3 Non-Negotiables For Building A Strong Brand: Takeaways From #BlogHer Health 2019

If you’re a young professional, then chances are you’ve heard about the importance of building a personal brand. Scratch that. You’ve likely been told that you’re already a brand, and this can’t be more true, according to the team over at BlogHer.

No longer are brands just big-name companies and restaurants. Today, everyday people are bringing home the bacon by using their personal influence. But as the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.

On January 24th and 25th, more than one thousand social media influencers and entrepreneurs joined BlogHer in sunny, downtown Los Angeles for a health and wellness-focused summit. Speakers from all fields – ranging from actresses to moguls – shared what their journey has been like carving out a name for themselves at the intersection of wellness and business.

Whether your personal business is already up and running or you’re still honing it, here are three must-do’s for building a brand from BlogHer Health 2019.

Long gone are the days of passing out business cards. Self-proclaimed “social scientist” Olivia June says to take meet-and-greets up a notch by incorporating a selfie. Just think: we’re all better with faces than with names. Therefore, she suggests that the next time you meet someone, snap a selfie with them, and then text that! You’ll both remember who the other person is and you won’t feel weird when you get a text message from a random number days later.  Even better: “You’ll have a photo from the first time you ever met,” she added. “How cool is that?”

At BlogHer, Camille D. Washington, Manager of Brand Engagement for FedEx referenced a study about how well people knew their own brands. According to her while 70% of creatives could verbalize what their brand was, though only 15% were right in terms of what consumers thought. Washington then stressed the importance of defining your brand, by being intentional about everything you do. That means identifying what you want to do, who you want to work with, and developing real strategies and content that gets you closer to achieving those goals.

With so many ways to make a quick buck, your integrity will without a doubt be tested as an influencer and/or entrepreneur. And if it wavers, trust that someone like actress and activist Jameela Jamil will call you out. Just ask three celebs who endorse detox teas on Instagram, which Jamil previously spoke out against, according to Refinery29. “People look up to us. If you accept money to promote a product then you have a responsibility to consumers to make sure you’re not selling them a toxic substance.” Stay on track by only working with brands you actually love and support, instead of just going with what may be popular or have the biggest payoff. Your followers will thank you.