Let's go ahead and jump into what exactly is a brand, and so when you think about a brand, most people
think about a brand as just being like a logo or just a simple slogan.
Here's the thing.
It's much more than that.
A logo.
If you think about it, is just a visual representation of what a brand is.
Right.
But an actual brand is really a promise.
And you could think about this as a unique selling proposition, a USP.
So when you think about a company out there that pretty much produces the same product or service as
another company, what often sets them to apart?
Well, it's a unique selling proposition, right?
So let's say, you know, a company A sells a particular widget and then Company B sells the same exact
widget.
Well, what's going to be the difference maker there?
Well, Company A perhaps has a larger product size that you can order in.
And maybe Product B has the product that runs more efficiently.
Right, whatever that may be.
There's always going to be something unique that you can mention or you can come up with for your product
that differentiate yourself.
So when you think about a brand, a brand is really that is a message, a promise that lets people know,
hey, this is why we're different.
This is who we are.
This is what we represent.
Right.
And so all brands have a unique message.
And that's really central to the purpose of a brand.
Right.
It's about getting the particular message out there to the marketplace through their brand representation.
And here's a really important point that I want you to really understand here is that branding isn't
about what you feel or think about yourself or your product, especially in the personal branding space.
It's about what other people feel, think and say about you.
It's the perception.
And so that's why perception plays a huge, huge factor with branding.
Right.
You can bring yourself as this, you know, larger than life hacker.
That is a whiz kid.
Right.
All of these different things, even though you may not be that good or you may be mediocre, that isn't
necessarily a big deal, because here's the thing.
Your perception is going to get you the attention and the, you know, mediocrity of skills.
Those can be improved.
Maybe you're mediocre hacker or whatever, but you can improve those skills quite easily.
However, your perception as far as how people are perceiving you in the marketplace, your brand.
Right.
That is something that's going to be very impactful and why you need to really take that seriously,
because it's all about what other people think, feel and say about you, not what you think.
And one of the things that you can do, you can really ask yourself the question here is as far as what
do I want people to know me for?
Do I want to be known as the best ethical hacker in the world, the best dressed ethical hacker in the
world?
Do you want to be known as the best penetration testing expert?
Do you want to be known as the best compliance expert, whatever that may be?
Right.
What exactly do you want to be known for?
And oftentimes, if you can get, you know, quite specific here, it'll actually be to your advantage
because then people will know you specifically for a certain subject matter.
Right.
And so because the more broadly you are, the easier it is to forget.
But when you can get more specific, the easier it is for people to remember.
Now, an example of a brand that does an extremely good job of presenting itself in a way that really
builds perception as to how the wants to be known as an offer.
Is Starbuck, when you go to Starbucks, you have a certain feel, a certain expectation, a certain
vibe of Starbucks.
They present themselves as being, in a sense larger than life, not your average coffee shop.
It's high quality premium coffee.
And so that's really what I want you to understand, is that, you know, you can go down the street
and go to any other coffee shop and get similar drinks.
However, when you have that Starbucks coffee that, you know, cup there, you are essentially in a
different, you know, limelight.
And so really think about how Starbucks really differentiates themselves with their environment in their
actual, you know, coffee shops to how they have their cups, you know, what they represent.
Or when you go to Starbucks, you have this, you know, even unconsciously, unknowingly, this type
of feel about you, this sense about you that, hey, you know, I'm not your average person, right?
I go to Starbucks and get my coffee.
Right, because the coffee is like, what, four or five dollars per cup?
And, you know, you can pretty much go to any other coffee shop and get the same or similar drinks
for, you know, quite a bit less.
But because you're going to Starbucks has a certain aura around it and.
Another brand example here is Apple.
This is also a one that's kind of prestigious, if you think about the branding elements of Apple,
they're really all about thinking different, being different, and not just being your average computer.
And so when you think about people that buy Apple computers, they are not necessarily buying the computer
for the technical specs.
Yeah, that may play a small factor.
However, they're buying the computers as far as the apple, the brand, because of what it represents,
how it makes them feel.
And so that's why I want you to understand that branding is about how it makes people feel about you,
your product, your brand, and how they can see you in a certain perspective.
And it's about that perception that you're able to build, because under Apple products, you have the
same types of technologies as far as the hardware that a lot of the majority of the computers have.
However, it's what the brand Apple represents that makes a difference here.
And so when we look at some of the most common brands out there in the marketplace, you see that about
10 of these major corporations own a bunch of these different types of companies.
And so when you look at their brands and you look at the logos here, the logos kind of make you feel
a certain way.
They represent different things to different people.
Some people may remember them from, you know, back in the day growing up.
And so each particular brand, each logo is making you feel a certain way.
And you have this sort of perception of what the brand is about.
And a good example of how the Kellogg's brand, as far as the Fruit Loops, how they were able to win
over the millennial consumers with children that are just growing up, that they're wanting to get,
you know, a piece of that market from what they did is they had a new tagline created that goes whatever
Fruit Loops.
And so what their whole intention there is to cater and target the millennials so that they can actually
target their children.
So this is really all about the branding element, the slogan, the tagline.
Right.
And being able to cater to your audience.
And it's the perception that is being built here.
And so now let's look at why building a brand.
It's important, right?
We looked at what a brand is, what a brand does and how it's represented.
So having a brand along with an online presence will immediately set you apart from all the other applicants
that just have a resume and some experience.
Right.
Because everybody today has, for the most part, a decent resume and a little bit of experience.
And so how is it that you can separate yourself in the marketplace?
Well, very simply, get yourself an online presence.
Get yourself where you set yourself up for success before you even go into an interview.
One of the first things that employers do nowadays is they'll get their application from the applicant
there and they will actually Google the applicant's name to evaluate their online presence and look
up.
You know, what kind of accomplishments do they have?
A blog?
Do they have any special interest or are they just your average Joe?
Right.
This is really what is going to make a difference in you being able to separate yourself from the competition
and land a job, especially starting out if that's what you're looking to do.
And when you can combine experience, a resume and online presence, you have the winning formula that
employers are looking for in today's digital age.
Just think about it from the perspective of trying to attract the opposite sex.
It's about your perception how you're able to market yourself, how the other person is perceiving you.
And so same thing here with an employer.
When an employer sees that you are somebody who is in high demand, who has their own brand, who is,
you know, doing things other than just having experience with the resume, they're going to see you
as somebody who is of high value, who's in high demand, and they want you to be working with those
types of individuals.
So very important, especially in today's digital age.
And then if you want to go into the consulting room, the personal branding is going to go a long way
as well with your potential clients.