Brand Who?

One of the most popular topics in all of my classes is branding.

Personal branding, that is.

My instructors encourage us to develop our own personal brand, something we can use to "sell" ourselves at a job interview. They call it "Brand You" and we're supposedly putting it out there each and every time we participate in social media.

My struggle is this: if I don't even know what my personal brand is in real life, how can I know what brand I'm leaving behind in the virtual world?

When a company decides on a brand, presumably they do some research. What is their target audience? How do they want to appear to that audience? What's the best way to reach them?

So for me, it breaks down like this: what is my target audience? (potential employers) How do I want to appear to that audience? (smart, reliable, etc.) What's the best way to reach them? (good question. If I had the answer to that, I probably wouldn't be writing this entry)

Some of my classmates are on Twitter (all the time, but that's another post). They're putting their personal brand out there via status updates, reaching potential employers and clients alike. For me, that just doesn't seem like the way I want to get my brand out there.

And just what is that brand?

When I figure it out, I'll let you know...