Power of Pictures: Communicating your personal brand

People are attracted to someone who has an intriguing personal brand that they would want to connect with.

What is your personal brand? What is the one skill or a passion you have that you can share with others?

Once you have determined the facets of your personal brand, you can get started in communicating it in the most natural and sustainable way. An effective way to do so is through pictures. With the proliferation of social networking websites such as Facebook, and blogs, sharing relevant pictures can be a simple yet powerful way of sustaining and invigorating your personal brand to your network.

Let me share with you an example of how I realised the power of the phrase 'A picture is worth a thousand words': I organised a mini-secondary school gathering recently, and met up with an ex-classmate, also Karen, who just resigned from her job as a software engineer to take up her passion for baking. She casually mentioned to me that she has a blog http://www.madbaker.net/ and her current obsession is with macarons.

I pictured Karen breezily baking at home and taking orders from close friends. I thought: Her's is definitely a small home-based hobby, as she can easily afford to be a tai-tai with her husband operating a successful software business. A good 3 weeks later, I remembered her blog and decided to have a look.

I was amazed.

Her blog had the most delectable pictures of the most beautiful baked creations I ever saw -lavender marcarons, fruit ganaches, heart-shaped cookes, caramel fleur de sel. It was a grand love affair in pictures - I saw passion, dedication and attention to the tiniest detail. Karen's personal brand as a baker extraordinaire was cemented in my mind. It was no surprise that she had raving fans who loved her and who were inspired to try out her recipes, order her creations and contribute to the blog.

Lavender Marcarons (Photo from madbaker.net)

Karen's lovely Lavender Marcarons with Honey Vanilla Buttercream I would not have been able to be touched the same way by Karen's love and professionalism if she had tried to explain it in words.

Here are some suggestions of pictures that easily connect with many:

1. Children

Children have a universal appeal. Its a great way to keep in touch with other parents in your network. It adds to your personal brand as a loving mum or dad.

2. Food

Snap pictures of delicious creations and interesting dining places. People are always on the look-out for new places to experience. With a personal brand as someone adventurous and who enjoys dining in all the interesting places, people will love to join you on your next out-of-this-world food experience.

3. Travel

Sharing your travel pictures adds to your personal brand as a well-travelled person, with many international experiences.

4. Events

Share your photos of exciting events such as social parties, themed functions, product launches, and this will add an enchanting dimension to your personality.

5. Anything interesting

Share anything funny (but tasteful), thought-provoking or captivating. For example, if you have a love for nature, capture the sunsets, scenes of the beach or any breath-taking scenery and I am sure this will inspire your network. I hope you are now encouraged to start communicating your personal brand in pictures! Happy snapping.