Image and Personal Branding may seem quite similar but they are not. However, both these subjects go hand-in-hand.

To ensure a successful personal brand, one has to identify, optimize and maintain a holistic image.

Why?

Let us check out 5 reasons why Image plays an important role in developing a personal brand:

1. Creation of an Identity

• The identity of an individual includes the portrayal of one’s respective values, ideas, thoughts, and perceptions. It is the core factor of an overall image of an individual.
• An image of a person is the overall impression that is given to the world. This depends on the individual’s appearance, behavior, and communication skills.
• Thus, a well-managed image showcases one’s identity in the best light and forms the basis of an authentic personal brand.

2. Self-Presentation

• Self-Presentation is part of Impression management, first conceptualized by Erving Goffman in 1959 in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
• Goffman established this theory in which an individual tries to match one’s own self-image and the preferences of others to present an optimal identity.
• It is explained as a process in which an individual tries to control the impressions that other people form about them. Dramaturgy is the term given by Goffman which presents the idea that individuals are actors who perform at life’s front stage to adapt according to audience preferences.
• Such self-presentation of one’s image helps to establish a strong personal brand.

3. Self-Promotion

• Individuals need to promote themselves in front of their peers or the desired audience to make an incredible impression.
• Another reason how the image is important in personal branding is self-promotion. This is the next level of self-presentation.
• This involves balanced boasting of one’s abilities, reasonable flattery, mindful intimidation. These are human behavior mechanisms that are utilized for the promotion of one’s image and in turn one’s personal brand.

4. Professional Presence

• An individual with a holistic image portrays exceptional appearance, grooming, communication skills that become part of the overall identity. This ensures professional growth and acknowledgment of the individual.
• A strong personal brand is crucial to solidify the professional presence of an individual. One can control how their peers view them by managing their image.
• A personal brand is formed when the professional image of an individual is shining.

5. Social Presence

• This extensive curation of one’s social image resembles promoting one’s self and hence becomes a significant part of building your personal brand.
• We show the best of our lives on social media. Our career triumphs travel visuals, the food we eat, and how we dress. An individual that uses any form of social platform ensures that his life looks great on the timeline.
• Our social image management is what leads to the promotion of our personal brand.

Hence, positive self-presentation and effective image management helps an individual to achieve personal and professional success. Therefore, Image management plays an important role in the process of developing an incredible personal brand.

This post was derived from the research paper authored by Sonia Dubey Dewan, AICI CIP, Co-Founder of the Indian School of Image Management. This research paper titled, ‘The Role of Personal Image in Personal Branding’ was published by the University of Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina. To read the full research paper, click here.