improve their brand and lead a path of success.
