When you think of branding, images that come to mind might be the ads that pop up on the side of your computer or the subtle glimpse of a Pepsi logo in a movie, but do we ever consider ourselves? Is the idea so amusing that we dismiss the validity of the thought?

It comes to no surprise the rapid evolution of media and the even faster creation of new social media outlets on a daily basis. Living in such a fast pace world creates a need for us as individuals to stand out from the crowd and develop our own voice.

A misconception of "being a brand" or brands in general is that you need to have the following. Statistically speaking, it is logical to say a brand exposed to a higher following has a better advantage, but I am not talking about getting sponsored by Nike or becoming your next Flat Tummy Tea model. If we strip away the influence of likes, comments, retweets, and all the melodrama associated with social media popularity; isn't the foundation of branding about a name and the content associated with that name?

Even in the most subtle ways, we insert ourselves into the lives of others. For instance, the guy with the Soundcloud link. He is the one constantly telling you what's trending in new music or promoting his own content by posting direct links on social media. For arguments sake, let's say you enjoy his work and share it with your friends. Not only are we networking, not only are we increasing his views and possible likes; we are promoting his BRAND. Or the girl who has the same name on all her social platforms! She attaches her content, her interests, to a name that soon becomes familiar to viewers to the point when they don't have to question who you are or what you do.

Through these social media platforms, we are given a voice to present our views and outlooks to an audience. If you are constantly uploading images of cats all day long, would your followers not brand you as "the cat lady". Or if you have an interest in politics and take and active role in sharing news articles on Facebook, would people not brand you as a politician?

We have evolved into this culture where branding yourself through media is not as strange a thought as it seems

Keep the Vibes