Personal Brand Development: Part 3
It can be a bit difficult to see how the lessons learned about rebranding a company can be applied to a personal brand. However, it is important to consider because people change.
As an individual, my interests and overall personality will grow and change over time. It can be hard to wipe a clean slate and restart my personal brand. However, I should instead focus on continual growth and ensuring that my brand reflects that growth.
First, if I were to attempt a personal rebrand, I think it would be vital to pinpoint my “why.” Why would I need a rebrand? Have my interests drastically changed? Am I losing the interest of my followers?
Next, as Angela says, I would have to re-establish and pinpoint my core. What exactly makes me and my brand unique? Whatever that is should be a foundational constant throughout any type of rebranding.
In addition, I would need to strike a balance. It is important that I never alienate my original followers. I can do this by staying consistent in some form or another. Let’s say I think it is time for a logo refresh. One way to strike a balance would be to consistent with the type of content I post. New look; same old me.
However, let’s say that my personal goals and interests have changed. This is where communication with the public would be key. It is not uncommon to see Instagram influencers post polls and questions where they ask their followers what content they want to see. This is a great way to test the waters and survey whether or not your followers will stay with you on your journey of changing your content.
Lastly, personal brands should be about growth. There are many bloggers and Instagram influencers who have simply expanded their content as opposed to completely wiping out the past. Take Christina Rice Wellness for example. She started out her blogging career under the brand name of “Addicted to Lovely,” which was perfect for the beauty-centered content she was posting. However, as time went on and Rice experienced changes in her health which spurred a newfound passion, she felt called to start blogging about health and nutrition. So, she decided to completely rebrand herself as “Christina Rice Wellness.” Instead of excluding any beauty-related content and alienating her old followers, she simply expanded her offerings under the umbrella of wellness. This way, she could include content that covered all of her interests and allowed the flexibility for future growth. She herself said that she “think[s] that ‘wellness’ is a very all-encompassing term and includes everything from nutrition to fitness to relationships to lifestyle.” Thus, her brand grew with her, which is a perfect example of how I would want to handle my rebrand.
Considering the fact that @christinaricewellness has 27.7k Instagram followers, I would consider that a rebranding success!