Your personal branding guide in the digital age.

• Author: Paradiso, Chris
• Position: THE SOCIAL NOTEBOOK

The idea of personal branding is relatively new in today's complex marketing world. The first mention of the concept "personal branding" online was in 1997 when Tom Peters wrote an article for Fast Company titled The Brand Called You. However, in the last decade, the importance of personal branding has grown astronomically as new social media tools like Google+, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram have enabled anyone to easily express themselves online.

When most of us think of brands, we think of logos, advertising campaigns, and big corporations. Many of us love brands that we can relate to, and have a personal connection with, such as Toms, and also detest others. The reason we choose a brand is not just for the color of a logo or its design, but for the reputation and quality that it stands behind (for example, Tom's shoes--for every pair purchased they give a pair away to someone in need). Similarly, our individual brand is created by the personal values that we believe in and how we build our reputation by our contributions to our communities, whether it's online or offline. Your brand is your everything.

Guide to Personal Branding in the Digital Age

What's great about personal branding is that it isn't about the products we sell or the services we offer, but instead it's all about bringing value as human beings, and how we choose to express ourselves. We all have something we want to express to the world. Whether you're an artist, musician, writer, entrepreneur, insurance agent, or agency owner, or just really passionate about your favorite hobby, you have something meaningful to offer to the world.

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."--Winston Churchill

Now, it is easy to start a blog, YouTube channel, or a website to express your passions, promote something that you've created, and connect with people (prospects and/or clients) who have similar interests. The barriers to entry for expressing yourself online or starting a digital business have dropped so much in the last decade that there really isn't anything stopping you from diving right in and separating yourself from others in the industry. As an independent insurance agent you need a brand.

Having a personal brand and a reputation around it is not just important for sharing what you're passionate about. An estimate (that blew my mind) was that 80% of jobs are now found in the informal job market through networking and...