Personal Branding: Something Important For All Students

The term “branding” has become a popular one in recent years, generally in reference to marketing done by businesses and institutions.  The purpose is to plant an idea or an image so that people will immediately recognize it and think about a specific company or school.  The Golden Arches immediately remind people of McDonalds just as the yellow Tigerhawk on a black surface symbolizes the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.  In some instances significant money is spent not only on the development of the image, but also on the impact that it has on the public, such as the subliminal impact of hidden images in the logo, such as the arrow in the Fed Ex logo.  However, branding is much more than the image or the logo.  And, branding goes beyond corporations and universities.  According to Jerry McLaughlin, “brand is the perception someone holds in their head about you, a product, a service, an organization, a cause, or an idea.  Brand building is the deliberate and skillful application of effort to create a desired perception in someone else’s mind.”  Today, the brand that each of our students is developing for themselves is very important for how they are going to be perceived in the future, and it goes much further than a logo.

Let’s take at look at what the NCAA shares with student-athletes because it can easily serve as a guide for all young people today.  From the NCAA on personal branding:  As a NCAA student-athlete, be aware of your actions in public and on social media (i.e. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.)  You build your personal brand from the moment you start communicating.  Think for yourself.  Ask a lot of questions.  Keep the big picture in mind.  And always remember: You represent your university first, your team second,  then yourself last.  

We have talked a number of times with students about making smart choices as to what they put out on the Internet about themselves, from postings on Facebook to images on Pinterest or Snapchat.  In the past couple of years lessons have been provided to help them better understand how to create a positive image of themselves online, and in a sense market themselves.  In essence, this is what personal branding is all about.  Through social media students have the chance to promote themselves to colleges and future employers, and rather than share pictures out partying with a beer in hand or forwarding on memes or messages that might be perceived as negative, they can build a picture that focuses on the positives.  

At the beginning of each school year we tell students to “clean” all of their social media.  About five years ago a former student of mine had mentioned to me how the University of Iowa had told students who were planning to apply to medical school to go through and get rid of all pictures and references on their Facebook page before they start the application process because admissions folks would go through everything on their background check.  In conversation that I have had with admission counselors from a couple of state universities, I was told that every potential student-athlete is vetted by interns who do extensive online searches to get an idea of what they may have posted so they can get a better, more thorough idea into the character and background of the students they are recruiting. If things show up, they are flagged and in some instances, are no longer recruited.  It is not just athletes that colleges look at.  With the simplicity of online searches, all potential applicants are vetted.  And it doesn’t stop with college.  Recent conversations with employers confirm that they are doing the same thing.  One of our largest local employers share how they go through social media, specifically asking potential employees to open their Facebook page and other social media sites for them to view.

Social media is an important part of many student’s life, with many pro’s and con’s in terms of the impact it has on their daily life.  It is very powerful and it makes sense that it is used to create every student’s personal brand.  There is a tremendous amount of positive information that a student can share out that they can use to market themselves to colleges and employers.  Tiger Woods, Prince, Triple H, and many other celebrities have logos that have contributed to their personal brand, and they are easily recognized by fans and others.  But it goes so much further than that, and today our students can use incredible resources to develop the positive image they want to project.  Their brand is important!